BSc Plant Biology

Plants provide an essential foundation for life on earth, the food we eat and the beauty of the natural environment. The Plant Biology degree scheme at Aberystwyth enables you to study plant life in all its aspects, from the molecular to the ecological. It encompasses some of the issues that are of worldwide importance to plants, such as the implication of genetic modification of crops and global climate change.

Mid Wales is an excellent centre for this degree scheme as a wide range of habitats are within easy reach, including oak woodlands, coastal sand dunes, salt-marshes, raised bogs, freshwater lakes and uplands. There are close links with the National Botanic Garden of Wales and the Institute of Grassland and Environmental Research which are also located nearby. The Institute of Biological Sciences has an extensive suite of tropical and temperate glasshouses, plant growth rooms and its own botanical collection.

After completing a common first year, which includes studies of the structure and function of plants, their physiology, ecology and classification, you take some core modules in the second and third years but are able to tailor your degree scheme through your choice of optional modules. These include local field studies, and trips to Northern Spain and Western Ireland, as well as biotechnological and physiological modules.

Research and individual project work are key elements in the final year of study. You undertake an individual project which gives you the opportunity to develop field or laboratory skills in an area of your choice.