Why study with us?

Our students choose to study with us for all kinds of reasons. Among them are the following:

We are widely known as a friendly department, where staff are supportive of students and responsive to their concerns. We receive consistently high ratings for our teaching from students and visiting examiners.
Our teaching staff are active researchers, and their research feeds into teaching, notably through research projects, which also are relevant to students' employment.
Our teaching labs are modern and well-equipped and our research infrastructure is execllent; state-of-the-art in our key areas of strength. Whether just getting started on a certificate, foundation degree or BSc, or embarking on masters or doctoral research, the infrastructure at your disposal will be first rate.

Students of all ages, backgrounds and nationalities choose to study our courses:

Our certificates and foundation degrees give you an excellent basis from which to pursue further study or to start your new career.
Our foundation degrees and undergraduate courses are offered via evening study.
Our postgraduate courses, taught either face-to-face or by expert distance learning, offer professional training in important areas of biological sciences.
Every year, we are joined by dedicated MPhil/PhD students, determined to pursue their passion for their subject through research.

We have offered our courses via distance learning for more than 20 years, and many students around the world have used them to move on in their professional lives.

If you've always wanted to study biology, chemistry or related courses, but didn't think you could find the time, you can do it! Your daytime responsibilities don't have to get in the way of your ambitions, because almost all of our taught programmes begin and end in the evening.
Based in WC1, we are London's leading specialists in university education by part-time evening study. This means you can study for a BSc degree over three, four or six years, or a masters degree over two years, and gain a universally recognised University of London qualification.

If you are over 21, we will consider your application, even if you don't have 'A' or 'O' levels. All we ask is that you have a genuine interest in science and a desire to follow it at university level. Find out more about the entrance requirements for our courses, details of which are included in our course descriptions.
Some of our best students have come to us through unconventional study routes.

We incorporate a wide range of teaching methods and learning strategies in our programmes of study, with close monitoring of learning outcomes and good staff-student interaction.
The quality of our teaching was formally recognised by the Quality Assurance Agency's subject review (higher education's version of Ofsted), which reviewed three of our biology programmes and awarded us top marks. Birkbeck is one of only two London higher education institutions to achieve full marks in biological sciences, and the Department is now ranked nationally alongside the Universities of Oxford, Sunderland, Kent and University College London for the quality of its teaching in organismal biosciences.

There are many opportunities for students to engage with researchers and other students. We organise frequent visits by top researchers and lecturers who come to present their work in seminars and symposia.

Researchers in the Department of Biological Sciences engage in world-class research. 85% of our research was recognised as having international impact in RAE 2008, with 15% receiving the highest possible rating of world-leading.
Find out more about our research.

At Birkbeck, we are experts in understanding our students' needs, and we offer a wide range of support for current students.
As a student here, you will get access to world-class labs and research facilities.

Our central location in Bloomsbury means you will find the major sights and experiences of London within easy reach:

Find out more