Plant Biology (with integrated year in industry),BSc

The taught component of the Plant Biology with integrated year in industry degree (C202) is identical to the standard three-year BSc Plant Biology (C200). The year in industry is taken in your third year in the UK or overseas, is supervised and assessed, and will count towards your degree grade. During your year in industry, you will pay a discounted tuition fee.

Why study Plant Biology at Aberystwyth University?

BSc Plant Biology will provide you with real-life opportunities to challenge your knowledge and think creatively. You will benefit from many fieldwork opportunities looking at both environmental and agricultural scenarios.

At Aberystwyth, you will be studying in an area rich in a variety of stunning landscapes and beautiful habitats, including marine, moorland, mountain, woodland and grassland ecosystems, offering a fabulous variety of fieldwork and recreational opportunities.

Many nature reserves are within easy reach, including Snowdonia and the Brecon Beacons National Parks.

Our world-class facilities include botany gardens with a wide range of temperate and tropical plants, an extensive range of growth rooms and glasshouses, a museum of historic botanical specimens, and plant genetic resources collections and databases. We are also home to the National Plant Phenomics Centre, giving you the possibility of engaging with our world-leading plant breeding programmes.

Aberystwyth also has its very own and unique ‘Phyte Club’ where students from across the University assemble weekly to botanise at our Botanical Garden, in horticultural glasshouses and the field.

Our Staff

The majority of teaching staff in the Department of Life Sciences are qualified to PhD level and are research active. Vocational courses also have staff whose background lies within industry. The Department has a large number of research only staff with whom students may have contact.

UCAS Tariff 120 - 104

A Levels BBB-BCC with B in Biology

GCSE requirements (minimum grade C/4):
English or Welsh, Science and Mathematics

BTEC National Diploma:
DDD-DDM in a specified subject

International Baccalaureate:
30-28 with 5 points in Biology at Higher Level

European Baccalaureate:
75%-65% overall with 7 in Biology

English Language Requirements:
See our Undergraduate English Language Requirements for this course. Pre-sessional English Programmes are also available for students who do not meet our English Language Requirements.

Country Specific Entry Requirements:
International students whose qualification is not listed on this page, can check our Country Specific Entry Requirements for further information.

Career opportunities for Plant Scientists are truly excellent, with many jobs and few trained scientists in this area, and we are perfectly placed to help you exploit UK and international links. Our graduates are working in conservation management, industrial and government-funded plant research institutes and the scientific civil service.

How will my degree prepare me for the future?

Employability is embedded in our teaching. Our students leave Aberystwyth University with:

• research and data analysis skills
• enhanced mathematical and computational skills
• effective problem-solving and creative thinking skills
• a thorough grounding in information technology skills
• the ability to work independently
• time-management and organisational skills, including the ability to meet deadlines
• the ability to express ideas and communicate information in a clear and structured manner, in both written and oral form
• self-motivation and self-reliance
• team-working, with the ability to discuss concepts in groups, accommodating different ideas and reaching agreement.

Completing a year in industry will allow you to:

• apply the learning from your course to the work environment
• make valuable industry contacts
• develop practical skills related to your area of study
• enrich your final year of studies with an enhanced appreciation of its applicability to your career
• greatly enhance your CV and increase your prospects of success in the job market.