Bachelor of Science in Ecology and Environmental Biology (with Year Abroad) University of Essex - Colchester Campus, UK

Our BSc Ecology and Environmental Biology course explores the diversity of the living world, across levels of biological organisation, from genes to individuals, their populations, and the communities they form, up to entire ecosystems.

Building on research produced in our School of Life Sciences, you will examine these concepts across terrestrial, marine, and freshwater systems, examining taxa from smallest microbes to the largest organisms on Earth.

This course investigates the role biodiversity plays in supporting ecosystem functions and the flow of ecosystem services on which humanity depends, alongside how biodiversity and ecosystem functioning are changing in response to multiple interacting stressors (eg climate change, chemical pollution, habitat loss etc.) as we progress in the Anthropocene.

You will develop strong practical and data-handling skills for management solutions to tackle the challenges to ecosystems that the Anthropocene brings. You will also have the option to train in tropical marine biology in Indonesia, and environmental biology and ecology in our new Arctic field course.

Study abroad

Your education extends beyond the university campus. We support you in expanding your education through offering the opportunity to spend either a year or a single term studying abroad at one of our partner universities. The four-year version of our degree allows you to spend an entire year abroad either at a partner University or employed in a relevant job (see below).

Studying abroad allows you to experience other cultures and languages, to broaden your degree socially and academically, and to demonstrate to employers that you are adaptable and mature.

If you spend a full year abroad you'll only pay 15% of your usual tuition fee that year. You won't pay any tuition fees to your host university.

Our students currently study abroad at universities in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, USA, Germany and Sweden.