Rates of species extinctions and habitat loss are now greater than at any other time in human history. Understanding the biodiversity we have and how to conserve it involves questions such as:

• How does biodiversity loss affect the functioning of ecosystems?

• What are the leading threats to biodiversity?

• Where are the biodiversity 'hotspots' on the planet?

• What strategies for conservation of biodiversity are most effective?

As our awareness of the diversity of organisms, their biological functions and their global distribution patterns increase, so too does our understanding of the threats to this diversity and to rates of species loss, and the consequences this might have. The Biology with Conservation and Biodiversity degree course (BSc or MBiolSci) is a good choice if you want to understand more about the diversity of life, the impacts that humans have on it, and how these can be managed.

This course allows you to combine a wide range of options spanning the breadth of modern biology with more specialised topics in conservation and biodiversity. You will gain an excellent training in biology, coupled with in-depth understanding of the processes that generate and threaten biodiversity, and current issues in conservation science. This flexibility provides the opportunity to couple training in state-of-the-art methods in molecular and population genetics, which are increasingly used in conservation biology, with courses on biodiversity and conservation. There will also be opportunity to attend a field course in the UK, or abroad, at Level 3.

Why Biology with Conservation and Biodiversity at Sheffield?

We are one of the largest whole-organism biology departments in the UK. Within this breadth of expertise we have internationally recognized researchers in conservation and biodiversity, who bring their expertise into teaching specialised modules and running projects on these topics. This combination specialised expertise and biological breadth allows you to study biodiversity at all its levels of from genes to ecosystems.

Many degree courses are restricted either to the study of specific types of organism (humans, animals, plants or micro-organisms) or to a particular level of biological organisation (biochemical, genetic, cellular, physiological or ecological). However, the concept of biodiversity has application across all these groups and levels and basing the course on our wide-ranging and flexible Biology degree offers an unusually wide range of choice, enabling you to combine a focus on conservation and biodiversity with the opportunity to pursue the particular aspects of biological diversity that most interest you.

Biology

BSc (C1C9) & MBiolSci (C1CX)With Conservation & Biodiversity

Why should I choose Biology with Conservation and Biodiversity?

Biology with Conservation and Biodiversity combines the extensive choice available in the Biology degree, with a specific focus on biodiversity and conservation topics. This focus is largely achieved through the allocation of subject-specific tutors: you will have most of your small-group tutorial teaching with staff with research specialisms in biodiversity and conservation, and you will have priority for projects in those areas at both Level 3 and Level 4 (MBiolSci), with supervisors who are prominent researchers in these fields.

What does the Biology with Conservation and Biodiversity MBiolSci involve?

The 4 year MBiolSci is designed for students who wish to gain a more in depth experience of research. Years 1 to 3 are the same as the BSc but year 4 is devoted to an extensive individual research project and advanced courses in research and communication skills (full details are provided on a separate sheet).

Examples of recent Level 4 research projects in Biology with Biodiversity and Conservation include: Patterns of conservation funding in the UK, Predicting areas of new species discovery in birds, The relationship between genetic diversity and plant species diversity, Light-induced toxicity of pollutants to benthic macroinvertebrates in streams.

What can I do with a Biology with Conservation and Biodiversity degree?

As the importance of biodiversity has gained increasingly wide international attention, the demand for highly skilled graduates with a good knowledge and understanding of biodiversity and conservation has increased not only in resource management, conservation, research and education, but also in a broad range of professions including the financial industry, forensic science, regional planning, journalism, law, and bioethics. Biology with Conservation and Biodiversity also provides training in transferable skills, such as data analysis, project planning, critical thinking and written and spoken communication, which are useful in whatever career direction you choose.

Biology with Conservation and Biodiversity Course Structure (Levels 1-3)Biology with Conservation and Biodiversity Course Structure (Levels 1-3)Biology with Conservation and Biodiversity Course Structure (Levels 1-3)Biology with Conservation and Biodiversity Course Structure (Levels 1-3)

Year 1 Year 2 Year 3

Core modules:

Comparative PhysiologyEcosystems and Environmental ChangeEvolutionBiodiversityPopulation and Community Ecology 1Genes in PopulationsPrinciples of Molecular BiologyIntroduction to Cell BiologyPractical Skills in Biology 1 & 2Skills for Biologists

2 modules from options including:

Reproduction, Development and GrowthBehaviour of Humans and Other

AnimalsNeuroscienceHuman Form and Function

Modules from outside Biology (example subjects: modern languages, geography, chemistry, psychology)

Core modules:

Animal diversityPopulation and Community Ecology 2Conservation PrinciplesData AnalysisPracticals (Animal Diversity, Ecology Project,

plus 1-2 from: Plant Habitats and Distributions, Animal Ecology, Insect Biology, Wildlife Forensics)

Conservation PrinciplesBiodiversity & Conservation Tutorials

3 modules from options including:

Animal BehaviourPlant Cell and EnvironmentBiotechnology and FoodWorld EcosystemsPalaeobiologyEvolutionary BiologyInsects

Up to 2 modules from Biomedical Science and/or Molecular Biology & Biotechnology

Core modules:

Issues in Conservation BiologyResearch ProjectUndergraduate Ambassador Scheme orDissertationField course (UK, Portugal, Borneo, or

Sweden)

6 modules from options including:

Community EcologyGlobal ChangeTrends in BiologyCooperation and ConflictEnvironmental Regulation in PlantsSustainable Agro-ecosystemsEcotoxicologyLife in Extreme EnvironmentsTopics in Evolutionary GeneticsEvolution of Terrestrial EcosystemsEvolutionary EcologyBiology and EthicsHistory and Philosophy of Science