THE UNIVERSITY of EDINBURGH

DEGREE REGULATIONS & PROGRAMMES OF STUDY 2026/2027
- ARCHIVE as at 1 September 2026

Timetable information in the Course Catalogue may be subject to change.
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Degree Programme Table: Biological Sciences (BSc Hons) (UTBSCIS)

Jump to: Year 1, Year 2, Year 3, Year 4

Year 1 Academic year: 2026/27, Starting in: September

Notes:
Guidance giving details of required and recommended courses will be available for students to facilitate planning. Students must take 120 credits in total for Year 1. This includes 80 credits of compulsory Biological Sciences courses that MUST be taken and passed.

Compulsory courses

You must take these courses
Biology 1A: Variation

Must be passed

BILG08020 20 credits
Biology 1B: Life

Must be passed

BILG08021 20 credits
Biology 1C: Discovery

Must be passed

BILG08022 20 credits
Biology 1D: Environment

Must be passed

BILG08023 20 credits

Course options

Group A

Select exactly 40 credits in this group.

Biological Chemistry Courses - Level 8

Select between 0 and 40 credits of the following courses
Biological Chemistry 1A
CHEM08022 20 credits
Biological Chemistry 1B
CHEM08023 20 credits
AND

Level 7 and 8 courses in Schedules A to T, W and Y

Select between 0 and 40 credits from Level 7 and 8 courses in Schedules A to T, W and Y
AND

Challenge Courses: Engaging with complex problems through interdisciplinary collaboration

Select between 0 and 20 credits of the following courses
Notes:
If you wish to take a Challenge Course, you must ensure that it will fit with your timetabled compulsory courses.
Our Changing World
BIME08006 20 credits
Sustainability and Social Responsibility (UG)
EDUA08116 20 credits
Wicked problems: Reason and Rhetoric
EDUA08126 20 credits
Understanding decolonisation in a globalised world
EDUA08127 20 credits
Sustainable Development Goals: History, Progress and Beyond 2030
EFIE08008 20 credits
Living in the Anthropocene
GESC08004 20 credits
Understanding Society with Big Data: Computational Social Science
INFR08034 20 credits
Health in a Changing Climate
SCAN08017 20 credits
Understanding Gender in the Contemporary World
SSPS08012 20 credits
Navigating Energy Transitions
STIS08013 20 credits
Healthy Eating for People and Planet
VETS08016 20 credits

Year 2 Academic year: 2026/27, Starting in: August

Notes:
Guidance giving details of required and recommended courses will be available for students to facilitate planning. Students must take 120 credits in total for Year 2. This includes 60 credits of compulsory Biological Sciences courses that MUST be taken and passed.

Note that it is NOT possible for students to take Biomedical Sciences 2 alongside the compulsory Biological Sciences Year 2 courses.

Compulsory courses

You must take these courses
Biology 2A: Data Exploration in Biology

Must be passed

BILG08024 20 credits
Biology 2B: Genetics and Evolution

Must be passed

BILG08025 20 credits
Biology 2C: Systems and Regulation

Must be passed

BILG08026 20 credits

Course options

Group A

Select exactly 60 credits in this group.

Biological Sciences Year 2 courses (20) - Level 8

Select between 0 and 60 credits of the following courses
Animal Biology 2
BILG08011 20 credits
The Green Planet 2
BILG08016 20 credits
The Microbial World 2
BILG08018 20 credits
Cells to Organisms 2
BIME08011 20 credits
Microorganisms, Infection and Immunity 2
BIME08012 20 credits
Biological Chemistry 2
CHEM08030 20 credits
Principles of Ecology
ECSC08012 20 credits
AND

Level 7 and 8 courses in Schedules A to T, W and Y

Select between 0 and 40 credits from Level 7 and 8 courses in Schedules A to T, W and Y
AND

Level 8 courses in Schedules A to T, W and Y

Select between 0 and 20 credits from Level 8 courses in Schedules A to T, W and Y
AND

Challenge Courses: Engaging with complex problems through interdisciplinary collaboration

Select between 0 and 20 credits of the following courses
Notes:
If you wish to take a Challenge Course, you must ensure that it will fit with your timetabled compulsory courses.
Our Changing World
BIME08006 20 credits
Sustainability and Social Responsibility (UG)
EDUA08116 20 credits
Wicked problems: Reason and Rhetoric
EDUA08126 20 credits
Understanding decolonisation in a globalised world
EDUA08127 20 credits
Sustainable Development Goals: History, Progress and Beyond 2030
EFIE08008 20 credits
Living in the Anthropocene
GESC08004 20 credits
Understanding Society with Big Data: Computational Social Science
INFR08034 20 credits
Health in a Changing Climate
SCAN08017 20 credits
Understanding Gender in the Contemporary World
SSPS08012 20 credits
Navigating Energy Transitions
STIS08013 20 credits
Healthy Eating for People and Planet
VETS08016 20 credits

Year 3 Academic year: 2026/27, Starting in: August

Notes:
Biological Science students specialise in a particular area for their Junior and Senior Honours years. Biological Sciences students will therefore change programme at the beginning of Year 3.

Guidance giving details of required and recommended courses will be available for students to facilitate planning.

Students must take 120 credits of level 9 (or level 10 if selecting from a School that does not offer level 9) courses for Year 3. This must include a minimum of 60 credits of Biological Sciences-owned level 9 courses and a further 20 credits of Biological Sciences-owned courses or specific courses from other Schools. Students should ensure that they choose 60 credits for each semester. Occasionally a course will be suspended or cancelled.

There are no compulsory courses in this year of this programme.

Year 4 Academic year: 2026/27, Starting in: August

Notes:
Biological Science students specialise in a particular area for their Junior and Senior Honours years. Biological Sciences students will therefore have changed to a specialised honours programme at the beginning of Year 3. Please refer to the relevant degree programme table and study guides for further information. All students must take 120 credits of level 10 (or higher) courses for Year 4. Students will be required to take a minimum of 80 credits of Biological Sciences level 10 courses, which includes a 60 credit research project.

There are no compulsory courses in this year of this programme.

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