You may be asking yourselves: why should I study Biology at the University of York? What’s so great about living somewhere where you permanently have to dodge geese waddling around campus?
Well, here are my top five reasons why studying Biology at York is the best decision you could make…!
1. The Guardian University Guide 2017 ranks Biological Sciences 5th in the whole country! This means that you would be studying at one of the best universities in the UK for Biology, how amazing is that?
2. Do you like multiple aspects of Biology and can’t choose which you prefer? Are you nervous about choosing which modules you want to study in your first year of study? Well, at York you wouldn’t have these worries – the first year is the same for all Biology students. If you apply for one of the specialist degree programmes (Molecular Cell Biology, Ecology, Genetics, Biotechnology and Microbiology), your first year will be the same as the Biology course. This is done so that the first year of the course is an introduction to the main aspects of Biology. This benefited me because I was not sure about which aspects of Biology I preferred. It turned out that I enjoyed Molecular Biology and Biochemistry a lot more than I thought!
3. The Biology Department has recently expanded and a new teaching building has just been completed in time for the 2016-2017 academic year. This new block has many features that Biology students in the past have asked for, which shows that feedback is listened to and taken into consideration. There are new and excellently equipped labs with everything we need for quality practicals. The main attraction is the creative lounge on the top floor – it’s very exciting! This is ideal for group work as it contains large, comfy booths as well as regular tables and sofas. One big advantage of this space is that only Biology students can access it, as a Biology key card is needed to reach it.
4. BioSoc is the student Biology Society at the University of York and they organise lots of great events to help you get to know other bioscience students. This is a great way to make new friends – I met most of my Biology friends at these events! The first main night out organised by the society is the infamous BioSoc Lab Coat bar crawl. Yes, you are right in thinking that we parade around York looking incredibly cool in our lab coats with green face paint on. The next event is MASSIVE… the Quadra-Sci bar crawl. This is a night out for Biology, Chemistry, Maths and Physics where each subject goes to a bar with one of the other sciences so you can meet people in from the other science subjects. This happens four times during the night! Finally there is the Biology Winter Formal. On this night you get the opportunity to dress up in a nice dress or in a smart suit and go out with your fellow biologists for a delicious meal. You’ll get some great photos of you all looking classy and then you have the opportunity to continue the great vibe on a night out! There are also other amazing events organised that don’t involve going out. For example the Quadra-Sci Quiz Night is a great opportunity to get into teams and compete against others in all the four sciences mentioned earlier to win some superb prizes… free food!
5. Finally… COOKIES! There is not much to be said apart from the fact that they sell the most amazing cookies on campus. We in Biology are the lucky ones as we have the cafe in our Department. So if you need a little pick me up after a hard lecture, workshop, practical or tutorial, Cookies is the place to go.
These are my top 5 reasons why studying Biology at the University of York is a very good decision and why I would highly recommend this Department!
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