Biology

Biology at Oxford is a very broad-based course that reflects the ubiquitous importance of Biology is every aspect of our lives and futures.  This enables our students to make an informed decision about which areas interest them most as they move through this 4-year integrated master’s degree (MBiol). 

Teaching

Biology teaching at Somerville is led by our two Tutorial Fellows in Biology, Michelle Jackson, and Emily Flashman, and our Senior Lecturer, Timothy Walker. Michelle’s research investigates the ecology of freshwater habitats that contain a very high level of biological diversity, but which are particularly vulnerable to climate change and habitat transformation. Emily’s work investigates how enzymes in plants sense and respond to stress, such as flooding, and whether these enzymes can be engineered to increase stress resilience. Timothy worked as director of the University’s Botanic Garden and Arboretum for 26 years before coming to Somerville, and he teaches all aspects of whole plant biology including conservation.

In the first year Somerville students will have the same tutorials, all of which are given by the Somerville tutors. Three broad areas are covered in both lectures and tutorials: building a phenotype (cells & genes), the diversity of life (organisms), and evolution and ecology. There are also practicals and a one-week field trip to Slapton in Devon, where students gain experience in everything from rocky-shore ecology to camera trapping and bird ringing.

In the second year everyone studies statistics and the scientific method, but after that there is some choice with students selecting a minimum of 3 out of 4 possible themes. These themes are: (1) genomes & host-microbe interactions; (2) cell & developmental biology; (3) organisms: behaviour & physiology; and (4) evolutionary ecology including conservation.  Students choose from whom they receive their weekly tutorial. These are offered by tutors in Somerville and the other 20 colleges that take biology students. At the end of the second year there are research skills courses involving the University’s museum collections, research laboratories, and field trips to Dorset, Ireland, and Borneo.

In the third year there are eight modules from which students select a minimum of four to study. These fall broadly under the same headings as the second year. Again, students can choose from whom they receive a tutorial each week. Some students choose to leave after 3 years, but most carry on for a fourth year to carry out a substantial research project within one of the University’s biology research groups.  This is normally on a subject covered in the first three years of the course and may be in the field or a laboratory.  The course is rounded off with a dissertation and presentation of this work, and perhaps even your name on a scientific paper in an international journal.

Somerville’s biologists benefit from living a 10-minute walk from the brand-new Biology building with its state of the art lecture theatres and teaching laboratories.  In addition, the University has exceptional resources for teaching biology, which include the Botanic Garden and Arboretum, the Natural History Museum, the University Herbarium, Wytham Woods and the University Parks.

For more details of the course, please visit the University website: https://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate/courses-listing/biology.

Community

Somerville accepts six students each year to read Biology. Somerville has an exceptional library of books covering all aspects of the course. Professor Jackson and Timothy Walker are the joint chairs of the College Sustainability Working Group, and many biology students choose to become involved with this or other sustainability efforts in the college and University.

Many distinguished biologists have studied or taught at Somerville, including Victoria Braithwaite, the first person to demonstrate that fish feel pain, and Professor Dame Angela McLean, professor of Mathematical Biology and Chief Scientific Advisor to the UK Government. The Professor of Ethology Marian Stamp Dawkins is also an alumna who is internationally recognised for her pioneering work on animal welfare. 

Next Steps

Studying biology at Somerville opens many doors for your future career. Approximately 40% of Oxford biologists go on to further research or a course in an applied field, while others opt for careers in teaching, practical conservation, the civil service, and consultancy, to name some paths.