Bath Spa University

This page may contain additional navigation below.

Course

Graduate Certificates and Diplomas provide recognised awards for graduates and professionals who wish to update and extend their subject knowledge. They may be undertaken as part of a programme of continual professional development or as stand-alone qualifications.

You may find these awards of relevance if you are a teacher of biology or environmental science, an employee of a conservation NGO or Government body, or an environmental consultant. You may even be a relatively recent graduate, with a desire to broaden experience at Honours level.

Course Structure and Content

These awards are designed to provide you with specialised knowledge, understanding and practical skills in certain aspects of Biology at Honours level (Level 6). As part of this, it is also intended that you gain some personal experience of the approach, practice and evaluation of scientific research. Module content is underpinned by staff consultancy and research activity and so is up-to-date and highly relevant in terms of subject knowledge and professional practice.

You must complete two modules for a Graduate Certificate and four for a Graduate Diploma. See table for module options.

Teaching Methods and Resources

Modules are delivered through a combination of lectures, practicals, fieldwork and projects, and on-line materials. The balance of activities will vary according to your choice of modules. However there is a strong emphasis on gaining experience of practical work, fieldwork and research. Assessment is strongly weighted towards coursework and timed exercises rather than formal examinations.

Modules run in different formats, such as a one two-hour block of contact each week or as a three or four hour block every other week.

Please contact us for further information. The exception is the Project Module (research), which is scheduled in agreement with your supervisor. In addition to weekly sessions, two modules Plant Field Ecology (September) and Marine Biology (March) have residential field trips.

The Newton Park campus is an excellent location for the study of Biology. The campus provides a rich variety of woodland, grassland and freshwater habitats, which are used extensively in practical and project research work.

Our laboratories, glasshouses and experimental areas provide specialist facilities for a wide range of practical work including marine, ecological, anatomical and soil analysis.

Entry Requirements

You should normally have either:

• An Honours Degree allied to subjects within the Department of Biology, such as Biological or Life Sciences, Environmental Science, Psychology, or Geography; OR
• An Honours Degree in any field with a postgraduate qualification allied to Biology; OR
• An Honours Degree in any field with appropriate professional experience in an area allied to Biology; OR
• Equivalent experience.

Neither Bath Spa nor external graduates can normally claim APL for previous studies towards these qualifications.

Biology Module Options

C = Compulsory O = Optional.