Zoology

Zoology is the scientific study of the animal kingdom in all its extraordinary diversity: the behaviour, physiology, ecology, evolution, and conservation of animals from nematode worms to blue whales. It asks fundamental questions about how animals are built, how they function, how they have evolved, and how they interact with the environments they inhabit. As biodiversity loss and climate change accelerate, the scientific understanding that zoologists provide is increasingly urgent for the conservation of species and the management of ecosystems.

At the University of Cumbria, this three-year programme takes your passion for animals, wildlife conservation, and the natural world as its starting point, combining rigorous academic training with hands-on field and laboratory experience. You will have opportunities to engage with local wildlife organisations including the Cumbria Wildlife Trust, Tullie House Museum, and the Cumbria Natural History Society, as well as the chance to volunteer with national and international wildlife organisations working with species from beavers and brown bears to dolphins and snow leopards. Cumbria itself, with its national parks, coastal habitats, and varied landscapes, provides an exceptional natural laboratory for zoological study.

Zoology graduates work in conservation organisations, national parks, zoos and wildlife parks, research institutions, environmental consultancies, government nature agencies, wildlife media and journalism, teaching, and the environmental sector more broadly. The field skills, laboratory techniques, and ecological understanding the degree develops are directly applicable in a sector where the challenge of reversing biodiversity loss demands increasing numbers of trained professionals. Many graduates go on to postgraduate study in zoology, ecology, conservation biology, or wildlife management, and doctoral research is a common route for those drawn to scientific careers in the field.