Biology Opportunities

Out of the 120+ institutions UofT is partnered with, the Department of Biology has identified these international partners as the most meaningful and valuable to students in Biology programs.  Partners were selected due to their world rankings, research collaborations, unique program offerings, and distinct geographical areas. These are not the only schools you can attend on exchange, but it is a good place to start your research about international possibilities. You can search for other schools here

Australian National University

Australian National University (ANU) is the top ranked university in Australia. 94% of the research conducted at the university is rated above world standards. The Australian National University has the highest staff to student ratio allowing all students to interact and gain support from professors. 

Did You Know?

  • ANU is the only university set up by the Federal Government of Australia. The university was created to be a research institution for subjects of national importance
  • ANU is located in Canberra, Australia’s capital. Canberra is home to the National Gallery of Australia - the largest art museum in the country
  • Need a place to live? There’s a cool urban energy emerging in Braddon and New Acton right by campus

Australian National University

Examples of Courses You Can Take: 

BIOL2114 – Evolution 
BIOL2115 – Comparative Physiology 
BIOL2117 – Cell Biology 
BIOL2161 – Genes: Replication and Expression 
BIOL2162 – Molecular Gene Technology 
BIOL2191 – Ecology of Health and Disease
BIOL2222 – The Exquisite Corpse – Insight into the Human Body 
BIOL3141 - Infection and Immunity
BIOL3106 - Biosecurity
BIOL3108 - Hallmarks of Cancer
BIOL3116 - Marine Conservation Ecology
BIOL3125 - Plants and Global Climate Change
BIOL3142 - Parasitology
BIOL3190 - Medical Science in the Workplace

Plus many more courses here.

University of Edinburgh

The University of Edinburgh is located in Scotland’s vibrant and historic capital city steps away from a world famous arts festival, Scotland’s mountains, and beaches. Placed in the top three of the prestigious Russell Group, a collective of the UK’s leading, research-intensive universities, and ranked in the top five for sports in the UK, the University of Edinburgh offers diversity in co-curricular experiences. 

Did You Know?

  • The University of Edinburgh’s newspaper, The Student, is UK’s oldest student newspaper, which was started by Robert Louis Stevenson (author of Treasure Island) in 1887
  • Edinburgh, the inspiring capital of Scotland, is a historic, cosmopolitan and cultured city that offers a unique living and learning experience. It has been voted the favourite UK City for 13 consecutive years
  • Famous former students include Chris Hoy, Katherine Grainger, Gordon Brown, J.K. Rowling, Ian Rankin, Kirsty Wark, David Hume, Joseph Black, Charles Darwin, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

University of Edinburgh

Examples of Courses You Can Take:

BILG08001 – Origin and Diversity of Life 1 
BILG08003 – Genes and Gene Action 2 
BILG08005 – Evolution in Action 2 
BILG08008 – Quantification in the Life Sciences 1 
BILG08009 – The Dynamic Cell 2
BILG08011 – Animal Biology 2 
BILG08015 – Molecules Genes and Cells 1 
BILG08016 – The Green Planet 2 
BILG08017 – Biology Ecology and Environment 1 
BILG08018 – The Microbial World 2 

Plus many more courses here.

ETH Zürich

ETH Zürich was established in the 1855 by the Swiss Federal Government as a centre of innovation and knowledge, and has been ranked in the top 15 universities in the world according to Times Higher Education rankings. The Biology department consists of five separate institutes that each focus on a particular field including: Biochemistry, Microbiology, Biophysics, Molecular Health Sciences, and Systems Biology.

Did You Know?

  • 21 Nobel Prizes have been awarded to researchers at ETH Zurich including Albert Einstein, Fritz Haber, and Hermann Staudinger
  • If you love nature, Switzerland will not disappoint you as it encompassses one of the most beautiful landscapes in the world. And do not forget the cheese and chocolate
  • Zürich is the largest city in Switzerland and is among the world’s largest financial institutions.

 

Zurich

Examples of Courses You Can Take:

376-1791-00L Introductory Course in Neuroscience I
701-0265-00L Ecology and Evolution
551-0317-00L Immunology I
551-0227-00L Mycology
551-0309-00L Concepts in Modern Genetics

Plus many more courses here

University of Glasgow

The University of Glasgow is the first and only UK university to be rated as 5 Stars Plus overall by the QS World University Rankings. It has fostered the talents of seven Nobel Prize winners, one Prime Minister, and Scotland’s inaugural First Minister. The University of Glasgow has conquered many firsts for Scotland and the world such as: Scotland’s first female medical graduates completed their degrees (1894),  and the world’s first ultrasound images of a fetus were published (1958).

Did You Know?

  • Albert Einstein has an honorary degree from Glasgow University
  • Adam Smith, the father of economics, and Steven Moffat, the writer and director of Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Who, are Glasgow University alumnus.  
  • One of 3 top places to get curry in the UK
  • Has the third oldest subway in the world, behind London and Budapest

University of Glasgow

Examples of Courses You Can Take:

Bioengineering and Global Change 2 
Building an Organism 2 
Drugs and Disease 2 
Exercise Science 2 
Immunology 2 
Molecules of Life 2 
Physical Principles of Biological Processes 2 
Human Life Sciences 3A 
Infection Biology 3A
Sports Science 3A
Functional Anatomy for Pre-Med/Pre-Health Students

Plus many more courses here.

Nanyang Technological University

Nanyang Technological University was inaugurated in 1991 and has been ranked first in the world among universities under fifty years old in 2014. Currently it is ranked thirteen in the world amongst all universities, and second in Asia.

Did You Know?

  • There are cats roaming around on campus! There are “cat cafes” on campus which allow cats to be fed and looked after, in hopes of gaining their trust so they can be sterilised. This is done in hopes of controlling the cat population in the most humane way possible
  • A student’s final year research project was using overhead projectors and depth-sensing camera to convert any tabletop into a work space through detecting objects and recognising hand gestures
  • Singapore is also known as “the city in a garden” due to its vast amounts of nature reserves, parks, and flora

Nanyang Technological University

Examples of Courses You Can Take: 

Please note it is not possible to link directly to syllabi at Nanyang University. You can search for courses such as the ones below in Communication Studies and Information Engineering & Media here: https://wish.wis.ntu.edu.sg/webexe/owa/aus_subj_cont.main

BS2001 – Physiology 
BS2002 – Microbiology 
BS2003 – Biochemistry II
BS211S – Equations of Life 
BS0001 – Biology and Society 
BS2103 – TCM Diagnostics 
BS3001 – Neurobiology 
BS3003 – Developmental Biology 
BS3004 – Cancer Biology 
BS3005 – Advanced Molecular Genetics 

You can view all the courses available to exchange students at Nanyang here.

National University of Singapore

National University of Singapore is ranked first in Asia and twelfth in the world, and is internationally respected for its high-quality research in science, technology, and the humanities. It houses three out of five of Singapore’s Research Centres of Excellence with focuses on quantum technologies, cancer, and mechanobiology.

Did You Know?

  • "The Deck" on campus is one of the only food courts in Singapore to be given the “Eco-Foodcourt label.” It was given this award based on its sustainable takeaway packaging,  water-saving devices, recycling of used cooking oil, waste plastic bag tax, and use of natural light
  • There is a “Hug Me” Coca-Cola machine on campus that dispenses a bottle of coke when you hug the machine
  • The British Council voted Singaporeans as having the fastest walking speed in the world. At an average of 18 metres in 10.55 seconds, they walk as fast as bees fly

National University of Singapore

Examples of Courses You Can Take:

Please note it is not possible to link directly to syllabi at the National University of Singapore. If you input the course codes below into the following page you will be able to view them: http://www.nus.edu.sg/nusbulletin/search-modules/ 

LSM3255 Ecology of Terrestrial Environments
LSM3256 Tropical Horticulture
LSM3257 Quantitative Methods for Ecological Research
LSM3264 Environmental Biochemistry
LSM3267 Behavioural Biology
LSM3272 Global Change Biology
LSM4225 Genetic Medicine in the Post-Genomic Era
LSM4227 Stem Cell Biology
LSM4255 Methods in Mathematical Biology
LSM4261 Marine Biology
LSM4262 Tropical Conservation Biology
LSM4265 Urban Ecology
LSM1105 Evolutionary Biology
LSM2102 Molecular Biology
LSM2103 Cell Biology
LSM3211 Fundamental Pharmacology
LSM3242 Translational Microbiology
LSM3243 Molecular Biophysics

You can view all the courses available to exchange students here.

University College London

Located in central London, University College London gives students access to academic resources through countless teaching and research partnerships with hospitals, museums, galleries, libraries, and professional bodies in the area. University College London is currently ranked fifth in the QS World University Rankings.

Did You Know?

  • Rumour has it that Adolf Hitler planned to set up his UK headquarters in Senate House at UCL, which is supposedly why it was never bombed in World War II. Many also consider the building to have been the inspiration for Orwell’s Ministry of Truth in ‘1984’
  • One of Coldplay’s first performances was for a UCL fundraiser for the the student support charity, Nightline
  • Philosopher Jeremy Bentham left his body to the university and asked that it be preserved as an "auto-icon." He remains on display, dressed in his original clothes, in a cabinet on campus

University College London

Examples of Courses You Can Take:

BIOL2002    Field Course in Environmental Biology    
BIOL2004    Fundamentals of Molecular Biology    
BIOL2007    Evolutionary Genetics    
BIOL2009    Animal Biodiversity    
BIOL2012    Fundamentals of Ecology    
BIOL2015    Computational Biology    
BIOL2016    Energy and Evolution    
BIOL7008    Field Course in Ecological Genetics    
BIOL3002    Plants, Environment and Climate Change    
BIOL3005    Introduction to Research    
BIOL3008    Species Conservation and Biodiversity    
BIOL3010    Molecular Evolution    
BIOL3011    Advanced Human Genetics (2): Complex Disorders    
BIOL3012    Sex, Genes and Evolution    
BIOL3017    Biology of Ageing    
BIOL3018    Vertebrate Life and Evolution    
BIOL3024    Advanced Molecular Biology: Genomics and Evolution

You can view all the courses available to exchange students here.

Uppsala University

The University of Uppsala was founded in 1477 and has attracted some of the world’s very best minds, such as Carl von Linnaeus, Olof Rudbeck, Anders Celsius, and more recently Niklas Zennström, the founder of Skype. Eight members of the university have received the Nobel Prize and every December the new Nobel laureates are invited to give open lectures at the university. 

Did You Know?

  • File-sharing is an official religion in Sweden. It holds CTRL+C and CTRL+V as sacred symbols
  • You can join one of 13 societies or “nations” at the University of Uppsala, which is a Swedish tradition from the 17th century. Nations each have their own café, pub, restaurant, and club nights, formal dinners, balls and musical and sporting events that you attend with your other nation members
  • The Silver Bible was donated to Uppsala University in 1669 and is Sweden's most valuable book and one of the world's most famous manuscripts. It was written in Italy at the beginning of the 6th century

 

uppsala

Examples of Courses You Can Take:

Advanced Neurobiology
Cell and Tumour Biology
Clinical Infection Biology and Antimicrobial Therapy     
Conservation Biology
Microbiology and Immunology
Modelling in Biology
Neurobiology
Parasitology, Mycology and Veterinary Infection Biology 
Project Work in Medical Biochemistry and Microbiology 
Research Training in Medical Biochemistry and Microbiology 

You can view all the courses available to exchange students here.


                                    Questions? Email us at international.utm@utoronto.ca or join our Facebook Support Group