Bachelor's Degree in Biology

Presentación

The Bachelor’s Degree in Biology bases its justification in several reasons put together in the White Book of the Bachelor’s Degree in Biology published by ANECA. Hereafter there are some reasons to be highlighted among those:

• The Biology science is essential to the human knowledge
• The steps forward in Biology are necessary for society development
• There is a big social demand for studies in Biology
• Graduated students find jobs within the field of the degree
• The professional field trusts the graduated students from Biology

In the design of the UVIGO’s Bachelor’s Degree in Biology subjects/knowledges were taken into account to prepare specialised biologists to start to develop their professional skills, complementing their basic and compulsory education with a optional subjects offer to face the preparation of the graduated for professional fields with a strong implementation in the autonomous community of Galicia.

The optional subjects in the new study plan are organised in 3 modules or specialities with the goal of bring orientation to students when preparing their own formative and professionalising curriculum. Because of these, three specialities in the degree were included:

• Biology applied to production.
• Biology applied to environment.
• Biology applied to health.

In general, the objectives to add the specialisations to this new study plan are:

• Improve the curricular visualisation of the professional orientation achieved by students through optional subjects.
• Ease the organisation of the term optional subjects offered within the fixed routes of each specialisation and requiring a minimum number of credits to achieve the specialisation. However, it must be possible to graduate without specialising.
• Keep the orientations “Production” and “Environment” from the previous plan and complete the one related with the health area by including subjects complementing the existing ones.

Objetivo Principal

The general objective of this degree is to provide students with an education which enables them to exercise the Biologist regulated profession. The graduated students will have achieved the skills on organisation, analyse and synthesis necessary to provide quality services to citizens, through critical thinking and continuous learning.

From these, the following objectives for the Bachelor’s Degree in Biology arise:

• Provide Biology students with a solid and balanced base of updated knowledges and practical skills which enable them to understand the biology diversity and the functioning of the living being and their relation with the environment surrounding them.
• Develop in students the skills to apply their theoretical and practical knowledge to specific problems related with Biology and its applications, specially in new health fields, industry and its productive systems, or environment and new technologies.
• Develop in students the autonomous skills of learning and full competences to develop the biologist profession.
• Foster the investigative spirit as a mean to contribute the scientific and technical progress and use this knowledge to solve the problems from the socio-economic environment and from the general society.

Competencias

Basic competences

These are shared by all the bachelor’s degrees and are determined by the RD 861/2010 of July, 2, Annex I, section 3.2, by the RD 43/2015 of February 2, and by those in the Spanish Qualifications Framework for Higher Education (MECES).

Basic Competence 1 (CB1): Students should show they have acquired and understood the knowledge in a field of study underpinned by general secondary education and which is usually at a level which-while drawing on advanced text books-also includes certain aspects that imply being familiar with the cutting edge of this field of study.

Basic Competence 2 (CB2): Students should be able to apply the knowledge acquired to their work or vocation in a professional manner, and should have the skills normally demonstrated through the ability to develop and defends points of view and to solve problems related to their field of study.

Basic Competence 3 (CB3): Students should be able to collect and interpret relevant data (usually within their field of study) in order to make judgements that include a reflection on the relevant social, scientific or ethical issues.

Basic Competence 4 (CB4): Students should be able to transmit information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialised and non-specialised audiences.

Basic Competence 5 (CB5): Students should have developed the necessary learning skills in order to continue studying with a high level of autonomy.

General competences

The general competences are adapted to the specific context of each of the degrees. Assuming that the main objective of this degree is to provide general training to Biology graduates which enables them to practice the regulated profession of Biologist, the general competences adopted were those that are common to Bachelor’s Degrees in Biology and that refer to the acquisition of the organization, planning, analysis and synthesis skills, with the object of responding to their social projection as Biology professionals.

To identify the professional profile of a Biology graduate the professional exercise field and the competences defined in the article 15 of the Official School of Biologist Royal Decree 693/1996, of April 26, materialised in the “White Book of the Bachelor’s Degree in Biology”, were taken into account.

Similarly, the Decree 150/2008 of July 3, which passes the statutes of the Galician Official School of Biologist, includes a list of the duties that can be taken by biologists. Lastly, the last updates in the labour insertion reports brought by the alumna’s surveys were taken into account.

General Competence 1 (CG1): Develop the autonomous learning, identifying his/her own educational needs and organising and planning the tasks and the timing.

General Competence 2 (CG2): Manage quality scientific-technical information using diverse resources. Analyse data and documents and interpret them in a critical and rigorous way, including considerations on its social relevance and in the professional field of Biology.

General Competence 3 (CG3): Apply the knowledge acquired during the degree and use the scientific-technical tools and the ICTs in the contexts of Biology and/or the professional exercise.

General Competence 4 (CG4): Elaborate and draft reports, documents and projects related with Biology. Proceed to their presentation and discussion in the teaching and specialised environment, revealing the competences of the degree.

General Competence 5 (CG5): Develop skills for creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship in academic, of social interest and/or interaction with the productive sector areas.

General Competence 6 (CG6): Develop the skills of analyse and synthesis, of critical thinking and argument, applying in contexts characteristic of Biology and other scientific-technical disciplines.

General Competence 7 (CG7): Pursue quality objectives in the development of its activity and incorporate to its behaviour the ethical principles which must govern the professional exercise of Biology.

Specific Competences

The specific competences are of each degree and are related with the specific knowledge acquired during the education development, providing it with a unique identity, faced to achieve a specific profile for graduated students. Due to this, the competences list hereafter are adapted from the White Book of Biology, circumscribing to educational aspects projected along the bachelor’s degree.

Specific Competence 1 (CE1): Resolve problems applying the scientific methods, the specific concepts and terminology of Biology, the mathematics models and the statistical and IT tools.

Specific Competence 2 (CE2): Recognise the organisation levels of the living beings through the study of existing specimens and fossils. Perform phylogenetic analyse and interpret the inheritance, evolution and biodiversity mechanisms.

Specific Competence 3 (CE3): Perform and interpret molecular, physic-chemical and biological tests, including human original samples. Perform functional trials and tests in normal and not normal conditions.

Specific Competence 4 (CE4): Isolate, identify and cultivate micro-organisms, cells, tissues and organs, facilitating its study and valuation of its metabolic activity.

Specific Competence 5 (CE5): Manipulate and analyse genetic material, determinate their changes and their pathogenic implication. Know the genetic engineering applications.

Specific Competence 6 (CE6): Understand and integrate the living beings functioning (at a cellular, tissue, organic and individual levels), interpreting their homoeostatic and adaptation responses.

Specific Competence 7 (CE7): Sample, characterise, catalogue, and manage natural and biological resources (populations, communities and ecosystems).

Specific Competence 8 (CE8): Describe, evaluate and plan the physical environment, use biomarkers and identify environmental problems. Facilitate ecosystems control, monitoring and restoration solutions.

Specific Competence 9 (CE9): Identify biological resources and value their efficient and sustainable exploitation to obtain products of interest. Suggest and implement improvements on the productive systems.

Specific Competence 10 (CE10): Identify biological and biotechnological processes and their possible applications, specially in the health, agrifood and environmental areas.

Specific Competence 11 (CE11): Carry out and interpret bioessays, identify chemical and biological agents, including pathogens, as well as their toxic products. Develop and apply biological control techniques.

Specific Competence 12 (CE12): Draft reports and technical memories, as well as manage and carry out projects in topics related with biology and its applications.

Specific Competence 13 (CE13): Teach, take part in R&D&i projects, communicate results and disseminate knowledges. Contribute to the social projection of Biology, and to raise awareness about environment.

Specific Competence 14 (CE14): Advise, survey and monitor scientific-technical, ethical, legal and socioeconomic aspects related with biology and its applications.

Transversal Competences

Our Bachelor’s Degree in Biology includes as transversal competences the resultant from the studies carried out by the Tuning Programme, which were put together in the ANECA White Books (White Book of Biology) and were adapted by most of the bachelor’s degree already implemented. It can be divided in:

• Instrumental: cognitive, methodological, technological and linguistic skills
• Personal and interpersonal: individual and social skills (interaction, cooperation, etc.)
• Systematics: abilities and skills related with global systems (comprehension, sensibility and knowledges combination)

The Bachelor’s Degree in Biology includes as transversal competences the three established by the Uvigo as competences shared by all students in the university, independently to the degree they are studying. In addition, following the Tuning Programme, and included in ANECA’s White Books (White Book of the Bachelor’s Degree in Biology), two competences referring the communicative skills (tool type) and cooperation with the social environment (interpersonal type) are included.

Transversal Competence 1 (CT1): Understand the meaning and application of the gender perspective in the different knowledge fields and in the professional practice with the objective of achieve a more fair and equal society.

Transversal Competence 2 (CT2): Communicate orally and written in Galician.

Transversal Competence 3 (CT3): Engage with sustainability and environment. Equitable, responsible and efficient use of resources.

Transversal Competence 4 (CT4): Collaborate and work in teams or in multidisciplinary teams, fostering the negotiating and agreeing skills.

Transversal Competence 5 (CT5): Communicate in an efficient and adequate way, including IT tools and English.

Cualificación

In the current verified report of the Bachelor’s Degree in Biology, on section 5 “Teaching Planning”, the possible evaluation systems applied in the degree are referenced. In particular, the text gather the followings:

• The evaluation which refers the general and specific competences, contents and objectives related with the knowledge acquisition will be carried out in each subjects as well as in the bachelor’s degree final project. The process implies a continuous evaluation through the classroom work monitoring, as a global evaluation of the learning process and the acquirement of competences and knowledges. These evaluation systems are developed in detail in the study guide of each subject in each academic year.
• The evaluation of competences and objectives which are not closely connected with knowledges acquisition (like for instance: understand and behave regarding the ethical necessary principles to the correct professional exercise, knowing and developing the human rights, democratic principles, those of equality among women and men, of solidarity, environmental protection, universal accessibility and of peace culture promotion) will be evaluated in the different activities and manifestations that the student makes during their educational programme, as well as the development of external internships and in their Bachelor’s Degree Final Project.

In each subject the evaluation system will be indicated by decimal numerical grades from 0 to 10, according to what is established in the section 5 of the Royal Decree 1125/2003, of September, 5.

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