Program Overview

The BSc Biology and Climate Change degree course at Aberystwyth University explores how Earth’s climate system relies on many interrelated pieces working together to function, the various factors driving climate change, and creative ways of responding to the challenges and opportunities of the current climate crisis. BSc Biology and Climate Change will equip you with relevant subject-specific knowledge alongside the multi-disciplinary, interpersonal skills and attributes needed if you want to play a part in creating a more just and sustainable world. If your future intentions involve having a positive impact, this course will set you securely on that rewarding journey.

You will study the impacts of Climate Change on the living world, from organisms to entire ecosystems, and their implications for the conservation of biodiversity. During your course, you will learn a range of practical laboratory and field-based skills alongside the theoretical knowledge that underpins the subject. In some modules, you will also work alongside students from other Departments (International Politics, Business, and English and Creative Writing) and you will be encouraged to look at the subject from different perspectives.

On this degree, you will learn about the science underpinning climate, and how human activity has effected changes to these processes in recent times. You will explore the impacts of climate change on biodiversity at the level of species, habitats, and ecosystems, and the scope of organisms and populations to evolve in the light of this threat. By working across disciplines, you will learn the need for both scientific research and governance in tackling these important issues.

Aberystwyth and the surrounding area has a great variety of local habitats and ecosystems, both marine and terrestrial – an ideal location to study the impacts of climate change on biodiversity, and the scope for mitigation. You will have the opportunity to carry out field research, both locally and abroad, and to work with established academic researchers who work on various aspects of the past, present and future effects of global climate change on natural ecosystems.