Transfer into the School of Biological Sciences

Transferring to the School of Biological Sciences from another School within the University of Edinburgh.

If you are interested in transferring we would advise you to first contact your Student Adviser, Cohort Lead or Student Support Team for advice and guidance. 

There are various requirements you need to meet to be considered for transfer into a Biological Sciences degree.

All students must meet the following conditions:

  1. You must be in good academic standing with the university. This means you must have passed all courses on your current programme of study.   
  2. You must satisfy the entry requirements for Biological Sciences degrees for the year you started studying at the University. 
  3. SBS must have capacity to teach you. 

 You must also meet the conditions outlined below for the programme year you wish to enter.

Any new student wishing to transfer to a Biological Sciences UG degree programme at the start of the academic year must have first met the UCAS entry requirements for the degree that they wish to transfer into. You should complete the New Student Transfer Application Form. The deadline for transfer application forms for entry to Year 1 (or direct entry to Year 2) is the end of Week 1 so that we have time to process your application by the end of Week 2.

Please note applications to year 1 are very competitive and there is no guarantee that we will be able to accept you, even if you meet the entry requirements.

The form for new students will be added in September 2024.


You must meet the entry requirements for the academic year you would be entering the degree. This includes having studied the right subjects at school or college. Typical offer and minimum entry requirements are published on the University’s degree finder. 

Please note applications to year 1 are very competitive and there is no guarantee that we will be able to accept you, even if you meet the entry requirements.

If you meet the "Second year entry" requirements outlined in the degree finder, then we may consider you for entry to year 2.


You must meet our year 2 entry requirements as outlined in the "Second year entry" section in the University degree finder.

University of Edinburgh degree finder

OR

You must satisfy the year 1 entry requirements AND you must have completed and passed our compulsory year 1 courses:

  • Biology 1A: Variation
  • Biology 1B: Life
  • Biology 1C: Discovery
  • Biology 1D: Environment

We will review applications on a case by case basis and may still consider your application if you are missing courses. We will take into consideration any relevant courses you have studied so far in your current School/Deanery. E.g for Biomedical Sciences students we will accept Biomedical Sciences 1, Molecules, Genes and Cells, and Biology 1A: Variation.

Students may be required to complete additional catch up exercises over the summer.

Please note, there are additional required courses for progression into year 2 of a Biological Sciences with Management degree:

  • Global Challenges for Business (BUST08035)
  • The Business of Edinburgh (BUST08036)

You must satisfy the transfer requirements outlined above for entry to year 1 and 2 entry AND:

  • For entry in to year 3 you must have taken and passed our year 2 compulsory courses:
    • Biology 2A: Data Exploration in Biology
    • Biology 2B: Genetics and Evolution
    • Biology 2C: Systems and Regulation  
  • For entry in to year 4
    • In year 2, you must have taken and passed 60 credits of Biological Sciences specified year 2 courses in 2022/23, including the required courses for your programme(s) of interest (please see the Degree Programme Tables 2022/23).
    • In year 3, you must have taken and passed 80 credits of Biological Sciences specified courses including the required courses for your programme(s) of interest.

We will consider applications on a case by case basis and may still consider your application if you are missing courses. We will take into consideration any relevant courses you have studied so far in your current School/Deanery.

To see which courses are required for each Honours Programme please see the Degree Programme Tables.

Please note, students may be required to complete additional catch up exercises over the summer.


How do I Make a Transfer Request?

If you would like to discuss a transfer into the School of Biological Sciences you should complete our transfer request form and return it to: bto.recruitment@ed.ac.uk

Applications to transfer for the 2024-25 academic year are now open until 31st May.

School of Biological Sciences Transfer Request Form for 24-25 Academic Year (60.44 KB Word)

 

How We Handle Transfer Requests

We will only consider requests past the deadline in exceptional circumstances. 

There is no guarantee that transfer requests will be successful as demand for places varies from year to year.  

Final decisions on transfer requests may not be made until all results are announced for the current academic year. 

Transfers - Finance and International student advice

Students are responsible for contacting their student loan authorities (usually SAAS, LEA or ELB) in advance of any change.  

Students must not assume that the loan will continue automatically. 

International students

International (Tier 4) students interested in transferring are advised to contact the Student Immigration Service to ensure there are no implications for their visa. 

Student Immigration Service 

Rona Lindsay

Recruitment Officer

  • School of Biological Sciences

Contact details

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