Clocks, Sleep & the Rhythms of Life - course unit details - BSc Zoology with a Modern Language - full details (2025 entry)

Early clearing information

This course is available through clearing for home and international applicants

If you already have your exam results, meet the entry requirements, and are not holding an offer from a university or college, then you may be able to apply to this course.

Duration: 4 years
Year of entry: 2025
UCAS course code: C303 / Institution code: M20

Key features:
Study abroad
Study with a language
Field trips
Accredited course

Typical A-level offer: AAA-AAB including specific subjects
Typical contextual A-level offer: AAB-ABB including specific subjects
Refugee/care-experienced offer: ABB including specific subjects
Typical International Baccalaureate offer: 36-35 points overall with 6, 6, 6 to 6, 6, 5 at HL, including specific requirements

Full entry requirements How to apply

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Fees and funding

Fees

Tuition fees for home students commencing their studies in September 2025 will be £9,535 per annum (subject to Parliamentary approval). Tuition fees for international students will be £34,500 per annum. For general information please see the undergraduate finance pages.

Tuition fees are considerably lower for your placement year. Please see the fees page for full details.

Additional expenses

Tuition fees are considerably lower for your placement year. Please see the fees pages for full details.

Policy on additional costs

All students should normally be able to complete their programme of study without incurring additional study costs over and above the tuition fee for that programme. Any unavoidable additional compulsory costs totalling more than 1% of the annual home undergraduate fee per annum, regardless of whether the programme in question is undergraduate or postgraduate taught, will be made clear to you at the point of application. Further information can be found in the University's Policy on additional costs incurred by students on undergraduate and postgraduate taught programmes (PDF document, 91KB).

Scholarships/sponsorships

As part of your Zoology BSc course, you will go on an optional field course in the UK or abroad. This is subsidised by the University but you still need to contribute to the cost of the field course if you choose to go. Costs vary depending on the destination. A deposit is required at the start of the academic year, with the balance to be paid later. You will receive more information when you start at Manchester.

Students participating in placements outside the UK may be able to apply for funding from the UK's Turing scheme depending on eligibility. Priority will be given to students from low income households.

Course unit details:
Clocks, Sleep & the Rhythms of Life

Course unit fact file
Unit code	BIOL31681
Credit rating	10
Unit level	Level 3
Teaching period(s)	Semester 1
Available as a free choice unit?	No

Overview

This unit will introduce you to the study of biological timekeeping by examining how neural mechanisms of circadian rhythms, arousal, metabolism and sleep interact to dictate daily and seasonal variations in behaviour and physiology. You will cover a range of topics with a particular focus on the neuronal basis for circadian timing and sleep in mammals, how these are regulated by environmental light and how the internal clockwork influences the rest of the brain and body in health and disease.

Pre/co-requisites

Unit title	Unit code	Requirement type	Description
Sensory Systems	BIOL21341	Pre-Requisite	Recommended
Motor Systems	BIOL21332	Pre-Requisite	Recommended

Aims

Principally, to (a) introduce students to the study of biological timekeeping, (b) examine how neural mechanisms of circadian rhythms, arousal, metabolism, and sleep interact to coordinate behaviour and physiology.

Learning outcomes

Students should be able to:• Understand the neural and molecular bases for circadian rhythmicity in both simple and complex neural systems• Explain how physiology and behaviour changes from day to night• Describe how brain state changes across the sleep-wake cycle and the importance of these different states in cognitive performance and brain health.• Describe the neural and genetic bases for sleep and arousal disorders.• Describe how metabolic states and circadian clocks interact.• Describe how environmental light information is captured by the eye and relayed to circadian centres in the brain and the influence of this light information on sleep and physiology.• Describe how circadian clocks develop in the brain and how they decline with age.• Develop an understanding of how biological timekeeping mechanisms evolved and how they influence many facets of physiology and behaviour.

Syllabus

In this unit, students are introduced to biological rhythms (ultradian, circadian, and infradian) and the basic principles of biological timekeeping. The molecular basis for the circadian clock in animals and its major ‘clock’ genes/proteins and their roles are defined. Particular focus is placed on the neuronal basis for the circadian timing system in the mammalian brain and how specific photoreceptors capture environmental light information to regulate these brain clocks. The neurochemicals used to communicate timing information to the brain and body are identified as are the effects of transgenic knockdown/out of these signalling systems on physiological and behavioural rhythms. The impact of the circadian timing system on cognition and sleep is evaluated with emphasis on how rhythmic electrical activity varies with brain states such as waking and dreaming. The interaction between metabolism and circadian clocks is explored, particularly from the viewpoint of body weight regulation. Further, to provide understanding of the real-world impact of biological clocks, circadian controls of immune function and interactions with the ageing process and disease states are explored, as are the effects of light and daylength on seasonal physiology.

Employability skills

Analytical skills: Students are encouraged to analyse the validity of conclusions of experiments presented during the lectures.
Oral communication: Students are encouraged to answer questions during lectures.
Research: Students are directed to read primary literature in topics raised during the lectures and to independently search for new findings in those topics.
Written communication: Essay questions in examination.

Assessment methods

Method	Weight
Other	5%
Written exam	95%

2 hour written examination (95%) - choose 2 from 6 essay titles. Other - eLearning core multiple choice mid-semester test (5%).

Feedback methods

References to specific studies relevant to each lecture, announcements via Blackboard 9, post-exam guidance. A compulsory eLearning core multiple choice mid-semester test worth 5% will provide students with insight into how well they have understood course content. Students will also be offered the opportunity to receive feedback on an optional pre-exam essay question. Further feedback will be provided at an end of course question and answer review session.

Study hours

Scheduled activity hours
Assessment written exam	2
Lectures	18

Independent study hours
Independent study	80

Teaching staff

Staff member	Role
Timothy Brown	Unit coordinator

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