International Foundation Year in Sciences Life Sciences and the Environment (2 Semesters), Leading to Bachelor of Science (Hons) in Biology with a Year in Industry Study Group - Royal Holloway University of London International Study Centre, UK

International Foundation Year in Sciences Life Sciences and the Environment
The International Foundation Year in Sciences Life Sciences and the Environment is designed to prepare you for the first year of your undergraduate degree at Royal Holloway. This is a fast-paced, three-term foundation programme, specifically designed for international students interested in beginning their international education journey.

What you will study
The programme consists of core and optional modules. Core modules will improve your academic and English language skills, and optional modules will teach you more about your chosen progression degree.

Once you have successfully completed your International Foundation Year and achieved the required progression grades, you will be well-equipped to start your undergraduate degree at Royal Holloway.

Leading to: Biology with a Year in Industry BSc (Hons)

Biology helps us to understand the world around us – the way that plants and animals interact, the way that different living things evolve and adapt and our own role in the wider natural world. Biology at Royal Holloway, University of London gives you a sound understanding of the structure, function, evolution and diversity of living organisms and the interactions between them.

Our flexible degree structure allows you to tailor your course to your own interests, even within the first year. You will gain a foundation in cell biology and genetics, and study evolution, biological data analysis, and plant life. You may select from a very wide range of modules that include studies at molecular, organ, organism and ecosystem levels.

You will gain practical experience across this four year degree. In your first and second years you will attend laboratory-based and field-based practicals. After your placement, in your final year, you will join our renowned research culture as you complete your individual research project alongside academics with expertise in a wide range of research areas. Your topic may be from biomedical, environmental, microbial or plant sciences, and you may choose to use a laboratory, field, or computer-based approach.

You’ll gain invaluable laboratory experience across your degree. In your fourth year you will complete an individual project, becoming part of our renowned research culture. 100% of our research impact in the Department  of Biological Sciences was judged to be 4* and 3* world-leading and internationally excellent in terms of its originality, significance and rigour in the latest Research Excellence Framework (REF21). This places the department in the top 25% of departments nationally for research impact. Many of our former students have contributed to published scientific papers, and our low student-to-staff ratio maximises your contact time with our internationally respected and enthusiastic academics.

You will also develop a range of transferable skills that you will need to impress potential employers, alongside experience of working in teams, project management, resilience, determination and strong organisational skills.

Our year in industry degrees are highly valued by employers and they give you the chance to gain first-hand experience of the world of work and to apply your learning to real-world scenarios. Your year in industry will start at the end of year 2.

• Tailor your studies to suit your specific interests in your second and fourth years.
• Learn on a biodiverse campus in reach of sites of special scientific interest.
• Develop an understanding of how to design and analyse ecological experiments.
• Examine the major theories that seek to explain animal behaviour.
• Equip yourself with the skills needed to work in a wide range of sectors.

From time to time, we make changes to our courses to improve the student and learning experience. If we make a significant change to your chosen course, we’ll let you know as soon as possible.