Marine Biology

Marine biology is the study of life in the ocean and in coastal and freshwater habitats connected to the sea, encompassing the extraordinary diversity of marine organisms from microscopic phytoplankton and bacteria to whales and seabirds, and the ecosystems they form. The marine environment covers more than seventy per cent of the Earth's surface and is central to the planet's climate, its carbon cycle, and the food security of billions of people. Marine biologists work to understand how marine life functions, how marine ecosystems respond to environmental change, and how human activities including fishing, pollution, and warming seas are affecting the ocean's extraordinary biodiversity.

At the University of Hull, this four-year full-time programme includes a foundation year, making it an accessible route into a rigorous scientific degree for students who are motivated by the subject but need to build their biological and scientific foundations first. You will study marine ecology, oceanography, marine physiology, molecular biology, and conservation biology, developing both the theoretical understanding of how marine systems work and the practical field and laboratory skills needed to study them. Sea levels are rising, ice is melting, and species face extinction on a scale that makes marine biology one of the most urgent scientific disciplines of our time, and the programme engages seriously with those challenges as central to what marine biologists actually do.

Graduates from marine biology programmes work in conservation organisations, fisheries management, environmental consultancies, government agencies, marine research institutions, aquaculture, and international environmental bodies. Further study at postgraduate level in marine biology, oceanography, aquatic ecology, or conservation biology is a natural route for those who wish to pursue research or specialist professional careers.