Biological Sciences

During Welcome Week the School of Biological Sciences will have academic inductions for our new undergraduate students.  

Your School Induction will not be on your timetable, so please make sure to check the date, time and location and add this to your calendar.  

You can also find details about your programme induction and course materials in your course area in MyAberdeen.  

You should also visit the School's Undergraduate area in MyAberdeen.

Level 1 Students 

Wednesday 16 September 2026 
School Welcome and Orientation Talk - 10.00am - 12.00pm, Zoology Building ZG18 
Friends of the Cruickshank Botanic Garden Plant Giveaway - 12.00pm - 1.30pm, Cruickshank Botanic Garden

Direct Entry Students (Level 2 and 3 direct entry students)  

Wednesday 16 September 2026: School Welcome and Orientation Talk - 1.00pm - 3.00pm, Zoology Building ZG18  

Professor Michelle Pinard
Director of Education
Email: m.a.pinard@abdn.ac.uk

Biological Sciences Admin Team
sbsteaching@abdn.ac.uk

The Reading List Service is the library's designated service designed to support you in finding and engaging with your course reading lists. Through Leganto, you can access reading lists that are relevant, interactive, and accessible through your course area in MyAberdeen. 

Please visit the Library website to find out how to access your reading list. 

As you prepare to join the School of Biological Sciences for your undergraduate studies, we've compiled a reading list to help you build a foundation for your studies. These resources will introduce key concepts across biological disciplines. 

Recommended Reading List

• Foster, C (2016) Being a Beast.  Profile Books.  Pp. 256. (Animal Behaviour) 
• Wolpert L (2009) How We Live and Why We Die:  The Secret Lives of Cells.  Faber and Faber, London.  (Biological Sciences) 
• Shubin, N (2009) Your Inner Fish.  The Amazing Discovery of our 375 million year old ancestor.  Penguin.  Pp. 256. (Biology) 
• Macfarlane, R (2017) The Wild Places.  Granta Books.  Pp. 352. (Conservation Biology) 
• Carroll, SB (2016) The Serengeti Rules.  Princeton University Press.  Pp. 268. (Ecology) 
• Morse, S (2010) Sustainability:  A Biological Perspective.  Cambridge University Press. Pp. 261. (Environmental Science) 
• Mladenov, PV (2013) Marine Biology:  A Very Short Introduction.  Oxford University Press.  Pp. 184. (Marine Biology) 
• Beerling, D (2008) The Emerald Planet.  How Plants Changed Earth’s History.  OUP Oxford. Pp. 312. (Plant and Soil Science) 
• Coyne, JA (2009) Why Evolution is True.  Oxford Landmark Science, Oxford University Press.  Pp. 309. (Zoology) 

Whilst there's no requirement to purchase all these books, familiarising yourself with some of these texts will give you a head start on your studies. Many of these resources will be available through The Sir Duncan Rice Library once you arrive. 

Beyond these specific recommendations, we encourage you to: 

• Follow current scientific news through sources like Nature, Science, New Scientist, or BBC Science 
• Explore online resources for refreshers on foundational biological concepts 
• Consider downloading relevant scientific podcasts to engage with current research topics 
• Visit the Cruickshank Botanic Garden virtually or in person if you're local to Aberdeen 

Remember, the goal is not to master all content before arrival but to cultivate curiosity and familiarity with biological concepts that will support your learning journey with us. 

Please note that all new Science Teaching Hub students should possess a clean, white, Howie laboratory coat to use in laboratory classes. 

This should be a 'Howie' style laboratory coat - elasticated cuffs, fastening all the way up to the neck with popper fastenings. 

Press stud fastenings are integral for Howie style coats to enable the coat to be removed quickly should contamination occur. 

Fabric - Polyester Cotton approximately [65% polyester:35% cotton]. Coats made from this fabric are light weight [195g/coat] and easily laundered. 

Older lab coats that are open at the collar or those with button fastenings are not suitable and should be avoided. 

If a practical has a special exemption where a laboratory coat is not required, students will be informed. However, you should always assume you need your lab coat for practicals and bring it with you. If you do not bring a laboratory coat, you will not be admitted to a laboratory class. 

Students must also bring their own safety glasses. 

For Safety Glasses, there are many options available online. They should have side shields and have a suitable safety rating (EN 166). If you wear spectacles, you should look for styles of safety glasses that will fit over them. 

You will be responsible for cleaning and maintaining your own laboratory coat and safety glasses throughout the term. 

You can purchase a lab coat on campus from Bear Essentials shop in the Students' Union Building. 

During Welcome Week the School of Biological Sciences will have an induction for our new postgraduate taught students.  

Your School Induction will not be on your timetable, so please make sure to check the date, time and location and add this to your calendar.  

You can also find details about your programme induction and course materials in your course area in MyAberdeen. 

School Induction PGT students

Friday 18 September 2026 

• School Welcome and Orientation Talk - 10.00am - 11.00am, Zoology Building ZB16 
• MSc Induction - Academic Writing - 11.30am – 12.30pm, Zoology Building ZB16 
• MSc Induction - Walk to Seaton Park - 2.00pm - 4.00pm, (meeting point TBC) 

SBS PGT Coordinator and MSc Environmental Management Programme Coordinator
Dr Vasilis Louca
v.louca@abdn.ac.uk

Biological Sciences Admin Team
sbsteaching@abdn.ac.uk

The Reading List Service is the library's designated service designed to support you in finding and engaging with your course reading lists. Through Leganto, you can access reading lists that are relevant, interactive, and accessible through your course area in MyAberdeen.

Please visit the Library website to find out how to access your reading list. 

If you would like to do some background reading/study before starting your MSc (this is not compulsory) you may find the following recommendations helpful; feel free to browse all categories, whichever MSc you are doing. Many texts will be free to access online once you have your University of Aberdeen login.

Log in to the University library search system, RIMO, to find them.

Statistics

• A good introductory book is Quinn GP, Keough MJ (2002) Experimental design and data analysis for biologists.
• There are also useful free introductory statistics MOOCs available online.
• Familiarise yourself with R software. You can use excellent material produced by our SBS statisticians https://alexd106.github.io/intro2R/index.html or other freely available material e.g. https://cran.r-project.org/doc/contrib/Verzani-SimpleR.pdf , https://cran.r-project.org/doc/manuals/r-release/R-intro.pdf

Environmental/soil topics

• Duarte, A.C., Cachada, A., Rocha-Santos, T.A.P. (Eds.), 2017. Soil Pollution: From Monitoring to Remediation. Academic Press.
• Blume, H.-P., Brümmer, G. W., Fleige, H., Horn, R., Kandeler, E., Kögel-Knabner, I., et al. (2016). Scheffer/Schachtschabel Soil Science. Berlin: Springer Verlag

Please note that all new Science Teaching Hub students should possess a clean, white, Howie laboratory coat to use in laboratory classes.

This should be a 'Howie' style laboratory coat - elasticated cuffs, fastening all the way up to the neck with popper fastenings.

• Press stud fastenings are integral for Howie style coats to enable the coat to be removed quickly should contamination occur.
• Fabric - Polyester Cotton approximately [65% polyester:35% cotton]. Coats made from this fabric are light weight [195g/coat] and easily laundered.
• Older lab coats that are open at the collar or those with button fastenings are not suitable and should be avoided.

If a practical has a special exemption where a laboratory coat is not required, students will be informed. However, you should always assume you need your lab coat for practicals and bring it with you. If you do not bring a laboratory coat, you will not be admitted to a laboratory class.

Students must also bring their own safety glasses.

For Safety Glasses, there are many options available online. They should have side shields and have a suitable safety rating (EN 166). If you wear spectacles, you should look for styles of safety glasses that will fit over them.

You will be responsible for cleaning and maintaining your own laboratory coat and safety glasses throughout the term.

You can purchase a lab coat on campus from Bear Essentials shop in the Students' Union Building.