Course summary

Our four-year course is designed to give you the best start for a career in industrial or academic research. Zoology is the study of animals at every scale. We study everything from anatomy and physiology to behaviour and evolution, whilst also studying the impacts of biodiversity, conservation and trade. Our courses in Zoology span microbes, invertebrates, birds, fish, mammals and humans and allow you to focus on tropical, urban, terrestrial, marine and freshwater ecosystems. You’ll learn how all kinds of animals evolved and why there are so many species, how their physiology works, how they behave, and how they respond to global change. You’ll discover how they transmit disease and how their biodiversity is maintained and lost. You’ll use this knowledge to help us to address important issues such as global wildlife trade, the conservation of biodiversity, disease outbreaks and maintaining ecosystems that deliver freshwater, recreation and food to humans. The first three years of your course will have the same structure as the BSc, with your fourth year devoted to a major research project in the field or in the lab, focused on everything from genetics to biodiversity and climate change, you’ll work alongside our world-leading zoologist academics. You'll cover three main themes at Sheffield:

• Comparative physiology - the functional characteristics of animals;

• Evolutionary biology - how animals adapt to their environment, and their genetics,

• Behaviour, ecology and conservation - how animals interact with their environment and each other to support biodiversity on the planet.