Oxford requirement to study Biology; www.ox.ac.uk

Table of Contents

UCAS code	C100	Duration	4 years (MBiol) 3 years (BA)
Entrance requirements	AAA (with the A in a science or Maths)	Subject requirements	Biology and either Chemistry, Physics or Maths
Admissions test(s)	None	Written work	None
Admissions statistics*	Interviewed: 55% Successful: 17% Intake: 114 ^{*3-year average 2019-21}	Contact	+44 (0) 1865 281214 Email Biology

Subject requirements: Essential Recommended Helpful – may be useful on course

Unistats information for this course can be found at the bottom of the page

Please note that there may be no data available if the number of course participants is very small.

Biology is an exciting and rapidly developing subject area with great relevance to addressing global challenges from disease and poverty to biodiversity loss and climate change. The study of living things has undergone tremendous expansion in recent years, and topics such as cell biology, developmental biology, evolutionary biology and ecology, all of which are covered in the course, are advancing at a great pace. This expansion has been accompanied by a blurring of the distinctions between disciplines: a biologist with an interest in tropical plants may well use many of the tools and techniques that are indispensable to a molecular geneticist.

The modular structure of the Oxford Biology course encourages a cross-disciplinary approach. The options system in the second and third years allows students to study either a general background encompassing a comprehensive range of topics, or specialise in detailed aspects of animals, plants, cells or ecology. The course incorporates an optional fourth year, meaning students can either leave after three years with a BA or choose to stay on and complete an extended project under the supervision of an academic member of staff (which can be lab or field-based), in addition to advanced research skills training. Progression to the MBiol is contingent on satisfactory academic performance in the first three years.

The Biology degree is taught by the Department of Biology, with almost all teaching taking place in the University’s Science Area. Additional resources include the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, the Botanic Garden, the Herbarium, the Arboretum, the John Krebs Field Station and Wytham Woods.

Skills training is an integral part of teaching across all years and there is a compulsory one-week field trip for all first-year students to study ecology. Compulsory skills training in the first year includes dissections as part of the Organisms module. Skills training in the second year is also compulsory and covers a whole range of more advanced practical and quantitative skills essential for a modern biologist. In the second year, students can choose from a range of extended skills courses that last one or two weeks: examples include ecological fieldwork (in the UK or overseas), genome sequencing and genome editing. In the third year, students specialise on a narrower range of options but skills training continues in the form of journal clubs, group projects and computer classes. Note: any overseas work requires financial contributions from the student.

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A typical week

In the first year, your typical weekly timetable can be broken down into the following categories:

Lectures: around eight hours a week
Research skills: around six hours of laboratory practicals, one hour of computer practicals and one hour of synthesis sessions each week
Tutorials: one hour a week, plus preparation time. In the second, third and fourth years, variable hours are also spent on research projects.

In the second and third years, the lecture and research skills workload remains roughly the same although there is a greater element of choice over the subjects studied. Lectures and practical class sizes will vary depending on the options chosen, ranging from up to 120 students in the class to as few as 20 students in the class. Most tutorials, classes, and lectures are delivered by staff who are tutors in their subject. Many are world-leading experts with years of experience in teaching and research. Some teaching may also be delivered by postgraduate students who are usually studying at doctorate level.

To find out more about how our teaching year is structured, visit our Academic Year page.

Course structure

YEAR 1

COURSES

The three compulsory themes are:
- Diversity of life
- How to build a phenotype
- Ecology and evolution
Compulsory skills training including a mini-project in the first term
A week-long field course in the summer term

ASSESSMENT

Three written exam papers (assessing lecture material and research skills); assessed practical write-ups

YEAR 2

COURSES

In Year 2 there is greater specialisation, and you can choose from three of four themes from:
- Genomes and Host-microbe interactions
- Cell and developmental biology
- Organisms – behaviour and physiology
- Ecology and evolution
Compulsory skills training, including a range of extended skills training courses, lasting for either one or two weeks

ASSESSMENT

Two written exam papers; coursework

YEAR 3

COURSES

The course broadens into a choice of eight options arising from the four second year themes. Students select a minimum of four of the eight options.
Regular skills training regardless of course choices

A full list of current options is available on the Biology website.

ASSESSMENT

Three written exam papers; coursework

YEAR 4 (OPTIONAL MBiol*)

COURSESThe fourth year will give you the chance to pursue an in-depth research project under the supervision of an academic member of staff. There will also be a mini-conference in which all students have the opportunity to present their work to their peers. Progression to the fourth year is contingent on satisfactory academic performance in the first three years, and those who successfully complete the fourth year will leave with an MBiol.

ASSESSMENT

Research project

* Students can choose to leave after three years and graduate with a BA, or they can continue to a fourth year and graduate with an MBiol. Progression to the MBiol is contingent on satisfactory academic performance in the first three years.

The content and format of this course may change in some circumstances. Read further information about potential course changes.

Academic requirements

A-levels:	AAA – Biology and either Chemistry, Physics or Mathematics are required and the A must be in a science or Mathematics (see the full list of subjects in which an A* grade will be acceptable)
Advanced Highers:	AA/AAB
IB:	39 (including core points) – Biology and either Chemistry, Physics or Mathematics are required with 7 in HL Mathematics or a science
Or any other equivalent (see other UK qualifications, and international qualifications)

Wherever possible, your grades are considered in the context in which they have been achieved. (See further information on how we use contextual data.)

Subject requirements

Essential:

Candidates are required to have Biology and either Chemistry, Physics or Mathematics to A-level, Advanced Higher, Higher Level in the IB or another equivalent.

If a practical component forms part of any of your science A‐levels used to meet your offer, we expect you to pass it.

If English is not your first language you may also need to meet our English language requirements.

Applying

All candidates must follow the application procedure as shown in applying to Oxford. The information below gives specific details for students applying for this course. All applicants must apply for the MBiol. Students can choose to leave after three years and graduate with a BA, or they can continue to a fourth year and graduate with an MBiol. Progression to the MBiol is contingent on satisfactory academic performance in the first three years.

Written work and admissions tests

You do not need to take a written test or submit any written work as part of an application for this course.

What are tutors looking for?

Tutors are looking for an enthusiasm for biology and potential to study it at university. Interviews are not designed to test factual knowledge, instead, they show an applicant’s ability to think and to understand the biological knowledge they have accrued up to that time. Be prepared to talk about particular aspects of biology that you find personally interesting. The process is rigorous but sympathetic. Applicants may be asked to examine and comment on biological objects, or to interpret a written passage or a simple set of data, provided during the interview.

Careers

While more than 40% of Oxford biology graduates go on to further study such as a research doctorate or postgraduate course in an applied field, over 40% embark on a professional career after graduating in areas as diverse as education, research, not for profit, health, environmental work, media, marketing, and consultancy.

Hannah, now a research assistant at the Royal Veterinary College, reports: ‘My degree gave me a keen interest in my subject and the skills to pursue it. So far I have tracked rhinos across deserts, chased birds across oceans, and am currently working with chickens!’ After graduation, Jenny spent several years in a medical communication agency environment and now has her own business, working directly with major global pharmaceutical companies. She explains: ‘The tutorial system and writing opportunities during my degree were critical in developing the skills needed to analyse and interpret data, present them clearly and concisely in context and discuss results of clinical trials.’

We don’t want anyone who has the academic ability to get a place to study here to be held back by their financial circumstances. To meet that aim, Oxford offers one of the most generous financial support packages available for UK students and this may be supplemented by support from your college.

Fees

These annual fees are for full-time students who begin this undergraduate course here in 2023.

Fee status	Annual Course fees
Home	£9,250
Overseas	£44,240

Further details about fee status eligibility can be found on the fee status webpage.

For more information please refer to our course fees page. Fees will usually increase annually. For details, please see our guidance on likely increases to fees and charges.

Living costs

Living costs at Oxford might be less than you’d expect, as our world-class resources and college provision can help keep costs down.

Living costs for the academic year starting in 2023 are estimated to be between £1,290 and £1,840 for each month you are in Oxford. Our academic year is made up of three eight-week terms, so you would not usually need to be in Oxford for much more than six months of the year but may wish to budget over a nine-month period to ensure you also have sufficient funds during the holidays to meet essential costs. For further details please visit our living costs webpage.

Financial support

Home

A tuition fee loan is available from the UK government to cover course fees in full for Home (UK, Irish nationals and other eligible students with UK citizens’ rights – see below*) students undertaking their first undergraduate degree**, so you don’t need to pay your course fees up front.

In 2023 Oxford is offering one of the most generous bursary packages of any UK university to Home students with a family income of around £42,875 or less, with additional opportunities available to UK students from households with incomes of £27,500 or less. The UK government also provides living costs support to Home students from the UK and those with settled status who meet the residence requirements.

*For courses starting on or after 1 August 2021, the UK government has confirmed that EU, other EEA, and Swiss Nationals will be eligible for student finance from the UK government if they have UK citizens’ rights (i.e. if they have pre-settled or settled status, or if they are an Irish citizen covered by the Common Travel Area arrangement). The support you can access from the government will depend on your residency status.

See further details.

Islands
(Channel Islands and Isle of Man)

Islands students are entitled to different support to that of students from the rest of the UK.

Please refer the links below for information on the support to you available from your funding agency:

States of Jersey
States of Guernsey
Isle of Man

Overseas

Please refer to the “Other Scholarships” section of our Oxford Bursaries and Scholarships page.

**If you have studied at undergraduate level before and completed your course, you will be classed as an Equivalent or Lower Qualification student (ELQ) and won’t be eligible to receive government or Oxford funding

FEES, FUNDING AND SCHOLARSHIP SEARCH

Additional Fees and Charges Information for Biology

First-year students are required to undertake a one-week residential field course in the summer term. You will study living organisms in a range of environments, both terrestrial and marine, and the content is assessed as part of the first-year examinations. The University covers all costs for this compulsory trip, including food and accommodation.

Towards the end of the second year, you will complete a two-week skills course. A range of courses will be offered and will include three optional fieldtrips away from Oxford:

Tenerife: to study the systematics, diversity and ecology of the local plant communities
Skomer and Wytham: to study the field ecology of birds, split between the island of Skomer and our field-study centre in Oxford
Borneo: to study tropical rainforest ecology of both animals and plants

As a guide, costs for these optional courses in 2019 were £625 for Tenerife, plus whatever students spent on lunches and evening meals during the week, and £950 for Borneo, plus the return flights to Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia. The Skomer/Wytham trip is currently under development but we estimate costs will be in the range of £400-500.

If you stay on for the fourth year, as part of your course requirements, you will undertake a project. Depending on your choice of topic and the research required to complete it, you may have to contribute to costs, but only in exceptional circumstances, for example, if you choose to conduct extensive fieldwork in remote locations.

The new Biology course was introduced for the first time in 2019; hence we do not have any graduates yet. The data on the right relates to the three-year BA in Biological Sciences.

Contextual information

Course data from Discover Uni provides applicants with statistics about undergraduate life at Oxford. But there is so much more to an Oxford degree that the numbers can’t convey.

The Oxford tutorial

College tutorials are central to teaching at Oxford. Typically, they take place in your college and are led by your academic tutor(s) who teach as well as do their own research. Students will also receive teaching in a variety of other ways, depending on the course. This will include lectures and classes, and may include laboratory work and fieldwork. However, tutorials offer a level of personalised attention from academic experts unavailable at most universities.

During tutorials (normally lasting an hour), college subject tutors will give you and one or two tutorial partners feedback on prepared work and cover a topic in depth. The other student(s) in your college tutorials will be from your year group, doing the same course as you and will normally be at your college. Such regular and rigorous academic discussion develops and facilitates learning in a way that isn’t possible through lectures alone. Tutorials also allow for close progress monitoring so tutors can quickly provide additional support if necessary.

College life

Our colleges are at the heart of Oxford’s reputation as one of the best universities in the world.