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Flexibility and choice

When you study with us, you can select from a wide range of modules across the School of Biological Sciences, giving a high degree of flexibility.

You'll have the chance to tailor your degree to your own interests, meaning you can study your passion from day one.

Read more about our courses

Whiteknights lake surrounded by trees

A beautiful learning environment

Use our campus as your laboratory – our award-winning Whiteknights campus is a rich, biodiverse environment for entomologists and ecologists, with more than 130 hectares of woodlands, lakes, gardens and meadows.

You’ll also have access to the University’s Herbarium, the Cole Museum of Zoology, which houses several significant, donated insect collections, and our new £60m Health and Life Sciences building.

Learn more about our facilities

View our Museum and Collections brochure

Gain real-world experience

We offer a range of opportunities to develop work-related skills and gain valuable real-world experience during your studies.

From year-long placements in industry to partnerships with organisations on research projects, there are many ways to enhance your career prospects.

Find out more about our placement opportunities

It was really exciting to be involved in a project that was helping to progress our national security. And [the job offer] was a real acknowledgement that the contributions I made to this area of science during my placement have been valued.

Luke Forrest

BSc Zoology graduate

on being offered a permanent job at Dstl

Fieldwork opportunities

 

Reading's Zoology field school provided a "bucket-list" opportunity for aspiring paleontologist, Issy.

She travelled to Dinosaur Provincial Park in Canada, aka “The Badlands”, where she gained hands-on experience in identification, excavation and preservation of dinosaur and reptile bones and fossils.

Study abroad

Depending on your course, you could spend two weeks, a term, or a full academic year abroad.

This can be part of a standard three-year degree, an extended four-year degree, or a shorter length of time such as a summer school.

We’ll help you decide where to go and for how long, guide you through the application process, and support you when you’re abroad.

To find out more about the benefits of studying abroad, and discover where you could go, visit the Study Abroad website.

Excellent career prospects

As a numerate scientist, you will graduate with transferable skills for a wide range of animal-based or biological sciences-based careers.

Overall, 92% of graduates from Biological Sciences are in work or further study within 15 months of graduation.*

*Based on our analysis of HESA data © HESA 2022, Graduate Outcomes Survey 2019/20; includes first degree Biological Sciences responders.

Read more about your career options

I chose Reading for a number of reasons. The Cole Museum as a teaching resource was a selling point, as was the campus itself. In the end it came down to where I would rather be studying and the green nature of campus appealed much more to me than an inner city university.

Matthew Greenwell

BSc Zoology graduate and PhD student

A student taking a photograph of plants in a wood

How you'll study

Ecology and evolutionary biology are very diverse fields, and our teaching structure is equally diverse. Learn through lectures, small group tutorials, practical work and field trips.
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Life in the Department

Join our friendly, supportive community who are as passionate about the biological sciences as you are.
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Our research

We investigate the past, present and future of the living world, and aim to change the way people think about, and study, ecology and evolution.

Athena SWAN Silver Award