After 4 years of university, and 3 years on this course, I have finally graduated with a 2:1 BSc in International Wildlife Biology (With honours) from the University of Glamorgan! Woot woot! So next step, MSc Marine Biology at Bangor University in September 2011. Slightly apprehensive, but I’m sure it’ll be grand!
So, the plans for the summer include working on the farm in Botton Village (North Yorkshire), a bit of scuba diving, and hopefully a trip to the Red Sea. Should be good!
Anyways, gnite all,
Skipper
So, the plans for the summer include working on the farm in Botton Village (North Yorkshire), a bit of scuba diving, and hopefully a trip to the Red Sea. Should be good!
Anyways, gnite all,
Skipper
8 comments:
I'm thinking about taking this course! :) How did you find it and, if you could, have you any advice on things I need to do beforehand to get onto the course? example: learn how to scuba dive, any work experience? Would be very appreciated! Thank you! :)
In short, no, apart from A level biology, there isnt really anything needed knowledge wise for the course. Experience helps, but isn't really necessary. I came into the course with no A-level in Biology off the back of an Aircraft Maintenance course, and ended up with a 2:1...
Scuba diving in the 2nd year Tropical Ecology module.... You do not have to be a diver when you start the course, there is usually a group of people on the course who will do the training to PADI Open Water level which is all you need (I think the limit my lot dived to was only like 12m...) I didn't do that module, choosing Comparative Physiology instead, no idea why.. Seemed like a good idea at the time, but I went in as a PADI Advanced Open Water Diver with Nitrox and other fancy bits of paper, which was more than enough for anything I would've done. Some diving experience is quite nice, before I started the course I'd done a week in the Red Sea, and got loads of pretty pictures of corals and worms and all sorts, which inspired me a bit for my first year modules of Diversity Of Life (2 I think that was.... 1 is plants I think, or the other way around...).
The course it'self, awesome awesome awesome, do it. The 2nd year is hell, well, if you do Comparative Physiology, Animal Behaviour and Vertebrate Zoology.... The coursework gets a little crazy around Christmas time.
South Africa at the end of the first year is class, and from my friends, Indonesia, or wherever you do your tropical ecology module, will be awesome too, hot, sweaty and by the sound of it, highly unpleasant, but worth it as it's followed by like a week of diving in paradise.
Dissertations in the 3rd year are quite a fair bit of work, though I would strongly recommend doing as much work as physically possible in the summer... I spent the summer playing Xbox and paid for it later in the year... Some people went back out to South Africa to do theirs, which is great if you have a well designed experiment or something planned out, and it works... But if you get junk results... you can't really go back and repeat it... And no matter how much they say "No significant results are still results"..... They're really not ones you'll be happy with...
The staff are great, Roy is a character, Emma is really great, inspiring lecturer in microbiology and genetics (Though she just went on maternity leave, not sure how long she'll be away) Tim is a walking encyclopedia, though my insistence on calling him "sir" annoyed him like hell... John, who you have in the first year is crazy about super heros and comics... And Denis, who teaches plants, says fungi like fun-jy...
But it's a great 3 years, I would do it again if I didn't already have the degree... And still had the money...
Strongly recommend! Plus all us graduates are usually willing to help out with things if you can find us...
And holy crap, that was an essay
Haha thank you :) it sounds amazing! But I'm a bit worried to what it will lead to, jobs wise. What do you do now?
For most people it has lead to a masters degree. One has got a Phd project in Glamorgan I think. I started a masters, but then decided to have a year out. But it's essentially a biology degree, so most places that accept biology, accept International Wildlife Biology.
Hi again! I managed to get an interview for the course but I'm worried I'm going to mess it up and I so want to get an offer. Any advice ?
Thanks! :)
Well, if you've got a genuine interest in animals and wildlife, show it and be interested in what they say. UCAS has a good page on interviews:
http://www.ucas.ac.uk/students/offers/interviews
My interview was with Roy and it was basically just him telling me what the course was about. I probably should've contributed something... but I was too shy, I'd recommend against just sitting there... I did get the place, but I still wouldn't recommend it.
But yea, know your families from your Phyla and your species from your genii and you'll be fine!
And good luck!
Got an offer :D Thank you for all your help!
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