Zoology or Ecology - Help!!!

Hey everyone,
Super stuck on whether I want to go down the route of ecology or zoology at university - I really want to work in conservation or research and don't know which would set me up better for the future, or which I would enjoy more. I'm looking at doing a Masters and I think my final 5 are going to be Bangor, Manchester, Lancaster, York and Nottingham. (I'm predicted A* A* A* A if that helps, and I do Maths, Biology, Chemistry and Spanish.) Thank you!!!!!

Reply 1

University of York

Official Rep

13

Original post by tmbnty

Hey everyone,
Super stuck on whether I want to go down the route of ecology or zoology at university - I really want to work in conservation or research and don't know which would set me up better for the future, or which I would enjoy more. I'm looking at doing a Masters and I think my final 5 are going to be Bangor, Manchester, Lancaster, York and Nottingham. (I'm predicted A* A* A* A if that helps, and I do Maths, Biology, Chemistry and Spanish.) Thank you!!!!!

Hello, I'd recommend contacting the departments running the courses and ask them what units they include, no two ecology/zoology courses will be alike so it's really down to which units you most want to do. You never know, one course might be perfect for you and another not right at all. These are our ecology course units and biology admissions will be very happy to hear from you if you want to drop them an email: [email protected]

Good luck wherever you go, they're both fascinating subjects 🙂

Elizabeth

Reply 2

University of Plymouth Undergraduate Student Rep

Official Rep

12

Original post by tmbnty

Hey everyone,
Super stuck on whether I want to go down the route of ecology or zoology at university - I really want to work in conservation or research and don't know which would set me up better for the future, or which I would enjoy more. I'm looking at doing a Masters and I think my final 5 are going to be Bangor, Manchester, Lancaster, York and Nottingham. (I'm predicted A* A* A* A if that helps, and I do Maths, Biology, Chemistry and Spanish.) Thank you!!!!!

Hiya! I'm a current zoology student at the University of Plymouth ☺️ Great to hear you're considering the same area!

I'm currently in my second year and the modules at this university have been very broad so far with lots of overlap with similar courses (conservation biology etc.) and have had specific modules on ecology. If you're interested in this area of ecology but also conservation, I definitely recommend zoology as, from my experience at Plymouth, we have a broad range of modules on different areas and gain lots of practical experience in both areas from field courses, lab sessions, and workshops. I'm also planning to do a masters, after my undergraduate, at Plymouth, too!

If you have any questions about zoology, Plymouth, or anything in general, feel free to reach out! We also have a zoology ambassador on our unibuddy site if you'd like to chat with another zoology student!

Best of luck! 😄

-Alfie, University of Plymouth Undergraduate Student Ambassador

Reply 3

artful_lounger

Universities Forum Helper

21

Original post by tmbnty

Hey everyone,
Super stuck on whether I want to go down the route of ecology or zoology at university - I really want to work in conservation or research and don't know which would set me up better for the future, or which I would enjoy more. I'm looking at doing a Masters and I think my final 5 are going to be Bangor, Manchester, Lancaster, York and Nottingham. (I'm predicted A* A* A* A if that helps, and I do Maths, Biology, Chemistry and Spanish.) Thank you!!!!!

You could reasonably go into either conservation or research work with either I gather (or a more general biological sciences degree). So just look at the individual courses and see which has more modules covering topics of interest for you. Courses with fieldwork options might be also valuable. Also some courses offer an integrated masters MSci, which may be of interest too (the funding model for a 4 year MSci is much better than for a 3 year BA/BSc followed by 1 year standalone MSc - you get undergraduate style funding for the whole course for the former, for the latter for the MSc you only get the much more limited masters loans, and also standalone masters courses don't have capped tuition fees like undergraduate courses including 4 year MSci degrees).

Is there a particular reason you aren't looking to consider Oxbridge/Imperial/similar? You have very strong grades and are taking all the right subjects and those are all very research oriented universities which also have a lot of links to conservation agencies and NGOs.

Reply 4

Ghostlady

21

Original post by tmbnty

Hey everyone,
Super stuck on whether I want to go down the route of ecology or zoology at university - I really want to work in conservation or research and don't know which would set me up better for the future, or which I would enjoy more. I'm looking at doing a Masters and I think my final 5 are going to be Bangor, Manchester, Lancaster, York and Nottingham. (I'm predicted A* A* A* A if that helps, and I do Maths, Biology, Chemistry and Spanish.) Thank you!!!!!

Definitely go to the open days to help make up your decision. Youngest Daughter went to bangor and lancaster (zoology) and really enjoyed the open days there. Eldest studies physics at Lancaster. Youngest took a gap year and is starting at nottingham trent doing zoo biology in September as the modules were more less sciency and more about the animals and behaviours.

Reply 5

Lancaster Student Ambassador

Official Rep

18

Original post by tmbnty

Hey everyone,
Super stuck on whether I want to go down the route of ecology or zoology at university - I really want to work in conservation or research and don't know which would set me up better for the future, or which I would enjoy more. I'm looking at doing a Masters and I think my final 5 are going to be Bangor, Manchester, Lancaster, York and Nottingham. (I'm predicted A* A* A* A if that helps, and I do Maths, Biology, Chemistry and Spanish.) Thank you!!!!!

Hi!

I would recommend attending open days (if you haven't already) to chat with students and academics about the courses. The courses for your subjects may vary between universities so it might be a good idea to compare the course content across the degree schemes. Here are the course pages for the courses at Lancaster: Zoology, Ecology.

Other than the course, have a look at the universities as a whole (location, campus vs city etc) to see if you have any preferences! I haven't studied Zoology or Ecology however, I have loved my time at Lancaster and am more than happy to answer any questions you have about Lancaster!

I hope this helps :smile:

Florence (Lancaster University Student Ambassador)

Reply 6

tmbnty

OP

8

Original post by artful_lounger

You could reasonably go into either conservation or research work with either I gather (or a more general biological sciences degree). So just look at the individual courses and see which has more modules covering topics of interest for you. Courses with fieldwork options might be also valuable. Also some courses offer an integrated masters MSci, which may be of interest too (the funding model for a 4 year MSci is much better than for a 3 year BA/BSc followed by 1 year standalone MSc - you get undergraduate style funding for the whole course for the former, for the latter for the MSc you only get the much more limited masters loans, and also standalone masters courses don't have capped tuition fees like undergraduate courses including 4 year MSci degrees).
Is there a particular reason you aren't looking to consider Oxbridge/Imperial/similar? You have very strong grades and are taking all the right subjects and those are all very research oriented universities which also have a lot of links to conservation agencies and NGOs.

Hi,

I am very interested in doing an Msci/MBiol/MZool and am only looking at universities that offer them as integrated 4 year courses. In terms of other universities such as the ones you have mentioned, I have no desire to live/work in London as I find it far too big and lonely. Cambridge is beautiful but they only offer NatSci as far as I'm aware and that isn't of interest to me due to the other non-animal/nature/biology topics you have to do. It's a similar case with Oxford - only offering biology and not specifics into conservation/ecology/zoology. Are there any universities you think I should be considering?

Thanks!!

Zoology or Ecology - Help!!!

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