The Society of Biology has launched Degree Accreditation. This follows from the existing Advanced Accreditation, which introduced a skills profile for bioscience graduates entering research-based roles.

The new Accreditation, which launched at the Royal College of Surgeons on 24th March, focuses on employability and more general higher level skills acquired through studying the biosciences to Honours level.

Rachel Lambert-Forsyth MSB, director of education and training at the Society of Biology said:
"The development of our Degree Accreditation Programme has been an important area of work for the Society since its inception in 2009. The launch of Advanced Accreditation in 2012 was an important step forward but the development of Accreditation for more ‘traditional’ honours undergraduate courses will be a game changer for the life sciences higher education landscape.

"We hope that life sciences departments across the country will look to Accreditation as a mark of excellence for their programmes and we look forward to working with departments through the application and review process."

The pilot process resulted in a total of 54 degree programmes successfully gaining Accreditation. The University of Aberdeen, University of Birmingham, Brunel University London, University of Greenwich, University of Kent, Royal Holloway, University of London, University of South Wales and the University of Strathclyde were presented with certificates at the launch ceremony to celebrate their achievements.

Accreditation follows an independent and rigorous assessment of degree programmes which contain a solid academic foundation in biological knowledge and key skills. The Accreditation criteria require evidence that graduates from accredited programmes meet defined sets of learning outcomes, including technical ability and transferable skills.

The Society of Biology is delighted to now be taking formal expressions of interest for applications. Interested bioscience departments can find out more about the accreditation criteria and process of application by referring to the Degree Accreditation Handbook or by contacting accreditation@societyofbiology.org