Department of Biology

Why choose UVic?

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Three students in a greenhouse examining plants — Study the world around you
Our undergraduate programs introduce you to the key fields of biology and offer you the opportunity to design your own program of study.
Undergraduate studies

Graduate student Chloe Christensen and another woman in a biology lab — Graduate studies
Graduate student Chloe Christensen (left) is investigating the use of gene editing as a therapeutic option for patients with rare genetic diseases.
Graduate studies

Biology student with a water bottle in front of a terrarium — Get your hands dirty
Whether mushroom hunting in our campus forests, exploring the coastline or working in the lab, you'll gain a hands-on research experience with us.
Programs and courses

Student in an orange vest standing in a field holding a net — Careers in biology
Learn how to conduct research, work in the lab and in the field, and gain the scientific communication skills that will set you up for success.
Career possibilities

A school of hammerhead sharks in the ocean — Vital research with a passion
Marine conservation, genetic disease, species extinction, maintaining healthy forests and addiction are just a few of the challenges our researchers are facing head on.
Our research

See the possibilities

Biology is the scientific study of all living things—a truly vast and rapidly evolving field that touches all aspects of our lives. Our teaching and research examines the full range of life from human health to ecosystem health, from the deepest oceans to the atmosphere.

Come explore with us! Our extraordinary location on the edge of the continent lets us take our students into the field. Our dynamic learning environment includes ocean, forest and alpine environments, a campus with rare Garry Oak ecosystems, and connections to unique facilities like the Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre.

For more information, see our course outline and course planning pages, as well as our Welcome to UVic Biology video below.

Territory acknowledgment

We acknowledge and respect the lək̓ʷəŋən peoples on whose traditional territory the university stands and the Songhees, Esquimalt and W̱SÁNEĆ peoples whose historical relationships with the land continue to this day.