Essential Items:

• Laptop – having access to your own computer and internet has always been highly essential for your studies, so we are suggesting all students have access to their own laptop/PC and internet.  Please be aware that Chromebooks and tablets, whilst useful for some elements of your work, are not suitable for installing and running some software; therefore, a Windows or macOS laptop is recommended.
• Headset with Microphone for Laptop - compatible with your laptop for online learning as well as in-class use and recording audio content.

• Software - as soon as you enrol, you will have an account with Office 365 and you will be able to use online versions of Word, Excel and PowerPoint and also download these apps to your device for free, as well as having online storage space on OneDrive. We ask that you install QGIS (free software for spatial data), which is available for PCS and Macs and can be downloaded using the link below. (We can go through this during induction week if you have any problems)

• USB Pen Drive (at least 16GB) – although you will have cloud storage with OneDrive, you will need this to transport files and keep backup copies of important files.

• Waterproofs - coat and trousers for fieldwork.

• Good Walking Boots - you will be very grateful to yourself if you invest in a good quality, waterproof pair.

• Wellies – some field sites we visit get very wet, and you will be advised to wear wellies. No need for your walking boots to be completely waterproof if you have a good pair of wellies to wear for wet-weather work. 

Desirable:

• Old clothes that you don’t mind getting dirty for zoo/field-based work.

• Binoculars, you may be doing a number of animal observations within the course (depending on optional modules selected) ranging from seals to birds, so investing in your own binoculars is a good idea. Ideally the 8 x 30 up to 8 x 40 which is magnification by depth of field are good for the type of observation you will be doing (Bushnell are a reasonable make).

Extra Expenses:

You will be involved in a variety of fieldtrips throughout the year, most of which will be free, but occasionally we may ask for a contribution for travel costs or entrance fees.  You should budget for approximately £50 throughout the year for these purposes. 

There may be residential field courses that you may wish to join, which are not compulsory (subject to availability), for example, to Borneo, Honduras or South Africa. The prices of these trips will vary, but recent trips have been in the region of £3,000 for approximately 2 weeks (inclusive of flights). These trips are purely optional, and there is no expectation or requirement to join them. More information on the international trips will be made available during induction week and group tutorials. There are also local trips offered to students that may require a small deposit.

At Higher Education (HE) Level 6, the expectation is that you will mostly use primary, peer-reviewed literature (scientific journals) to inform your work. You will have free access to a vast electronic library through your University of Plymouth digital account. So, there is no major requirement to invest in expensive textbooks for the BSc Applied Zoology course.

However, one textbook that can be useful as a supporting text for the Honours Project module is:

• Beckerman A. P., Childs D. Z. and Petchey O. L. (2017). Getting Started with R: An Introduction for Biologists. 2^nd edn. Oxford: Oxford University Press. (Notes: ISBN-10: 0199601623 | £22.99)

We hold several copies of this textbook in the learning centre, but some students find it useful to have access to their own personal copy.

We also teach statistical analysis using the R-studio package for which there are a number of good supporting books, two of which are shown below. However, there are also many free resources online for learning R, so you may want to wait until starting the course before making a decision as to whether or not to invest in a book.

Useful Books

• Barnard, C., Gilbert, F. and McGregor, P. (2016) Asking Questions in Biology: A Guide to Hypothesis Testing, Experimental Design and Presentation in Practical Work and Research Projects. (Notes: ISBN-13: 978-1292085999 | £36.77)
• Gardener, M. (2017). Statistics for Ecologists using R and Excel. 2^nd edn. Totnes: Pelagic Publishing.  (Notes: ISBN 9781784271398 | £27.41)

The prices quoted are prices available online as of 02/07/25 but it is worth checking for second hand copies online which can be significantly cheaper.  You may also find 2^nd hand books being sold by previous students on the Students at Cornwall College Newquay Facebook page, please see the link below.

Check out our social media pages for the latest news and student highlights by clicking the links below.

   Newquay University Centre | Instagram