- UCAS course code
- C303
- UCAS institution code
- M20
Bachelor of Science (BSc)
BSc Zoology with a Modern Language
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
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.
Additional expenses
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:
Primate Evolution and Human Origins
| Unit code | EART36202 |
|---|---|
| Credit rating | 10 |
| Unit level | Level 6 |
| Teaching period(s) | Semester 2 |
| Available as a free choice unit? | No |
Overview
Through a combination of lectures and practical classes, the unit will explore the evolution of humans and study particular morphological and behavioural adaptations through comparative anatomy of the skeleton. Considerations into the environmental background of human evolution and the dispersals of ancestral human species will be included, along with studies of cognitive evolution and the formation of primate and human societies. Although largely focussed on primate skeletal morphology, this unit will also include components relating to material culture as well as the latest developments in genetics and proteomics that inform our understanding of human evolution and the origins of modern human populations.
Aims
To detail our latest understanding of human evolution, adaptation and the impacts that our species has had on others.
Learning outcomes
On the successful completion of the course, students will be able to: | Developed | Assessed | |
ILO 1 | Identify key differences between human skeletons and those of our primative relatives | X | X |
ILO 2 | Explain what information is used to identify and describe distinct hominin species | X | X |
ILO 3 | Identify the principles of evolutionary adaptation and explain their role in human evolution | X | X |
ILO 4 | Be able to discuss how modern technologies have revolutionised our understanding of human evolution | X | X |
ILO 5 | Describe the key lines of evidence for the evolution of human cognitive capacity | X | X |
ILO 6 | Discuss the impact that human evolution has had on other animal species | X | X |
Syllabus
Topics:
Lecture material includes the fossil record and dating methods, primate fossils, primate evolution and locomotion, hominin evolution, encephalisation, skeletal variation between the sexes, genetics, skeletal variation with ageing, primate behaviour, tools, culture and human impacts on the environment, palaeoclimates, dispersals and language.
Laboratory practical classes will largely focus on skeletal anatomy, ranging from studying primate crania, stature and locomotion, australopithecine crania and encephalisation, sexing and ageing, as well as learning about lithic cultures.
Teaching and learning methods
Predominantly based on lecture-informed laboratory practical sessions (6 x 3-hour sessions, composed of 2 x 1/2-hour lectures and 2 x 1-hour laboratory practical classes, see course content below for titles, supplemented with two additional introductory and summary lectures prior and subsequent to the 6-week block of combined classes).
Assessment methods
| Method | Weight |
|---|---|
| Written exam | 50% |
| Practical skills assessment | 50% |
Feedback methods
Assessment type | % Weighting within unit | Hand out and hand in dates | Length
| How, when and what feedback is provided | ILO tested |
Exam | 50 | 2 | 3, 4, 5 & 6 | ||
| Lab practicals (report) | 50 | One week after each lab | 2 | Optional self-tests via blackboard, along with written feedback given during special session at end of semester 2 | 1, 2, 5 |
Recommended reading
Gibson, K.R., Gibson, K.R. and Ingold, T. eds., 1993. Tools, language and cognition in human evolution. Cambridge University Press.
King, G.E., 2015. Primate Behavior and Human Origins. Routledge.
McKee, J.K., Poirier, F.E. and Mcgraw, W.S., 2015. Understanding human evolution. Routledge.
Sahle, Y., Reyes-Centeno, H. and Bentz, C. eds., 2019. Modern Human Origins and Dispersal. Kerns Verlag.
Scarre, C., 2005. The human past: world prehistory and the development of human societies. Thames & Hudson.
Study hours
| Scheduled activity hours | |
|---|---|
| Lectures | 10 |
| Practical classes & workshops | 14 |
| Independent study hours | |
|---|---|
| Independent study | 76 |
Teaching staff
| Staff member | Role |
|---|---|
| Michael Buckley | Unit coordinator |