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 (MBiol) (UTMBIBIOSC1F)

Jump to: Year 1, Year 2, Year 3, Year 4, Year 5

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.

To remain on the MBiol, students must finish the pre-honours portion of the programme (Year 1 and Year 2) with an average of at least 60%.

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

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.

To remain on the MBiol, students must finish the pre-honours portion of the programme (Year 1 and Year 2) with an average of at least 60%.

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

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

Notes:
Students must take 120 credits of level 9 courses and are required to include a minimum of 60 credits of Biological Sciences-owned level 9 courses and at least 20 further credits of Biological Sciences-owned or specified courses from other Schools or Deaneries.

Students should ensure that they choose 60 credits for each semester.

Occasionally a course will be suspended or cancelled.

Students are advised to carefully consider their combination of courses to ensure that they pursue a coherent programme of study in Years 3 and 4. You MUST choose a course combination that aligns with the requirements for at least one Biological Sciences Honours specialism.

To remain on the MBiol, students must have an average of at least 60% in Year 3 at first sit. They must have satisfied the Year 3 criteria for entry to at least one Biological Sciences specialist programme of study.

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

Course options

Group A

Select exactly 120 credits in this group.

Biological Sciences Year 3 courses +FZ

Select exactly 60 credits of the following courses
Notes:
You must choose a course combination that aligns with the requirements for at least one Biological Sciences Honours specialism.
Molecular Cell Biology 3
BILG09001 20 credits
Molecular Genetics 3
BILG09002 20 credits
Evolutionary and Ecological Genetics 3
BILG09004 20 credits
Genomes and Genomics 3
BILG09005 20 credits
Behavioural Ecology 3
BILG09006 20 credits
Immunology 3
BILG09007 20 credits
Population and Community Ecology 3
BILG09009 20 credits
Developmental Biology 3
BILG09010 20 credits
Evolution and Ecology of Plants 3
BILG09011 20 credits
Molecular Microbiology 3
BILG09013 20 credits
Biotechnology 3
BILG09014 20 credits
Structures and Functions of Proteins 3
BILG09015 20 credits
Field Zoology 3
BILG09017 20 credits
Animal Diversity and Evolution 3
BILG09019 20 credits
Molecular and Synthetic Plant Biology 3
BILG09021 20 credits
Pathogen Biology 3
BILG09022 20 credits
Infection and Immunity 3
BILG09023 20 credits
AND

Biological Sciences Year 3 Specific Courses - FZ

Select between 20 and 60 credits of the following courses
Notes:
You must choose a course combination that aligns with the requirements for at least one Biological Sciences Honours specialism.
Molecular Cell Biology 3
BILG09001 20 credits
Molecular Genetics 3
BILG09002 20 credits
Evolutionary and Ecological Genetics 3
BILG09004 20 credits
Genomes and Genomics 3
BILG09005 20 credits
Behavioural Ecology 3
BILG09006 20 credits
Immunology 3
BILG09007 20 credits
Population and Community Ecology 3
BILG09009 20 credits
Developmental Biology 3
BILG09010 20 credits
Evolution and Ecology of Plants 3
BILG09011 20 credits
Molecular Microbiology 3
BILG09013 20 credits
Biotechnology 3
BILG09014 20 credits
Structures and Functions of Proteins 3
BILG09015 20 credits
Animal Diversity and Evolution 3
BILG09019 20 credits
Molecular and Synthetic Plant Biology 3
BILG09021 20 credits
Pathogen Biology 3
BILG09022 20 credits
Infection and Immunity 3
BILG09023 20 credits
Medical Microbiology 3
BIME09002 20 credits
Reproductive Biology 3
BIME09006 20 credits
AND

Level 9 courses in Schedules A to R, T and W

Select between 0 and 40 credits from Level 9 courses in Schedules A to R, T and W
Notes:
Exceptionally, a level 10 course make be taken, if being selected from a School that does not offer level 9 courses.

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

Notes:
Guidance giving details of course choices, including restrictions and recommendations, will be available for students to facilitate planning.
Students must take 120 credits of level 10 (or higher) courses in Year 4.

You MUST choose a course combination that aligns with the requirements for the Biological Sciences Honours specialism that you chosen and have followed from Year 3.

Students must choose a 60-credit research project in a specialist subject area, along with 60-credits of additional core/optional courses, which will depend on the specialisation chosen.


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

Course options

Group A

Select exactly 120 credits in this group.

Biological Sciences Hons Research Project courses

Select exactly 60 credits of the following courses
Notes:
Refer to the Senior Honours Guide provided by the School, which gives details of course options, including restrictions and recommendations. You must choose an Honours Research Project and accompanying elective courses based on a specialisation pathway determined by your course choices in Year 3.
Biochemistry Research Project
BICH10018 60 credits
Biotechnology Research Project
BITE10013 60 credits
Cell Biology Research Project
CEBI10005 60 credits
Development, Regeneration and Stem Cells Research Project
DEBI10031 60 credits
Ecology Research Project
ECLG10008 60 credits
Evolutionary Biology Research Project
EVBI10008 60 credits
Genetics Research Project
GENE10019 60 credits
Immunology Research Project
IMMU10014 60 credits
Molecular Biology Research Project
MLBI10022 60 credits
Molecular Genetics Research Project
MOGE10006 60 credits
Plant Science Research Project
PLSC10026 60 credits
Zoology Research Project
ZLGY10028 60 credits
AND

Level 10 courses in the School of Biological Sciences

Select between 40 and 60 credits from Level 10 courses in the School of Biological Sciences
Notes:
Refer to the Senior Honours Guide provided by the School, which gives details of course options, including restrictions and recommendations.
AND

Level 10 courses in Schedules A to R, T and W

Select between 0 and 20 credits from Level 10 courses in Schedules A to R, T and W
Notes:
Refer to the Senior Honours Guide provided by the School, which gives details of course options, including restrictions and recommendations.

Year 5 Academic year: 2026/27, Starting in: August

Notes:
Year 5 represents an integrated Masters-level (Level 11) year. Students in Year 5 of the MBiol programme will undertake a placement in research or industry. Assessment will be via a 120-credit placement project.

Compulsory courses

You must take these courses
MBiol Placement Project
BILG11017 120 credits
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