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Students on campus at Queen Mary, University of London
Queen Mary, University Of London
London

Queen mary (QMUL) biologist graduate- ask me anything (AMA)

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Reply 20
Original post by stefjaie
Thanks for all the help I am feeling less anxious to start the year. One last question, how is the coursework structured and what does it entail?


thats good to hear :biggrin: you shouldnt be nervous, Im sure ull have a great time and will do super well :smile:

In year 1 the coursework for the lecture modules includes in class MCQs, online exercises, essays and reports you do based on the ecology trip :smile: These also have an exam in may which counts 75-80%, so the coursework is only worth 20-25%. There is also a lab module and this module is all coursework based where each lab session is assessed and then between labs have statistic or computer based homework (its really not as bad as it sounds and this module is easy to do well in, as long as you try :smile: ), and at the end of each semester you have a practical lab tests which is just doing the practical work you did all semester long, so there isnt much studying needed for that :smile: I hope that makes sense, and let me know if you have anymore questions :smile:
Students on campus at Queen Mary, University of London
Queen Mary, University Of London
London
Congrats on your first!! I'm doing bio at QMUL right now, just about to start my second year. I've got the recommended textbooks now, but were there any journals, books or other source materials that you thought were good?
Reply 22
Original post by Dixies4Lyfe
Congrats on your first!! I'm doing bio at QMUL right now, just about to start my second year. I've got the recommended textbooks now, but were there any journals, books or other source materials that you thought were good?


ooo yea thats good. The books are good to look up lecture material you didnt understand or maybe some extra examples. The journals I found good were the typical nature, science etc ones, but also using google scholar and looking up key words in it really worked for me. In google scholar looking up key words brings up all different journals, and youll always find something relevant and find journals you didnt even know existed which were useful :smile: what modules did you choose for year 2?
Original post by sunny1111
ooo yea thats good. The books are good to look up lecture material you didnt understand or maybe some extra examples. The journals I found good were the typical nature, science etc ones, but also using google scholar and looking up key words in it really worked for me. In google scholar looking up key words brings up all different journals, and youll always find something relevant and find journals you didnt even know existed which were useful :smile: what modules did you choose for year 2?


Ok thanks for the advice! I'm doing BIO209 Research Methods and Communication obviously, BIO211 Animal and Plant Diversity, BIO213 Cell Biology and Developmental Genetics, BIO215 Comparative & Integrative Physiology, BIO221 Evolutionary Genetics, BIO231 Microbial Physiology and Growth, BIO291 Marine and Animal Diversity, BIO293 Ecological Interactions.

Oh and another thing, you know how in the year one field course we did a write up/essay every night for the next day, is it like that for all of them eg. the scotland trip?
Reply 24
Original post by Dixies4Lyfe
Ok thanks for the advice! I'm doing BIO209 Research Methods and Communication obviously, BIO211 Animal and Plant Diversity, BIO213 Cell Biology and Developmental Genetics, BIO215 Comparative & Integrative Physiology, BIO221 Evolutionary Genetics, BIO231 Microbial Physiology and Growth, BIO291 Marine and Animal Diversity, BIO293 Ecological Interactions.

Oh and another thing, you know how in the year one field course we did a write up/essay every night for the next day, is it like that for all of them eg. the scotland trip?


I did all of the same ones as you except the microbiology one. Honestly dont do evolutionary genetics, if is horrendous. It is taught by richard nichols who never makes any sense and the module is boring and very bad. Many left the exam because they gave up and some even failed. I ended up trying to teach myself the module because it made like almost no sense and the coursework was also bad. So honestly i would advice to swap out of it.

The scotland trip is more heavy on the coursework but it is interesting (plus the exam isnt too bad and is only worh 50%). In scotland you have to make a portfolio where u draw and label the animals you work with and write a bit about them. Then you have lectures everyday for like an hour or so and have a small mcq in the middle of the trip and a bigger test on the last day about the things you learned during your trip. As long as u stay organized and plan your time well you will do fine and will enjoy the module :smile:
Oh no!! I don't think I can change it so late now, and there wasn't any modules other than the ones I have that I liked 😭 thank you for the warning though. You don't know anyone who put their notes online or any youtube video that would help do you? Ah ok the scotland one sounds fun and at least a bit chilled. Thank you!
Reply 26
Original post by Dixies4Lyfe
Oh no!! I don't think I can change it so late now, and there wasn't any modules other than the ones I have that I liked 😭 thank you for the warning though. You don't know anyone who put their notes online or any youtube video that would help do you? Ah ok the scotland one sounds fun and at least a bit chilled. Thank you!


yea I remember that you are always stuck in one or two modules which you have to take cuz you need 8, but usually you can change until the 2nd week of when lectures began, so if you decide to swap to something else you still could. Notes for evo gen or year 2 in general? In my year we made a facebook group with everyone in our year in it where people always posted questions and some posted their notes, but I usually just kept mine on my laptop. Youtube videos there are good ones, if you just google the concept you dont understand there is usually a range of videos to help expalin it (especially for the human body/ cell bio bits) :smile: Yea it is interesting, but your just busy the whole time collecting the animals, lectures, and then studying and doing your portfolios- but it is worth doing i feel :biggrin:
Hey, I'm going to start at QMUL this year (but not for biology). Are the books on the recommended reading list all available in the library to borrow or do you have to spend hundreds on books?

(I'm sorry if someone already asked this question before I couldn't be bothered to look through 3 pages on my tiny phone screen)
Reply 28
Original post by Mesopotamian.
Hey, I'm going to start at QMUL this year (but not for biology). Are the books on the recommended reading list all available in the library to borrow or do you have to spend hundreds on books?

(I'm sorry if someone already asked this question before I couldn't be bothered to look through 3 pages on my tiny phone screen)


Hey it probably depends on what your studying. In biology some were in the librsry and some werent. Even the ones that were in the library were often checked out by other students because there is limited copies of them, but it really depends on what youll be studying since Idk what books are needed in other degrees
Original post by sunny1111
Hey everyone, I just graduated from QMUL with a first in biology. I remember before I went to uni how these forums helped answer some of my questions about university and different courses. Therefore I decided to now make a forum for anyone who has any questions about studying in london, at QMUL, or a degree in biology, to hopefully help some of you out :smile:


A but late but what A Levels did you take? Also what career options do you have>>
If you don't mind me asking, what did you get at AS, GCSE? Also what were your A2 predictions?

Thanks :tongue:
Original post by sunny1111
Hey it probably depends on what your studying. In biology some were in the librsry and some werent. Even the ones that were in the library were often checked out by other students because there is limited copies of them, but it really depends on what youll be studying since Idk what books are needed in other degrees


So if the book you need Isn't there what do you do if you need info from it/take notes? Do you have to buy it or is there some way you can access it online?
Reply 32
Original post by lostplot
A but late but what A Levels did you take? Also what career options do you have>>


I didnt do a levels, i did the IB. Career you can do most things, like i know people going into finance, buisness and that field and others who are going into ecology, research, medical school and things like that. Others are also doing masters in science and some in buisness/ languages etc, so you can go into a range of fields
Ah I meant evo gen specifically, I'm glad I've got warning about it though. Thank you for all your help!!
Original post by Mesopotamian.
Hey, I'm going to start at QMUL this year (but not for biology). Are the books on the recommended reading list all available in the library to borrow or do you have to spend hundreds on books?

(I'm sorry if someone already asked this question before I couldn't be bothered to look through 3 pages on my tiny phone screen)


Recommend books will be given in the first/second week when you start your lectures.
They are also online on QMPlus. If you find the specification for each module, there is a reading list on the specification.

Spending money on books totally depends on what course your doing. For instance, my friend does an English degree and she had spent around £70 on books for her first year because they weren't available. I, on the other hand, I spent about £5 on textbooks as I found a lot of them online 'illegally' as a PDF format.
Most books are in the Library but they do tend to get taken out very quickly.
Older students also sell their books for a very affordable price.
(edited 6 years ago)
Hello,I am currently a student at qm in their first year of a biology degree! I would love if you could offer me advice on essays/mcq's in return for payment! It would be sort of like a tutor relationship, only no timetable and I would just email you questions I have.Please let me know if its a possibility.Thank you
Hi SunnyMy son is thinking of a Biology degree at QMUL. Is there a particular accommodation you would recommend to feel part of the campus and course?ThanksAndy
Original post by andrew.fleck
Hi SunnyMy son is thinking of a Biology degree at QMUL. Is there a particular accommodation you would recommend to feel part of the campus and course?ThanksAndy

Hi Andrew, I would recommend any of the ones that are in the student village. The best ones are France house and any of the ones that end in court e.g Beaumont court and Creed court. If you are trying to budget Feilden, Maynard, and Varey house.

I would warn you that your son should be comfortable with the smell of weed as many people congregate in these areas to smoke on campus -- yes there is security but they are not police so do deal with drugs on campus and also smoke weed themselves. For me, this is not an issue, only when the smell is in the library. This was not a problem in previous years but has really started this year.
Reply 38
Original post by sunny1111
Hey everyone, I just graduated from QMUL with a first in biology. I remember before I went to uni how these forums helped answer some of my questions about university and different courses. Therefore I decided to now make a forum for anyone who has any questions about studying in london, at QMUL, or a degree in biology, to hopefully help some of you out :smile:

hey i just got a conditional offer from QMUL and after looking at the form for booking an offer holding day i found that biology and zoology are used synonymously - i got confused and looked at the website and found that zoology and biology have exactly the same modules! Should i consider this to be a red flag for the course? Did you find that your course in biology was more based on ecology and the biology of organisms besides humans? Do you not teach you much on human biology and do they teach it well?

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