Biological Sciences

Why study Biological Sciences at Dundee?

The huge breadth of biology offers a corresponding wealth of opportunities for students who choose to study it to follow many paths through to a final degree.

Biological sciences is the growth industry of the 21st century, with increasing capacity for humans to intervene in, control and perhaps repair defective biological systems. Genetic manipulation of plants and animals, in particular, offers enormous possibilities for improving our lives but, at the same time, there are inherent dangers present in the unthinking application of these techniques. The next generation of professional biologists will have to play an important role, not only in the continued development of such methods, but also in deciding how they can be responsibly and safely applied.

Our relationship with the rest of the natural world is one which has been established over many hundreds of millions of years, and the early modules of the biological sciences programme have a strong evolutionary theme. They emphasise the fact that it is impossible to understand any aspect of biology unless you have a clear understanding of its most important general theory – evolution by natural selection.

Flexible pathways

The Biological Sciences degree gives you the opportunity to study a wide range of different aspects of the life sciences, or to delay your subject specialisation until you have gained experience of a variety of different subject areas.

You can choose either to specialise later in your studies and study for a more specifically named degree (see related courses below), or if you wish to maintain a broad learning experience, you can graduate in Biological Sciences.

Lab work and field work

Throughout the programme there is an emphasis on laboratory teaching, and students are encouraged to see the blending of field and laboratory based research as essential to the training of a properly rounded biological scientist.

Students on the Biological Sciences degree programme participate with all our students in a number of field visits that take advantage of our unique proximity to an unrivalled variety of natural habitats, from sandy shores to mountain tops.

The programme of Honours research projects benefits from our links with outside bodies such as the Scottish Crop Research Institute and the Game Conservancy Trust.

Annie Irving is a graduate in Biological Sciences. She says "The practicals in my sciences classes were brilliant. The ability to work with lecturers from Ninewells and experts in the fields was a great experience. The projects and labs were like a brain massage, both intellectually stimulating, but fun as well!"

Study abroad

There are also opportunities to study abroad, for example on the Transatlantic Student Exchange Scheme.

• BSc Biological Sciences

You may also choose to specialise and gain a named degree in:

• Biochemistry
• Molecular Biology
• Molecular Genetics
• Biological Chemistry and Drug Discovery
• Microbiology

• Anatomical Sciences
• Biomedical Sciences
• Forensic Anthropology
• Neuroscience
• Pharmacology
• Physiological Sciences
• Sports Biomedicine