BSc Biological Sciences

From your very first weeks, you'll be immersed in a learning environment that combines cutting-edge lab spaces, interactive teaching methods, essential communication training, and real-world research opportunities. These learning experiences are designed to sharpen your scientific skills and equip you for hands-on discovery and professional success:

• Collaborative Teaching Laboratory (CTL): A modern facility housing wet labs, dry labs, and e-labs, designed to foster collaborative, cross-disciplinary learning and innovative teaching in STEM.

• CTL Biolabs (R27): Practical work happens here—complete with benchtop computers, gel imaging systems, cell analysers, tissue culture cabinets, and a 3D printer—providing specialized, research-level lab exposure.

• Practical Teaching & Tutorials: Year 1 includes weekly lab sessions where you practice core techniques, while tutorials help reinforce learning. By Year 3, you’ll undertake an independent research project, collaborating with research groups to conduct meaningful scientific investigations.

• Communication and Skills Development: A Year 2 module dedicated to enhancing your scientific communication—through presentations, scientific writing, ethics training, group work (including creating a short video), and literature analysis.

• Fieldwork Opportunities: Engage in hands-on ecological study through optional field courses such as Adaptations to Aquatic Environments in Wales or Alpine and Glacial Ecology in Norway, gaining valuable environmental research experience.

• World-Class Research Facilities: Access tools that support advanced study—from mass spectrometry and light microscopy to biomolecular characterisation, drug discovery platforms, Drosophila facilities, and environmental omics.

• Student Hub Spaces: The Biosciences Undercroft offers a welcoming setting for collaboration, poster displays, study breaks, and informal academic engagement—helping build community around your learning.

Graduates of this degree frequently step into exciting roles like Research Scientist, Clinical Laboratory Technician, Geneticist, or Environmental Consultant, underpinned by the programme’s hands-on learning and real-world relevance. These outcomes are powered by Birmingham’s top-tier careers support and standout employability reputation:

• Careers Network & Graduate Support: The University provides tailored one-to-one careers advice, on-campus recruitment fairs, and dedicated employability coaching—all part of its extensive Careers Network.
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• Employer Engagement: The University is the UK’s most targeted by top graduate employers for the second year running, making Birmingham graduates highly visible in competitive job markets.

• High Employability Rates: Over 87% of graduates achieve graduate-level employment or further study within 15 months of graduation.

• Meaningful Accreditation: The BSc Biological Sciences is officially accredited by the Royal Society of Biology, reinforcing your credentials with employers in both industry and academia.

• Graduate Success Indicators: Ranked 16th in the UK for Biological Sciences, with student satisfaction ratings at over 90%.

Further Academic Progression:

This degree lays excellent groundwork for postgraduate study. Many students go on to MSc or PhD programmes in genetics, molecular biology, ecology, and related fields. Alternatively, graduates often pursue professional routes in healthcare, research, education, or biotechnology—leveraging the strong scientific foundation and employability training they've received.