Zoology with Placement Year
University of Sheffield
UCAS Code: C304 | Master of Biological Sciences - MBiolSci
University of Sheffield
UCAS Code: C304 | Master of Biological Sciences - MBiolSci
Entry requirements
A level
including Biology* and a second science (second science subjects include Chemistry, Maths, Further Maths, Physics, Psychology, Environmental Science, Geology or Geography). *Human Biology accepted in lieu of Biology, but Biology and Human Biology cannot be accepted in combination as the two sciences.
Access to HE Diploma
Award of Access to HE Diploma in Science, with 45 credits at Level 3, including 39 at Distinction (to include Biology and a second science), and 6 at Merit
GCSE/National 4/National 5
GCSE Maths and English grade 4/C
International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme
with 6 in Higher Level Biology and a second science (second science subjects include Chemistry, Maths, Physics, Psychology, or Geography)
Leaving Certificate - Higher Level (Ireland) (first awarded in 2017)
including Biology and a second science (second science subjects include Chemistry, Maths, or Physics)
Scottish Advanced Higher
in Biology* and a second science + AAABB in Scottish Highers (second science subjects include Chemistry, Maths, Physics, Psychology, Environmental Science, or Geography) *Human Biology accepted in lieu of Biology, but Biology and Human Biology cannot be accepted in combination as the two sciences.
Welsh Baccalaureate - Advanced Skills Challenge Certificate (last awarded Summer 2024)
+ AA in Biology* and a second science (second science subjects include Chemistry, Maths, Further Maths, Physics, Psychology, Environmental Science, Geology or Geography). *Human Biology accepted in lieu of Biology, but Biology and Human Biology cannot be accepted in combination as the two sciences
UCAS Tariff
We've calculated how many Ucas points you'll need for this course.
About this course
Study animals and biodiversity at every scale. Combining a placement year with our MBiolSci course allows you to gain work experience in industry, before adding an extra year of research training back in the lab in your final year.
**Why study this course?**
- Top 10 in the UK for zoology (Guardian University Guide 2025)
- Get out of the classroom: You'll be learning in the lab, the Peak District, zoos, aquariums and embark on a once-in-a-lifetime field course in the UK or abroad.
- Five-year course: The ultimate kick-start to your career. Gain real-word experience with a placement year, and graduate with a masters degree.
**Our five-year MBiolsci Zoology with Placement Year course is about animals, their evolution, and their interactions with each other, the environment and biodiversity conservation.**
Kick-start your career by spending a year on placement, and then complete a major research project in your final year (known as an integrated masters).
You'll study microbes, invertebrates, birds, fish, mammals, and humans and learn how they evolved, how their physiology works, how they behave, and how they respond to global change. You’ll even discover how their biodiversity is maintained and lost, and use this knowledge to help us address important issues such as tropical wildlife conservation, disease outbreaks, and maintaining functioning ecosystems.
At Sheffield, you’ll be encouraged to be creative, think independently, and express your ideas. You'll be in the lab completing in-depth practicals, and studying animal anatomy and physiology in our Alfred Denny Museum of Zoology. You'll learn off campus too, carrying out fieldwork in the Peak District, visiting zoos, aquariums, and other scientific spots around the country, and embarking on a once-in-a-lifetime field course in the UK or abroad.
As you progress through your degree you’ll have the option to specialise in key areas such as biodiversity conservation, evolutionary biology, genetics or ecological modelling.
No matter what areas of zoology you choose to study, you'll develop practical laboratory and transferable skills that make our graduates attractive to employers, including project management, problem-solving, communication skills, and data analysis.
Your placement year will give you the chance to test out a career path that you're considering. This will take place in year three. Our students have found placements in science and non-science-based roles with a range of organisations including GSK, Wildlife Trusts, the Field Studies Council and the Environment Agency. Some students have even been offered graduate-level jobs at the end of their placement.
All this experience will prepare you for your research project in year four, where you could be laboratory-based, field-based, focus on computer modelling, or even science communication.
Your final year is designed to equip you with advanced laboratory or field research skills, ready for a rewarding career in science. You'll spend the bulk of this year focussed on a major research project in an area of zoology of your choice, and graduate with a masters degree.
Tuition fees
Select where you currently live to see what you'll pay:
What students say
We've crunched the numbers to see if the overall teaching satisfaction score here is high, medium or low compared to students studying this subject(s) at other universities.
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.
Zoology
Teaching and learning
Assessment and feedback
Resources and organisation
Student voice
Who studies this subject and how do they get on?
Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)
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.
Zoology
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.
Top job areas of graduates
Unsurprisingly, the most common job for a zoology graduate on leaving is to work in a zoo or similar organisation - but there are a lot of other options available if you take this subject. Nearly a quarter of graduates take some kind of further qualification when they leave — mostly Masters degrees in zoology or related subjects, like biology or ecology — but a graduate from a zoology course can go into pretty much anything, with science, conservation, management, finance and marketing some of the most popular areas. Zoology graduates are also rather more likely than others to get a job overseas so if an international career appeals to you, this might be a degree to consider.
What about your long term prospects?
Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.
Zoology
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
£28k
£29k
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...
Higher entry requirements
Nearby UniversityLower entry requirementsSame UniversityThis is what the university has told Ucas about the criteria they expect applicants to satisfy; some may be compulsory, others may be preferable.
Have a question about this info? Learn more here
This is the percentage of applicants to this course who received an offer last year, through Ucas.
Have a question about this info? Learn more here
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.
Have a question about this info? Learn more here
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.
Have a question about this info? Learn more here
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.
Have a question about this info? Learn more here
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.
Have a question about this info? Learn more here
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.
Have a question about this info? Learn more here
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.
Have a question about this info? Learn more here
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
Have a question about this info? Learn more here
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
