Zoology

Zoology is the study of animal life in all its extraordinary diversity, asking how animals are built, how they function, how they behave, how they have evolved, and how they interact with one another and with the environments they inhabit. From the molecular biology of individual cells to the dynamics of global ecosystems, zoology spans an enormous range of scales and questions. It is a discipline driven by scientific curiosity and increasingly also by urgency: many of the world's animal species are under profound pressure from habitat loss, climate change, and human activity, and zoologists are central to both understanding and responding to that crisis.

This three-year full-time degree at the University of Plymouth includes a foundation year entry route, a sandwich placement year, a year abroad, and embedded work placement experience.

You will build a strong foundation in biological thinking through hands-on field and laboratory work, learning to gather, analyse, and interpret scientific data with confidence and to work independently as a biologist. The programme covers animal physiology, evolution, ecology, behaviour, and the methods used to study them, developing both your technical proficiency and your capacity for rigorous scientific reasoning. The placement year and year abroad give you extended professional and international experience, connecting your academic learning to the contexts in which zoological science is practised, from conservation fieldwork and ecological research to laboratory and museum-based science.

A typical entry tariff of 120 UCAS points reflects an accessible programme with a clear scientific vocation. Graduates from zoology programmes move into careers in wildlife conservation, ecology and environmental consultancy, research, teaching, science communication, zoo and aquarium management, veterinary science, and policy roles in environmental agencies and government. Many continue to postgraduate study in zoology, ecology, conservation biology, or related life sciences.