About the School of Biology
The School of Biology is committed to delivering globally connected research and teaching at the highest international level. As part of this, it pursues a robust equality and diversity agenda while celebrating the impact of its research and entrepreneurial success. The School's over-arching mission statement is to discover, develop and disseminate the knowledge to allow us to live long healthy lives in a sustainable natural environment.
To achieve this goal, over the last 20 years, the School has established three over-lapping research centres - the Scottish Oceans Institute (SOI), Biomedical Sciences Research Complex (BSRC) and Centre for Biological Diversity (CBD) - all with significant global reputations. The School's centres share the common feature of research across scales. Examples of this research include investigations of a single molecule and its interplay in a cell, or a single organism in an ecosystem, or a single ecosystem in a global setting.
To obtain this knowledge, staff have embraced approaches and technologies from mathematics, biology, chemistry, physics, geosciences, environmental studies and the humanities, and work with colleagues in other Schools, some of whom are housed in Biology's centres. This integrated approach sets the School of Biology apart from other biology departments both nationally and internationally.
The School's diverse student body benefits from a high-quality experience provided by engaged and equally diverse research and education-focused academics. It has continued to be scored by the National Student Survey as one of the top biology schools in the UK. In addition, all School activities are strengthened by its excellent professional administrative and technical staff.
Strategic plan
The School of Biology’s mission is to discover, develop and disseminate new knowledge to enable society to live healthy lives in an equitable and fully sustainable manner while