Biosciences

As a student of Biosciences at our Penryn Campus, you will be taught by some of the world’s foremost biologists, working in evolution, behaviour, ecology and conservation. Research-active staff in our Centre for Ecology and Conservation cover a range of specialisms from conservation biology, through behavioural, population and community ecology, to zoology, evolutionary biology and genetics. You will benefit from expert teaching and world-class research designed to address the very latest factors influencing biodiversity and complexity in the natural world.

Cornwall is an exceptional place in which to study Biosciences – a perfect living laboratory offering a diverse range of marine and terrestrial habitats and a wealth of natural resources. The campus features state-of-the-art equipment for teaching and research, including the recently extended and refurbished teaching laboratory, significant investment in iPad technology for teaching in the lab, classroom and field, as well as the University’s Environment and Sustainability Institute (ESI) which leads cutting-edge research into solution to problems of environmental change.

Field work, an essential aspect of our programmes, can vary from one-day field trips in Cornwall to a two-week field course overseas, such as South Africa, Borneo, Costa Rica or the Bahamas*. We believe our students can carry out more field-based learning than at any other comparable university in the UK.

As part of a research-led department you will discuss the very latest ideas in our interactive seminars and tutorials and, in your final year, become an active member of the research team. We have very close links with a wide range of conservation and environmental organisations in the UK and overseas with whom there may be the opportunity to collaborate for your final year research project. Many of our students also work with these organisations during vacations and their second year work placement module.

_{*Field course destinations may be subject to change.}

At our Streatham Campus, you will join a community of scientists whose world-class research is matched by their passion for teaching. Our expertise spans the fields of ecotoxicology, plant pathology, whole-organism biology, biochemistry and molecular biology.

From your first day, you will interact with exceptional researchers in your academic tutorials and group lectures. Over the course of your degree, your learning will be driven towards small, focused sessions in the final year, based around the very latest research topics. You will also be able to undertake a challenging independent research project dealing with questions and issues at the cutting-edge of life science research.

You’ll study in the refurbished Geoffrey Pope Building, where our teaching laboratory is equipped with state-of-the-art instruments for observational, experimental and numerical aspects of biosciences including biochemical, molecular, physiological and electronic apparatus. We also have an excellent Bioinformatics Computer Centre to facilitate the rapid growth in biological computer use.

In addition, we have next-generation DNA sequencing facilities and have recently invested £5 million in new equipment and a bio-imaging facility. This includes both scanning and transmission electron microscopes, laser confocal and fluorescence microscopes, and real-time polymerase chain reaction and array scanning machines. A further £17.6 million has been spent to provide world-class research facilities across all the biosciences laboratories in the Geoffrey Pope building.

Our academics have close links with a wide range of industrial, medical and conservation organisations that you may be able to collaborate with for your final year research project. Many of our students work with these organisations during their vacations and others build their experience through one of our four-year programmes with Professional Placement / Industrial Experience.