Zoology
Zoology is the systematic scientific study of animals, from the detailed mechanisms of cells and physiology to the grand patterns of ecology and evolution that have produced the diversity of animal life on Earth. It is a discipline that asks how animals are built, how they function, how they behave, and how they relate to each other and to the environments they inhabit. Because animals include the full range of invertebrate and vertebrate life, zoology is both extraordinarily broad and rich in detail, connecting molecular biology to field ecology and everything in between.
At Anglia Ruskin, this four-year full-time programme is delivered in Cambridge and develops hands-on laboratory and field skills alongside a thorough grounding in the science. You will build expertise in anatomy and physiology, animal behaviour, genetics, ecology and evolutionary biology, and you will engage with questions of wildlife conservation that give the discipline its contemporary urgency. The programme draws on specialist laboratory facilities and the opportunity to engage with cutting-edge research, and its location gives you access to both urban ecology and the rich natural environments of East Anglia.
You will develop the practical and quantitative skills that zoological research demands, including statistical analysis, fieldwork methods and data management, alongside the theoretical understanding that puts those skills to work. Conservation and the management of biodiversity are increasingly central concerns across the life sciences, and zoology provides essential scientific grounding for that work.
Graduates move into careers in conservation organisations, wildlife management, ecological consultancy, zoo and aquarium management, environmental agencies, education and science communication. Many graduates continue to postgraduate study in ecology, evolutionary biology, conservation science or related fields, where doctoral research and specialist master's programmes are well-established routes into academic and applied careers.