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The University of Edinburgh

UCAS Code: C200 | Bachelor of Science (with Honours) - BSc (Hons)

Entry requirements

A level

A,A,A-A,B,B

AAA - ABB in one set of exams. These grades should be achieved in one set of exams. Required subjects: A levels: Biology and Chemistry, both at B or above. You must have a grade A in one of Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics or Physics. GCSEs: Mathematics or Physics at B or 6 and English at C or 4.

International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme

37-32

37 points with 666 at HL - 32 points with 655 at HL. Required subjects: HL: Biology and Chemistry at 5. SL: Mathematics: Analysis and approaches, Mathematics: Applications and interpretation, or Physics at 6 and English at 5.

Scottish Higher

A,A,B,B

AABB (achievement by end of S5 preferred). BBB must be achieved in one year of S4-S6. Required subjects: Highers: Biology and Chemistry, both at B or above. You must have a grade A in one of Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics, Applications of Mathematics or Physics. Advanced Higher Biology and Chemistry are recommended. National 5s: English at C and Mathematics or Physics at B. We accept Higher Applications of Mathematics at C in place of National 5 Mathematics at B.

UCAS Tariff

120-144

We've calculated how many Ucas points you'll need for this course.

About this course

Course option

4years

Full-time | 2025

Subject

Plant sciences

Whether your interests are in pure or applied science and whether you prefer to work at the environmental, organismal or molecular level, now is an exciting time to be a plant scientist.

As well as conserving biodiversity, we need to develop sustainable systems of plant production to secure supplies of food, fibre and industrial feedstock. In addition, bioenergy and synthetic biology are rapidly expanding areas within which plant science is at the forefront.

On this programme, you will investigate:

* how plants grow and develop

* how they respond to and interact with their environment

* how plants evolve and diversify

* how they are used

**Why Edinburgh?**

We have a strong international reputation for plant science research and offer many research opportunities. This ranges from fundamental topics, such as how plants sense time, to applied studies on the future of food production and the biotechnological use of plants as vaccines.

We study plants ranging from single-celled algae, to liverworts, snapdragons and crop plants to answer a wide variety of biological questions.

There is close collaboration with the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. Your final year project can be based there, or at one of the many plant research institutes in the area.

**Flexibility**

Biological Sciences explores the study of living organisms, covering everything from the interactions of animals in their environment to how genes are expressed.

We offer 12 different biological sciences subject areas, including plant science. Regardless of your initial application choice, you will have the opportunity to explore aspects of each of our programmes in the early years and choose to specialise in whichever one interests you.

Our skills based curriculum will equip you with data analysis, programming and problem-solving skills, as well as teaching you effective communication, and independent thinking, preparing you to be a part of the next generation of scientific thinkers who apply their skills in various contexts.

Tuition fees

Select where you currently live to see what you'll pay:

EU
£36,800
per year
International
£36,800
per year
Scotland
£1,820
per year

The Uni

Course location:

Central area campus

Department:

School of Biological Sciences

Read full university profile

What students say

How do students rate their degree experience?

The stats below relate to the general subject area/s at this university, not this specific course. We show this where there isn’t enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

Plant sciences

Sorry, no information to show

This is usually because there were too few respondents in the data we receive to be able to provide results about the subject at this university.


Who studies this subject and how do they get on?

63%
UK students
37%
International students
32%
Male students
68%
Female students
89%
2:1 or above
5%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

A
A
A

After graduation

The stats in this section relate to the general subject area/s at this university – not this specific course. We show this where there isn't enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

Plant sciences

What are graduates doing after six months?

This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.

£18,500
med
Average annual salary
95%
med
Employed or in further education

Top job areas of graduates

12%
Other elementary services occupations
11%
Science, engineering and production technicians
9%
Sales assistants and retail cashiers

Only a handful of students take botany for a first degree - the subject is mostly studied at Masters or by doctorate-level graduates, usually after a biology degree. Last year's botany graduates were most likely to be working six month after graduation, but it might be a good idea to go on open days and talk to tutors about what previous graduates from your chosen subject went on to do, or to have a look on their website.

What about your long term prospects?

Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.

Plant sciences

The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.

£22k

£22k

£26k

£26k

£33k

£33k

Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.

Explore these similar courses...

Lower entry requirements
place
University of Nottingham | Nottingham
Plant Biology
BSc (Hons) 3 Years Full-time 2025
UCAS Points: 104-141
Higher entry requirements
place
University of Bristol | Bristol
Plant Sciences
BSc (Hons) 3 Years Full-time 2025
UCAS Points: 112-159
Same University
place
The University of Edinburgh | Edinburgh
Pharmacology
BSc (Hons) 4 Years Full-time 2025
UCAS Points: 120-136

This is what the university has told Ucas about the criteria they expect applicants to satisfy; some may be compulsory, others may be preferable.

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This is the percentage of applicants to this course who received an offer last year, through Ucas.

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This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.

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Course location and department:

This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.

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Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF):

We've received this information from the Department for Education, via Ucas. This is how the university as a whole has been rated for its quality of teaching: gold silver or bronze. Note, not all universities have taken part in the TEF.

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This information comes from the National Student Survey, an annual student survey of final-year students. You can use this to see how satisfied students studying this subject area at this university, are (not the individual course).

This is the percentage of final-year students at this university who were "definitely" or "mostly" satisfied with their course. We've analysed this figure against other universities so you can see whether this is high, medium or low.

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This information is from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), for undergraduate students only.

You can use this to get an idea of who you might share a lecture with and how they progressed in this subject, here. It's also worth comparing typical A-level subjects and grades students achieved with the current course entry requirements; similarities or differences here could indicate how flexible (or not) a university might be.

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Post-six month graduation stats:

This is from the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education Survey, based on responses from graduates who studied the same subject area here.

It offers a snapshot of what grads went on to do six months later, what they were earning on average, and whether they felt their degree helped them obtain a 'graduate role'. We calculate a mean rating to indicate if this is high, medium or low compared to other universities.

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Graduate field commentary:

The Higher Education Careers Services Unit have provided some further context for all graduates in this subject area, including details that numbers alone might not show

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The Longitudinal Educational Outcomes dataset combines HRMC earnings data with student records from the Higher Education Statistics Agency.

While there are lots of factors at play when it comes to your future earnings, use this as a rough timeline of what graduates in this subject area were earning on average one, three and five years later. Can you see a steady increase in salary, or did grads need some experience under their belt before seeing a nice bump up in their pay packet?

Have a question about this info? Learn more here