Undergraduate
Bachelor of Biological Science
Help preserve our ecosystems and protect the future of wildlife and their environments
Majors available
Bachelor of Biological Science and Master of Biological Science
Help preserve our ecosystems and protect the future of wildlife through conservation of our threatened animals and their environments.
Bachelor of Biological Science and Master of Biotechnology
Gain a thorough grounding in state-of-the-art biotechnology in combination with training in enterprise, commercialisation and intellectual property (IP) protection.
Biodiversity and Evolution (Extended Major)
Plant Biology (Extended Major)
Apply knowledge from botany, molecular sciences and genetics to work on applications to real-world problems.
Wildlife Conservation (Extended Major)
Focusing on unique Australian fauna, you’ll learn about the processes leading to the exceptional biodiversity that exists today.
The learning experience
Study area - Natural and Physical Sciences
Find out more about where Natural and Physical Sciences can take you.
Love the outdoors? Make nature your office with these careers
If you’re born to be outdoors, why not turn your passion into a career?
Why choose UWA
Explore our campuses and facilities, get to know the history of our State’s oldest university and discover why a UWA degree can set you up for the careers of the future, not just the jobs of tomorrow.
Why choose UWA
Student Life
Discover what life’s really like at university, hear from current students in a variety of courses and learn about the student amenities and support services on offer at UWA.
Events
One of the best ways to find out about studying at UWA is to take part in the many events we offer future students.
Fees and scholarships
Domestic Student Fees
Scholarships
Scholarships are available to students from a diverse range of backgrounds, including academic achievement, financial need, educational disadvantage, leadership and community service, artistic or sporting achievements, and being from a rural or remote area.
International Student Fees
Find out more about tuition fees or visit the fee calculator for the estimated total course fee.
Note, tuition fees are reviewed annually and are subject to increase up to 7.5 per cent per annum.
Scholarships
Scholarships are available to students from a diverse range of backgrounds, including academic achievement, financial need, educational disadvantage, leadership and community service, artistic or sporting achievements, and being from a rural or remote area.
Careers and further study
Career opportunities
Graduates will thrive in:
- Botanist
- Botanic Garden Curator
- Conservation biologist
- Flora or fauna consultant
- Evolutionary biologist
- Graduate research officer
- Research Scientist
- Restoration ecologist
- Science communicator
- Wildlife officer
- Zookeeper
- Zoologist
Graduates may work as:
- Biologist
- Botanist
- Conservation biologist or officer
- Ecologist
- Environmental consultant, manager or scientist
- Geneticist
- Research scientist
- Science communicator
- Teacher
- University lecturer
- Wildlife officer
- Zoologist
Further study
On completion of the Bachelor of Biological Science, graduates have the opportunity for further study in:
- Honours in Biological Science
- Honours in Genetics
- Master of Biological Science
- Master of Bioinformatics
- Master's in Molecular Sciences
Entry requirements
Admission Requirements
To be considered for this course you need to:
- Achieve the University’s minimum entry score
- Demonstrate English language competence
- Satisfy any prerequisites for your preferred majors (refer to individual major descriptions for prerequisite details)
You can view the prerequisites and recommended subjects for your chosen course here.
View our admission requirements for specific information, depending on your education history.
Assured Pathway information
If you have a professional career in mind, take advantage of one of our Assured Pathways. An Assured Pathway gives you an assured place in one of our postgraduate professional courses (such as Law, Engineering or Medicine) from the start of your studies with us. The pathways combine a range of undergraduate and postgraduate courses, providing you with a clearer direction to your career of choice.Admission entry to UWA
We offer a number of other pathways for you to gain entry into our undergraduate degrees if you do not meet the standard admission requirements. Learn more about our admission entry pathways.
About the Bachelor of Biological Science
A Bachelor of Biological Science from UWA will equip you with skills and knowledge that are highly valued and sought after by a diverse range of employers around the globe, and enable you to understand the vulnerabilities and resilience of life on our planet. You’ll explore the growth, reproduction, adaptation and evolution of living organisms and discover how species and ecological communities can be managed, conserved and restored.
Quick details
- Available
- 80
- Semester 1, Semester 2
- 3 years full time
- BP025
- 107722K
- Specialised Bachelor's Degree
- UWA (Crawley campus)
About the course
The Bachelor of Biological Science teaches you how living organisms, ranging from microbes to megaflora and megafauna, grow, reproduce, adapt and evolve. You will learn how species and ecological communities can be managed, conserved and restored, using techniques ranging from genetic analysis to data collection from whole populations and ecosystems, to big data synthesis science.
Why study Bachelor of Biological Science at UWA?
- UWA is ranked 1st in Australia and 32nd in the world for Biological Sciences (GRAS 2023)
- Australia's flora and fauna is megadiverse, and Western Australia is home to about half of both our plant and animal species
- The specific skills and knowledge developed and demonstrated by graduates are highly valued by employers and will make you highly competitive in the job market
Tash Harrison
Tash Harrison
I was drawn to the course because I was looking for a degree which could develop my knowledge of Australia’s unique biodiversity and provide me with the tools to work towards preserving it in the future.
I was also delighted that the course provided a chance to gain practical experience, as well as theoretical and lab-based skills.
The highlight of my degree was definitely the two field courses I took part in (Coral Bay and Albany). Both courses were full of like-minded people who are still my good friends today.
They gave me practical experience which helped to set me up for future jobs and studies, and fostered my passion for fieldwork, Australian wildlife, and conservation biology!
I also found that all the lecturers within the degree were passionate, and keen to engage and help where possible. They were supportive and made classes more enjoyable.
If you are a person who enjoys being in the bush, and appreciating Australia’s unique wildlife, and you are looking to be equipped with the tools to preserve and manage our biodiversity for future generations, then this degree would suit you well!
After finishing my degree, I put my practical skills to use and worked as a research assistant in South Africa. I then further developed my theoretical skills by completing a MSc in Quantitative Environmental Sciences at the University of Zurich.
I am now looking to start a PhD and to pursue a career where I can use my knowledge and unique skillset to provide solutions to the real-world problems that our biodiversity is facing, in order to preserve and protect it for generations to come.
Natalie Schmitt
Natalie Schmitt
Natalie Schmitt
Conservation geneticist and documentary presenter
Since completing my honours degree in Zoology at UWA, I’ve gone from managing a project which teaches predator recognition to small marsupials, presenting and filming wildlife documentaries for four years with Discovery Channel and Nat Geo Wild, a conservation genetics PhD on humpback whales with the Australian Antarctic Division, to now developing new technology for species detection, which focuses on snow leopards, with McMaster University in Canada and Panthera conservation organisation. UWA gave me a well-rounded degree in the biological sciences which taught me all that is possible within this field, and this gave me a platform to dream, and dream big!
Read more about Natalie's story here.
Fieldwork in Science
Testing a new place for Western Swamp Tortoises in a changing climate
