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Biology is the science of life and is at the forefront of social change, from the use of genetically-modified organisms to humanity’s effect on the environment, sustainable energy and food production. Whether you're looking for a change of career, or may not have the scientific background or entry requirements for a degree in Biology, our Foundation Year offers the opportunity to fill in any knowledge gaps and build your confidence.
As a biology student at Kent you study living organisms and their interactions with the environment, investigating life forms ranging from viruses and bacteria to complex animals and plants. You’ll learn from inspirational academics working at the cutting-edge of research with access to fantastic facilities.
In your foundation year, you study compulsory modules in biology, chemistry and scientific methods, plus a choice of optional modules. On successful completion of the foundation year, you will have reached a standard above A level and so be fully equipped to tackle a BSc degree course.
In the first year of your Biology degree, you will start by gaining an insight into key biological disciplines, including anthropology, biochemistry, cell and molecular biology, evolution, genetics, infection and immunity, microbiology, and the physiology of animals and plants. You’ll gain expertise in laboratory practical work and the analysis and presentation of biological data.
Next you’ll build on this knowledge and develop your skills as a bioscientist, covering areas such as animal form and function, plant physiology and adaptation, gene expression, infection and immunity, and microbial physiology.
In your final year, tailor your degree to your interests through optional modules and a research project of your choice, which may be laboratory, business, computing or communication based.
You can also tailor your degree to suit you by adding a sandwich year, where you’ll undertake a paid role. This will give you the chance to put into practice the skills you’ve learnt and develop new ones, as well as building important connections. You can also expand your horizons with our year abroad, where you'll study at one of our partner institutions.
The University will consider applications from students offering a wide range of qualifications. All applications are assessed on an individual basis but some of our typical requirements are listed below. Students offering qualifications not listed are welcome to contact our Admissions Team for further advice. Please also see our general entry requirements.
DDD including either a Science subject (i.e. Biology, Chemistry, Physics), Sport, Psychology or Mathematics at grade D.
Mathematics grade C/4
The University welcomes applications from Access to Higher Education Diploma candidates for consideration. A typical offer may require you to obtain a proportion of Level 3 credits in relevant subjects at merit grade or above.
The University will consider applicants holding BTEC National Diploma and Extended National Diploma Qualifications (QCF; NQF;OCR) on a case by case basis. Subjects likely to be acceptable are Applied Science, Biomedical Science and Medical Science. Typical offers when made are Merit, Merit, Pass. Please contact us via the enquiries tab for further advice on your individual circumstances.
24 points overall or 11 points from three HL subjects including HL Science subject, Sport, Psychology or Maths at 4 or SL Science subject, Sport, Psychology or Maths at 6
N/A
The University will consider applicants holding T level qualifications in subjects closely aligned to the course.
Please contact the School for more information at studynats@kent.ac.uk.
If you are an international student, visit our International Student website for further information about entry requirements for your country, including details of the International Foundation Programmes. Please note that international fee-paying students who require a Student visa cannot undertake a part-time programme due to visa restrictions.
Please note that meeting the typical offer/minimum requirement does not guarantee that you will receive an offer.
Please see our English language entry requirements web page.
Please note that if you do not meet our English language requirements, we offer a number of 'pre-sessional' courses in English for Academic Purposes. You attend these courses before starting your degree programme.
Duration: 4 years full-time
The following modules are indicative of those offered on this programme. This listing is based on the current curriculum and may change year to year in response to new curriculum developments and innovation.
The modules for Stages 1-3 of the degree course can be viewed on the Biology - BSc (Hons) page.
The 2023/24 annual tuition fees for this course are:
For details of when and how to pay fees and charges, please see our Student Finance Guide.
For students continuing on this programme, fees will increase year on year by no more than RPI + 3% in each academic year of study except where regulated.*
The University will assess your fee status as part of the application process. If you are uncertain about your fee status you may wish to seek advice from UKCISA before applying.
Find out more about accommodation and living costs, plus general additional costs that you may pay when studying at Kent.
We have a range of subject-specific awards and scholarships for academic, sporting and musical achievement.
Search scholarshipsKent offers generous financial support schemes to assist eligible undergraduate students during their studies. See our funding page for more details.
At Kent we recognise, encourage and reward excellence. We have created the Kent Scholarship for Academic Excellence.
The scholarship will be awarded to any applicant who achieves a minimum of A*AA over three A levels, or the equivalent qualifications (including BTEC and IB) as specified on our scholarships pages.
Teaching includes lectures, laboratory classes, workshops, problem-solving sessions and tutorials. You have an Academic Adviser who you meet with at regular intervals to discuss your progress, and most importantly, to identify ways in which you can improve your work further so that you reach your full potential.
Most modules are assessed by a combination of continuous assessment and end-of-year exams. Exams take place at the end of the academic year and count for 50% or more of the module mark. Stage 1 assessments do not contribute to the final degree classification, but all stage 2 and 3 assessments do, meaning that your final degree award is an average of many different components. On average, 29% of your time is spent in an activity lead by an academic; the rest of your time is for independent study.
For a student studying full time, each academic year of the programme will comprise 1200 learning hours which include both direct contact hours and private study hours. The precise breakdown of hours will be subject dependent and will vary according to modules. Please refer to the individual module details under Course Structure.
Methods of assessment will vary according to subject specialism and individual modules. Please refer to the individual module details under Course Structure.
The programme aims to:
You gain knowledge and understanding of:
You gain the following intellectual abilities:
You gain subject-specific skills in the following:
You gain transferable skills in the following:
Over 88% of final-year Biology students at Kent were satisfied with the quality of teaching on their course in The Guardian University Guide 2023.
Our graduates have gone on to work in:
Recent graduates have also worked in a wide range of non-scientific careers including teaching, marketing, sales, banking, accountancy, the police force and social work.
The School of Biosciences runs employability events with talks from alumni outlining their career paths since graduation.
The University has a friendly Careers and Employability Service, which can give you advice on how to:
You graduate with an excellent grounding in scientific knowledge and extensive laboratory experience. In addition, you also develop the key transferable skills sought by employers, such as:
You can also gain new skills by signing up for one of our Kent Extra activities, such as learning a language or volunteering.
All of our Biology degrees are accredited by the Royal Society of Biology (RSB), and our four-year Biology with a Sandwich Year programme has Advanced Accreditation. Students graduating from Society of Biology recognised courses are eligible for Associate Membership and are entitled to two years’ Associate Membership at half price.
If you are from the UK or Ireland, you must apply for this course through UCAS. If you are not from the UK or Ireland, you can apply through UCAS or directly on our website if you have never used UCAS and you do not intend to use UCAS in the future.
Find out more about how to apply
T: +44 (0)1227 823254
E: internationalstudent@kent.ac.uk
Discover Uni is designed to support prospective students in deciding whether, where and what to study. The site replaces Unistats from September 2019.
Discover Uni is jointly owned by the Office for Students, the Department for the Economy Northern Ireland, the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales and the Scottish Funding Council.
It includes:
Find out more about the Unistats dataset on the Higher Education Statistics Agency website.