Ecology and Wildlife Conservation with Foundation University of Reading

Overview

Key facts

• BSc Ecology and Wildlife Conservation with Foundation offered by the University of Reading is a four-year programme that includes a year of foundational study and leads directly into the three-year course.
• This course will equip you with the skills you need for a career in ecology or wildlife conservation through a combination of classroom learning and hands-on experience in the field. You will learn to apply knowledge of ecosystems to environmental issues such as habitat conservation, the biological control of diseases, and the protection of the world's rarest plants and creatures. 
• Most of our staff are actively engaged in research, and our work on wildlife ecology and conservation feeds into undergraduate teaching. 97% of School of Biological Sciences students said teaching staff are good at explaining things (National Student Survey 2024, 97.31% of responders). You will also have the opportunity to take part in original research with a potentially global impact.
• The University of Reading’s award-winning campus is home to more than a thousand different animal species and is extremely useful for learning fieldwork skills. It offers multiple habitats for study, including lakes, hay meadows and woodlands, and allows you to step straight from the laboratory to the field. Additionally, the University owns a number of large farms, which can be used as sites for final-year projects.
• Our £60m Health and Life Sciences building is the home of the School of Biological Sciences. It offers state-of-the-art research and teaching laboratories, seminar rooms, and plenty of study and social space, including a café. The building also houses the Cole Museum of Zoology. The collection, featuring over 3,500 natural history specimens, provides a fantastic resource for biological scientists and the wider community.
• You will also be able to practise species identification and ecology skills through field trips to Spain and the tropics. These will also enable you to study biodiversity in other habitats such as arid landscapes, forests and oceans.
• Furthermore, you can carry out a year-long industrial placement between the third and final years, in order to gain valuable industrial experience. You can also choose to do a short summer placement module. We have strong links with a number of ecological organisations including the RSPB, Environment Agency, and a range of wildlife trusts.

Accreditation

This programme has been accredited by the Royal Society of Biology (RSB) following an independent and rigorous assessment.