Program Overview

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Plant Biology

Key Facts

• UCAS Tariff:
• Course duration: 4 years
• Available for September start 2025

Course Overview

This four-year course includes an integrated foundation year, after which the syllabus follows that of the standard three-year course, BSc Plant Biology (C200).

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.

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 undertake a range of lab and field procedures and gain the appropriate skills and knowledge for further study in ecology.

In the second 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.

In the third year you'll study plant physiology, the horticultural production of plants and crop production.

In your final year you'll gain an appreciation of plant science research and learn about microbial pathogenesis.

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:
• A Levels: Available to those who are studying for, or who have completed Level 3 qualifications (eg, A-Levels or BTEC diploma) and to mature-aged candidates without formal qualifications who have suitable background education, experience and motivation.
• GCSE requirements (minimum grade C/4): English or Welsh, Mathematics and Science ((minimum grade C/4)
• BTEC National Diploma: Available to those who are studying for, or who have completed Level 3 qualifications (eg, A-Levels or BTEC diploma) and to mature-aged candidates without formal qualifications who have suitable background education, experience and motivation.
• International Baccalaureate: Available to those who are studying for, or who have completed Level 3 qualifications (eg, A-Levels or BTEC diploma) and to mature-aged candidates without formal qualifications who have suitable background education, experience and motivation.
• European Baccalaureate: Available to those who are studying for, or who have completed Level 3 qualifications (eg, A-Levels or BTEC diploma) and to mature-aged candidates without formal qualifications who have suitable background education, experience and motivation.
• 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.

Modules

Year 1

• Communication Skills (BR01520) - 20 credits
• Molecules and Cells (BR01340) - 40 credits
• Organisms and the Environment (BR01440) - 40 credits
• Practical Skills for Biologists (BR01220) - 20 credits

Year 2

• Cell Biology (BR17520) - 20 credits
• Crop, grassland, soil and agricultural land management (BR18040) - 40 credits
• Genetics, Evolution and Diversity (BR17120) - 20 credits
• Microbial and Plant Diversity (BR19920) - 20 credits
• Skills for Biologists (BR16820) - 20 credits

Year 3

• Agronomy and Crop Improvement (BR27620) - 20 credits
• Climate Change: Plants, Animals and Ecosystems (BR21120) - 20 credits
• Controlled Environment Crop Production and Horticulture (BR23520) - 20 credits
• Research Methods (BR27520) - 20 credits

Year 4

• Frontiers in Plant Science (BR35820) - 20 credits
• Microbial Pathogenesis (BR33720) - 20 credits
• Research Project (BR36440) - 40 credits

Options

• An Introduction to Landscape Ecology and Geographic Information Systems (BR25520) - 20 credits
• Applied Molecular Biology and Bioinformatics (BR20620) - 20 credits
• Aquatic Botany (BR25820) - 20 credits
• Wildlife Surveying (BR29620) - 20 credits
• Advances in Crop and Grassland Production (BR37220) - 20 credits
• Bioinformatics and Functional Genomics (BR37120) - 20 credits
• Sustainable Land Management (BR30420) - 20 credits
• Terrestrial Ecology Fieldcourse (BR36620) - 20 credits