Student feedback leads to high rankings for School of Life Sciences

The latest UK university rankings place the School of Life Sciences amongst the very best for key subjects.

The Mail University Guide 2025 placed Essex 1st in the UK for biology, 1st for genetics and 2nd for biosciences.

The Guardian University Guide 2025 also ranked Essex 7th for biology and 7th for anatomy and physiology.

In July, the School also received incredibly positive feedback from students through the National Student Survey. The overall positivity scores for the School of Life Sciences placed it 2nd for anatomy, physiology and pathology; 7th for biology (non-specific); and 8th for biosciences (non-specific). It also received a positivity score of 96% for 'learning resources'.

Head of School, Professor Terry McGenity, said: “The high ranking of the broad range of degrees offered by the School of Life Sciences is a result of many factors, not least our inspirational lecturers. They, like our students, have a passion for biology and a desire to build a more healthy, fair and sustainable world.

“We are proud that our high-quality and supportive education allows students from diverse backgrounds to reach their full potential.

“Our students go on to make a difference in the world, and we believe that learning-by-doing has been central to developing their expertise as life scientists and helping them to find fulfilling careers.

“For all our degrees, we bring the subject to life by interweaving cutting-edge research, practical classes, visits to and from employers, field courses - such as the coral reef module in Indonesia as part of our BSc Marine Biology, research projects, and placements - with the NHS and various other organisations.

“The recent reaccreditation and commendations by the Institute of Biomedical Science (IBMS) of our degrees in Biomedical Science affirm the high quality of our theoretical and practical training.”

Other successes in 2024 include pioneering research across numerous fields including the legacy of wind farms, charting the decline of duck populations, the development of drought resistant crops, AI-powered analysis of evolution, identifying genetic risk factors for prostate cancer and restoring our coral reefs.