Program Overview

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Key Facts

UCAS Tariff

120 - 104

Course duration

3 years

Course Overview

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.

Modules September start - 2025

Year 1

• Cell Biology *
• Crop, grassland, soil and agricultural land management *
• Genetics, Evolution and Diversity
• Microbial and Plant Diversity *
• Skills for Biologists *

Year 2

• Agronomy and Crop Improvement *
• Climate Change: Plants, Animals and Ecosystems
• Controlled Environment Crop Production and Horticulture
• Research Methods *
• Wildlife Surveying

Year 3

• Frontiers in Plant Science
• Microbial Pathogenesis
• Research Project *

Careers

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.

Teaching & Learning

What will I learn?

In the first year you'll explore the amazing diversity of life on Earth, and gain a thorough grounding in the biology essential to understand biota, including physiology, genetics, cell biology and microbes. You'll look at the fundamental principles of ecology and the relationships between species, covering energy transfer, intra- and inter-species interactions and resource utilisation. You'll learn about soil composition and key soil processes, and will be introduced to the evolution, biodiversity, physiology and human exploitation of the land flora. You'll study the development and management of British habitats, and consider future challenges such as responding to global climate and conserving biodiversity. You'll also develop the necessary practical skills required for research in biology through a series of linked experiments.

In the second year you'll study plant physiology, the horticultural production of plants and crop production. You'll consider habitats, landscapes and the communities of species that reside within them, and gain essential practical skills. You'll acquire species identification and surveying skills and apply them first-hand in a residential field course during the Easter vacation. You'll investigate the impact of climate change as one of the major future challenges to global biodiversity, and apply your learning to problems and solutions through field excursions and practical classes.

In the final year you will gain an appreciation of plant science research and learn about microbial pathogenesis. You can choose to study topics like crop and grassland science or genomics, or take part in field courses, which offer you the chance to visit some of the world’s key biodiversity hotspots and tropical rainforests. A research project will allow you to perform in-depth research under the guidance of a supervisor. Your project may be based on laboratory experiments or fieldwork exercises, comprise a computer modelling exercise or involve data analysis.

How will I be taught?

The course will be delivered through lectures, workshops, tutorials, seminars, field courses and practicals.

Assessment

You will be assessed through essays, practical exercises, oral presentations, worksheets, experiments reports, statistical exercises, posters, wikis, literature reviews, field notebooks and exams.

Student Testimonials

The course is great; I get to cover a large range of topics which allows me to tailor my modules to my own tastes, so I can make my degree course fit my interests and needs. Elizabeth Smith

The course is very broad and caters for the interests of anyone wishing to study biology. The modules in second year allow you to specialize in subject areas that you are interested in. The flexibility of the degree scheme is very attractive to a prospective student who is not yet sure on where their true interests lie. The practicals are diverse and well spread over the academic year and reinforce lecture material. Jodie Ackland

Typical Entry Requirements

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.

The University welcomes undergraduate applications from students studying the Access to Higher Education Diploma or T-level qualifications, provided that relevant subject content and learning outcomes are met. We are not able to accept Access to Higher Education Diplomas or T-levels as a general qualification for every undergraduate degree course.

Our inclusive admissions policy values breadth as well as depth of study. Applicants are selected on their own individual merits and offers can vary. If you would like to check the eligibility of your qualifications before submitting an application, please contact the Undergraduate Admissions Office for advice and guidance.