You have flexibility in your second and third years. For your final year project, you will work on a detailed study of a topic chosen from a suitable area of your course. Various teaching methods are used including lectures, practicals, tutorials, seminars and surgeries. As well as organised fieldwork based in Oxford, you will participate in field courses at other locations, currently in Devon and Southern France, and you will be able to visit a number of nationally important biological establishments 'behind the scenes', such as Zeneca, Kew Gardens and Whipsnade Zoo. There are opportunities to study abroad, both in Europe and the USA, through the international exchange programme.
Examinations also form an essential part of the assessment of most modules.
Career Prospects Environmental Biology graduates are well equipped for employment in the environmental field. They have a solid grounding in ecological techniques, a good grasp of methods of analysis and identification techniques and an awareness of the broad implications of their study, as well as specialist knowledge in their chosen subject areas. Our graduates compete successfully for jobs in environmental bodies, the scientific civil service, consultancies and local authorities as trainee environmental health officers. Many also continue in higher education, studying for higher degrees or training to be teachers. This subject was awarded 23 out of 24 in the Biological Science and Environmental Sciences Subject Review by the Quality Assurance Agency in 2000.