Biology
About Biology
Biology is a broad field dedicated to the study of all aspects of living things: animals, plants, insects and microbes, as well as their relationships with their environments. At UBC students have a diverse range of courses to choose from, providing insight into sub-disciplines such as ecology, human biology and animal physiology. Students enjoy excellent facilities: UBC's new Biological Sciences Building, and the Biodiversity Research Centre, a state-of-the-art facility that is home to 50 researchers in evolution, systematics and phylogeny, population and community ecology, fisheries management, conservation biology, and theoretical modeling.
Program Details
Biology at UBC offers an extremely rich range of specialty and course options that span the field’s many sub-disciplines. It is overseen by Botany (one of the largest and strongest botany units in North America) and Zoology (another powerhouse).
Skills
- Interdisciplinary application of biological theories, practices and ethics
- Experiment and project design, organization, and implementation
- Critical analysis and synthesis of scientific research and literature
- Field work techniques, such as plot study surveys and population estimates
- Laboratory proficiency including usage of scientific equipment and knowledge of safety protocols
- Data collection and maintenance of accurate records
- Statistics and quantitative reasoning
- Development and evaluation of models, such as estimating the flow of pollutants through an ecosystem, or predicting growth or decline of populations
Programs offered
- Major or Honours, Biology
- Honours, Animal Biology
- Honours, Cell and Developmental Biology
- Combined Major or Combined Honours, Computer Science and Biology
- Honours, Conservation Biology
- Honours, Ecology and Environmental Biology
- Honours, Evolutionary Biology
- Honours, Marine Biology
- Honours, Plant Biology
- Combined Honours, Chemical Biology (See Chemistry)
- Combined Major or Combined Honours, Biology and Oceanography
- Co-op
Resources
Career Options
With an undergraduate degree
- Agrologist
- Animal husbandry and animal care worker
- Arborist
- Bioinformatician
- Biostatistician
- Botanical technician
- Clinical research associate
- Cytogenetic technologist
- Forensic laboratory technologist
- Government field scientist
- Health care manager
- Lab technician
- Medical and clinical lab technologist
- Medical journalist
- Physician assistant
- Quality controller
- Science journalist, writer
- Veterinarian assistant
- Zoological technician
With additional study
- Agricultural scientist
- Anatomist
- Animal biologist
- Anesthesiologist
- Bacteriologist
- Biologist
- Botanist
- Cell Biologist
- Chiropractor
- Conservationist lab technician
- Dentist
- Doctor
- Ecologist
- Embryologist
- Environmental biologist
- Forensic scientist
- Forestor
- Geneticist
- Health care researcher/planner
- Histologist
- Immunologist
- Marine biologist
- Medical doctor
- Medical editor
- Medical laboratory technologist
- Medical librarian
- Microbiologist
- Mycologist
- Nurse
- Occupational therapist
- Optometrist
- Ornithologist
- Parasitologist
- Pharmacist
- Pharmacologist
- Physical therapist
- Physiologist
- Plant scientist
- Protozoologist
- Soil scientist
- Teacher/professor
- Toxicologist
- Veterinarian
- Virologist
- Wildlife biologist
- Zoologist
UBC Science Biology Graduates Work As
- PhD Candidate in Public Health and Primary Care, University of Cambridge
- Dentist, Fairmont Dental Group Veterinary Medicine and Surgery
- Student, University of Edinburgh
- PhD Candidate in Microbial Evolution, University of Oslo
- Genetic Counsellor, Alberta Health Services
- Research Assistants, BC Cancer Agency
- Science and Math Teacher, St. George’s School