**Study animals and biodiversity at every scale. Youll learn how animals function, how to conserve biodiversity, and how evolution works. Then spend a year on a work placement as part of your degree, putting what youve learnt into practice, and testing out a career youre considering.**
**Why study this course?**
- Top 10 in the UK for zoology (Guardian University Guide 2025)
- Get out of the classroom: Youll be learning in the lab, the Peak District, zoos, aquariums and embark on a once-in-a-lifetime field course in the UK or abroad.
- Build ...
**Study animals and biodiversity at every scale. Youll learn how animals function, how to conserve biodiversity, and how evolution works. Then spend a year on a work placement as part of your degree, putting what youve learnt into practice, and testing out a career youre considering.**<br/><br/>**Why study this course?**<br/>- Top 10 in the UK for zoology (Guardian University Guide 2025)<br/><br/><br/>- Get out of the classroom: Youll be learning in the lab, the Peak District, zoos, aquariums and embark on a once-in-a-lifetime field course in the UK or abroad.<br/><br/><br/>- Build connections and a career: Our students secure placements with organisations including GSK, Atkins Environmental Consulting, Wildlife Trusts, Newquay Zoo and the government.<br/><br/><br/>**Our four-year BSc Zoology with Placement Year course is about animals, their evolution, and their interactions with each other, the environment and biodiversity conservation.**<br/><br/>Youll study microbes, invertebrates, birds, fish, mammals, and humans and learn how they evolved, how their physiology works, how they behave, and how they respond to global change.<br/><br/>You’ll even discover how their biodiversity is maintained and lost, and use this knowledge to help us address important issues such as tropical wildlife conservation, disease outbreaks, and maintaining functioning ecosystems. Youll then apply what youve learnt and gain real-world experience during a year-long placement as a recognised part of your degree.<br/><br/>At Sheffield, you’ll be encouraged to be creative, think independently, and express your ideas. Youll be in the lab completing in-depth practicals, and studying animal anatomy and physiology in our Alfred Denny Museum of Zoology. Youll learn off campus too, carrying out fieldwork in the Peak District, visiting zoos, aquariums, and other scientific spots around the country, and embarking on a once-in-a-lifetime field course in the UK or abroad.<br/><br/>As you progress through your degree, you’ll have the option to specialise in key areas such as biodiversity conservation, evolutionary biology, genetics or ecological modelling.<br/><br/>No matter what areas of zoology you choose to study, youll develop practical laboratory and transferable skills that make our graduates attractive to employers, including project management, problem-solving, communication skills, and data analysis.<br/><br/>Your placement year will give you the chance to test out a career path that youre considering. This will take place in year three. Our students have found placements in science and non-science-based roles with a range of organisations including GSK, Wildlife Trusts, the Field Studies Council and the Environment Agency. Some students have even been offered graduate-level jobs at the end of their placement.<br/><br/>All this experience will prepare you for your final-year research project, where you could be laboratory based, field-based, focus on computer modelling, or even science communication.
1 option available
Some courses vary and have tailored teaching options, select a course option below.
Course Details
Information
Study Mode
Full-time
Duration
4 Years
Start Date
29/09/2025
Campus
Main Site
29 January
Application deadline
Provider Details
Codes/info
Course Code
C305
Institution Code
S18
Points of Entry
Year 1
Not Accepted
D:36,M:9,P:0
Award of Access to HE Diploma in Science, with 45 credits at Level 3, including 36 at Distinction (to include Biology and a second science), and 9 at Merit
34
with 6,5 in Higher Level Biology and a second science (second science subjects include Chemistry, Maths, Physics, Psychology, or Geography)
Not Accepted
H2,H2,H2,H2,H2,H3
including Biology and a second science (second science subjects include Chemistry, Maths, or Physics)
GCSE Maths and English grade 4/C
Not Accepted
A,B
in Biology* and a second science + AABBB in Scottish Highers (second science subjects include Chemistry, Maths, Physics, Psychology, Environmental Science, or Geography) *Human Biology accepted in lieu of Biology, but Biology and Human Biology cannot be accepted in combination as the two sciences.
A,A,B
including Biology* and a second science (second science subjects include Chemistry, Maths, Further Maths, Physics, Psychology, Environmental Science, Geology or Geography). *Human Biology accepted in lieu of Biology, but Biology and Human Biology cannot be accepted in combination as the two sciences.
Not Accepted
B
+ AA in Biology* and a second science (second science subjects include Chemistry, Maths, Further Maths, Physics, Psychology, Environmental Science, Geology or Geography). *Human Biology accepted in lieu of Biology, but Biology and Human Biology cannot be accepted in combination as the two sciences
Find more courses from University of Sheffield with our undergraduate course search.
Region | Costs | Academic Year | Year |
---|---|---|---|
England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales | £9,535 | 2025/26 | Year 1 |
International | £30,570 | 2025/26 | Year 1 |