COURSE OVERVIEW
An academic understanding of ocean life across the world has never been more important. Ocean covers more than 70% of the world’s surface. Its future, the future of its inhabitants and the future of our planet are bound together.
Swansea University is ideally located for marine biology field work. The nearby Gower Peninsula offers a variety of study habitats from rocky shorelines and steep cliffs enclosing small sheltered bays, to sand dunes, salt marsh and estuarine mudflats.
Over the course of this three-year degree you may study the spectacular ecosystems on our doorstep and natural life off distant lands such as India, Borneo and Puerto Rico.
Studying biology at Swansea gives you access to world-leading teaching and cutting edge facilities across ecological, physiological and molecular studies.
If you don’t have the necessary entry requirements to enter on to the first year of a degree, you may be offered a place on a degree course with an integrated foundation year.
WHY MARINE BIOLOGY AT SWANSEA?
Marine Biology at Swansea University has a strong reputation and draws students from across the world.
The College of Science is based on our stunning Singleton Park campus overlooking Swansea Bay.
Biosciences at Swansea is ranked:
consistently highly for student satisfaction, with biology at 90% [National Student Survey 2018]
7th in the UK for Research Excellence [Research Excellence Framework 2014] which informs our teaching
17th in the UK for teaching quality [Times & Sunday Times University Guide 2018]
16th in the UK for graduate prospects [Complete University Guide 2018]
Your learning will be shaped by inspirational and internationally-renowned academics including Professor Rory Wilson – Chief Scientific Consultant behind National Geographic’s Great Migrations, and Dr Richard Unsworth – advisor on the globally acclaimed BBC series Blue Planet II.
YOUR MARINE BIOLOGY EXPERIENCE
You will be taught through a combination of lectures, tutorials, seminars, and discussion groups, supported by practical classes and field courses.
Field courses available near and far allow you to work varied habitats. Recent projects have involved sea turtle migration, whale behaviour, octopus habitat selection and oil pollution.
While most projects are undertaken close to Swansea and the Gower, students have secured placements in locations such as Indonesia, the Caribbean and South Africa. In your final year, you may have the chance to join an international field course in Puerto Rico or Jamaica.
Our state-of-the-art teaching and research facilities include the Centre for Sustainable Aquatic Research, a Zoological Museum, a custom-designed 18-metre catamaran-class survey vessel- R.V Mary Anning and a unique visualisation centre that displays multi-dimensional information from animal tracking data.
MARINE BIOLOGY EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES
Our Biosciences degrees at Swansea University are designed so that you have the skills that today’s employers are looking for. Bioscience graduates have a huge range of career options within sectors which include environmental agencies, fisheries and aquaculture and the biological and biochemical industries.
Our degrees will provide you with an understanding of a wide range of biological and ecology theoretical and practical skills; teach you a range of sampling and survey techniques for both plants and animals and equip you with the practical, taxonomic, numerical and computational skills that are valued and required by many employers.
In addition, you will have the opportunity to develop your essential transferable skills, such as team working, communication, presentation, problem solving, and analytical skills.
Swansea University helps you to prepare for your future career by helping you to find work placements and relevant part-time jobs, offering year in industry options. You will also benefit from working with organisations such as the Bat Conservation Trust, the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust, Gower Bird Hospital and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds.
We offer CV workshop and you will have access to our Employment Zone, which advertises work placements, part time vacancies and graduate jobs. We have dedicated staff who will always be on hand to provide employability support, throughout your studies. We take Employability seriously and you will leave Swansea University with much more than a degree, gaining invaluable life skills and experiences on your journey.