Your complete guide to studying Ecology

Everything you need to know about studying Ecology in 2024

part of Environmental Studies & Earth Sciences

Ecology is a bio-science that studies the interaction between organisms, plants and the environment in which they live, both biotic and abiotic. It analyses the structure, function and productivity of the supra-individual bio-systems, the populations and the mixed systems, known as the ecosystems. It also deals with environment protection, animal and vegetal biodiversity, genetic diversity, agriculture, and water purification or climate-change concerns.

Ecologists are mostly engaged in research, they analyse acquired data and provide reports about environmental issues. You can typically specialise in one ecological area such as aquatic ecology, biodiversity and taxonomy, conservation biology among others.

Ecology is mainly a descriptive and experimental science and it utilises methods from other disciplines including Math, Statistics, Physiology and Geology. Study programmes blend lectures with field practice, data collection, and lab research. Ecology students assimilate core principals of environmental systems and learn how to apply them to real-world management issues, particularly in the conservation field and in the assessment of human impact in the natural world.

Ecology graduates practice in governmental agencies, in the private sector or in non-profit organisations. As environmental awareness is globally growing, the offer of green jobs is also increasing. Careers prospects include zoologist, conservancy officer, molecular biologist, laboratory manager or environmental consultant.

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View all PhDs in Ecology. Keep in mind you can also study an online PhDs in Ecology.

Interesting programmes for you

Best Universities for Ecology on PhDPortal

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Universities Location Shanghai Jiao Tong University Ranking (2017)
University of Oxford Oxford, United Kingdom 1
University of Montpellier Montpellier, France 2
University of Queensland Saint Lucia, Australia 3
University of California, Berkeley Berkeley, United States 4
University of California, Davis Davis, United States 5
University of British Columbia Vancouver, Canada 6
Wageningen University and Research Wageningen, Netherlands 7
James Cook University Townsville, Australia 8
University of Cambridge Cambridge, United Kingdom 9
Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences Uppsala, Sweden 10
University of Florida Gainesville, United States 11
University of Helsinki Helsinki, Finland 12
Cornell University Ithaca, United States 13
Imperial College London London, United Kingdom 14
University of Copenhagen Copenhagen, Denmark 15
University of Minnesota Twin Cities Minneapolis, United States 16
University of Washington Seattle, United States 17
The University of Exeter Exeter, United Kingdom 18
University of Wisconsin Madison Madison, United States 19
Duke University Durham, United States 20
ETH Zurich - Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zürich, Switzerland 21
Melbourne Business School Melbourne, Australia 22
The University of Western Australia Perth, Australia 22
Australian National University Canberra, Australia 24
Oregon State University Corvallis, United States 25
Sorbonne University Paris, France 26
University of Zurich Zürich, Switzerland 27
Harvard University Cambridge, United States 28
Stanford University Stanford, United States 29
Aarhus University Aarhus, Denmark 30
Colorado State University Fort Collins, United States 30
University of Sheffield Sheffield, United Kingdom 30
University of Colorado at Boulder Boulder, United States 33
The University of Edinburgh Edinburgh, United Kingdom 34
University of Göttingen Göttingen, Germany 35
Yale University New Haven, United States 36
Michigan State University East Lansing, United States 37
Lund University Lund, Sweden 38
University of California, Santa Barbara Santa Barbara, United States 40
University of Toronto Pickering, Canada 40
The University of Montana Missoula, United States 42
University of Leeds Leeds, United Kingdom 43
University of Georgia Athens, United States 45
University of New South Wales Sydney, Australia 45
Stockholm University Stockholm, Sweden 47
University of California, Santa Cruz Santa Cruz, United States 48
McGill University Montréal, Canada 49
Uppsala University Uppsala, Sweden 50
Bangor University Bangor, United Kingdom 101
Boston University Boston, United States 101
Charles University Prague, Czech Republic 101
Claude Bernard Lyon 1 Villeurbanne, France 101
Dalhousie University Halifax, Canada 101
Deakin University  Burwood, Australia 101
Griffith University Nathan, Australia 101
KU Leuven Brussels, Belgium 101
Lancaster University Lancaster, United Kingdom 101
Montana State University Bozeman, United States 101
Northern Arizona University Flagstaff, United States 101
Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU) Ås, Norway 101
Peking University Beijing, China 101
University of Plymouth Plymouth, United Kingdom 101
Simon Fraser University Burnaby, Canada 101
Stony Brook University Stony Brook, United States 101
Technical University of Munich München, Germany 101
Texas A&M University College Station, United States 101
The Ohio State University Upper Arlington, United States 101
University of Auckland Auckland, New Zealand 101
University of Glasgow Glasgow, United Kingdom 101
The University of Manchester Manchester, United Kingdom 101
University of Reading Reading, United Kingdom 101
Umea University Umeå, Sweden 101
University of Amsterdam Amsterdam, Netherlands 101
University of Basel Basel, Switzerland 101
University of California, Riverside Riverside, United States 101
University of Connecticut Storrs, United States 101
Goethe University Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main, Germany 101
University of Freiburg Freiburg, Germany 101
University of Gothenburg Göteborg, Sweden 101
University of Idaho Moscow, United States 101
University of Kent Canterbury, United Kingdom 101
University of Lisbon Lisbon, Portugal 101
University of Liverpool Liverpool, United Kingdom 101
University of Massachusetts Amherst Amherst, United States 101
University of North Carolina Chapel Hill Chapel Hill, United States 101
University of Oklahoma Norman, United States 101
University of Paris Sud Orsay, France 101
University of Porto Porto, Portugal 101
University of Southampton Southampton, United Kingdom 101
University of Tartu Tartu, Estonia 101
University of Turku Turku, Finland 101
The University of Vermont Burlington, United States 101
Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ) Montigny-le-Bretonneux, France 101
University of Würzburg Würzburg, Germany 101
University of Wyoming Laramie, United States 101
Utah State University Logan, United States 101
Utrecht University Utrecht, Netherlands 101
Aix-Marseille University Marseille, France 151
Brown University Providence, United States 151
Durham University Durham, United Kingdom 151
Florida International University Miami, United States 151
Hokkaido University Sapporo, Japan 151
Humboldt University Berlin Berlin, Germany 151
Iowa State University Ames, United States 151
Kyoto University Kyoto, Japan 151
Leuphana University of Lüneburg Lüneburg, Germany 151
Louisiana State University Baton Rouge, United States 151
National University of Singapore Singapore, Singapore 151
Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) Trondheim, Norway 151
Queen Mary University of London London, United Kingdom 151
Queen's University Belfast Belfast, United Kingdom 151
Radboud University Nijmegen, Netherlands 151
Rutgers University New Brunswick, United States 151
Sapienza University of Rome Roma, Italy 151
Swansea University Swansea, United Kingdom 151
Technical University of Denmark (DTU) Copenhagen, Denmark 151
Tel Aviv University Tel Aviv Yaffo, Israel 151
University of Calgary Calgary, Canada 151
The University of New Mexico Albuquerque, United States 151
Trinity College Dublin Dublin, Ireland 151
University of Antwerp Antwerpen, Belgium 151
University of Bayreuth Bayreuth, Germany 151
University of Bergen Bergen, Norway 151
The University of Évora Evora, Portugal 151
University of Fribourg Fribourg, Switzerland 151
Martin Luther Universität Halle Wittenberg Halle, Germany 151
University of Hawaii at Manoa Honolulu, United States 151
Friedrich Schiller University Jena Jena, Germany 151
University of Jyväskylä Jyväskylä, Finland 151
University of Kansas Lawrence, United States 151
University of Kiel Kiel, Germany 151
University of Kwazulu Natal Durban, South Africa 151
Leipzig University Leipzig, Germany 151
University of Missouri - Columbia Columbia, United States 151
Ludwig-Maximilians-University (LMU) Munich München, Germany 151
University of Nebraska-Lincoln Lincoln, United States 151
University of New Hampshire Durham, United States 151
University of Oulu Oulu, Finland 151
University of Potsdam Potsdam, Germany 151
University of Pretoria Pretoria, South Africa 151
University of Quebec in Montreal Montréal, Canada 151
University of South Bohemia in Ceské Budejovice (USB) Budweis, Czech Republic 151
University of Stirling Stirling, United Kingdom 151
UIT the Arctic University of Norway Tromsø, Norway 151
University of Utah Salt Lake City, United States 151
Virginia Tech Blacksburg, United States 151
Aberystwyth University Aberystwyth, United Kingdom 201
Auburn University Auburn, United States 201
Autonomous University of Madrid Alcobendas, Spain 201
Beijing Normal University Beijing, China 201
Bielefeld University Bielefeld, Germany 201
California Institute of Technology - Caltech Pasadena, United States 201
Cardiff University Cardiff, United Kingdom 201
Carleton University Ottawa, Canada 201
Pontifical Catholic University of Chile Villa Presidente Frei, Ñuñoa, Santiago, Chile, Chile 201
Charles Darwin University Darwin, Australia 201
College of William & Mary Williamsburg, United States 201
Estonian University of Life Sciences Tartu, Estonia 201
Florida State University Tallahassee, United States 201
Freie Universität Berlin Berlin Steglitz, Germany 201
Georgia Institute of Technology Atlanta, United States 201
Jagiellonian University Kraków, Poland 201
Kansas State University Manhattan, United States 201
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) Karlsruhe, Germany 201
Rey Juan Carlos University Coslada, Spain 201
La Trobe University Melbourne, Australia 201
Leiden University Leiden, Netherlands 201
Lincoln University Canterbury Christchurch, New Zealand 201
Masaryk University Brno, Czech Republic 201
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Cambridge, United States 201
Massey University Palmerston North, New Zealand 201
McMaster University Hamilton, Canada 201
Murdoch University Murdoch, Australia 201
Newcastle University Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom 201
Purdue University West Lafayette, United States 201
Queen's University Kingston, Canada 201
Queensland University of Technology Brisbane, Australia 201
Royal Holloway University of London London, United Kingdom 201
San Diego State University La Mesa, United States 201
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne Lausanne, Switzerland 201
Syracuse University Syracuse, United States 201
George Washington University Washington, D. C., United States 201
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem Jerusalem, Israel 201
The University of Hong Kong Hong Kong, Hong Kong (SAR) 201
The University of Tokyo Tokyo, Japan 201
Tsinghua University Beijing, China 201
The Universidade Estadual Paulista (Unesp) Bauru, Brazil 201
Universidade dos Açores Rosto de Cão, Portugal 201
Universidade Federal de Goiás Goianápolis, Brazil 201
Institute for European Studies - Universite Libre de Bruxelles Brussels, Belgium 201
University College Dublin Dublin, Ireland 201
University of Bath Bath, United Kingdom 201
University of Bonn Bonn, Germany 201
UNICAMP - University of Campinas Campinas, Brazil 201
University of Canberra Canberra, Australia 201
University of Canterbury Christchurch, New Zealand 201
Universidad de Castilla la Mancha Toledo, Spain 201
University of Coimbra Coimbra, Portugal 201
University of Eastern Finland Kuopio, Finland 201
University of Geneva Genève, Switzerland 201
Justus Liebig University Giessen Gießen, Germany 201
University of Granada Granada, Spain 201
University of Hamburg Hamburg, Germany 201
University of Innsbruck Innsbruck, Austria 201
University of Kentucky Lexington, United States 201
University of Konstanz Konstanz, Germany 201
University of Liège Liège, Belgium 201
The University of Maine Orono, United States 201
University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science Cambridge, United States 201
University of Massachusetts Boston Boston, United States 201
University of Miami Coral Gables, United States 201
University of Missouri–St. Louis Saint Louis, United States 201
University of Montreal Montréal, Canada 201
University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna Vienna, Austria 201
University of Neuchâtel Neuchâtel, Switzerland 201
University of Nevada, Reno Reno, United States 201
University of Notre Dame South Bend, United States 201
University of Nottingham Nottingham, United Kingdom 201
Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg Oldenburg, Germany 201
University of Ottawa Ottawa, Canada 201
University of Padua Padua, Italy 201
University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, United States 201
University of Rennes Rennes, France 201
University of Saskatchewan Saskatoon, Canada 201
University of Sherbrooke Sherbrooke, Canada 201
University of South Florida Tampa, United States 201
University of Southern California Los Angeles, United States 201
University of Sussex Brighton, United Kingdom 201
University of Technology Sydney Sydney, Australia 201
University of the Balearic Islands Palma de Mallorca, Spain 201
University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg Johannesburg, South Africa 201
University of Tübingen Tübingen, Germany 201
University of Twente (UT) Enschede, Netherlands 201
Ulm University Ulm, Germany 201
University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna Vienna, Austria 201
University of Victoria Victoria, Canada 201
University of Virginia Charlottesville, United States 201
University of Windsor Windsor, Canada 201
University of Wisconsin Milwaukee Milwaukee, United States 201
University of Wollongong Wollongong, Australia 201
Victoria University of Wellington Wellington, New Zealand 201
Wake Forest University Winston-Salem, United States 201
Washington State University Pullman, United States 201
Washington University in St. Louis Saint Louis, United States 201
Arizona State University Tempe, United States 51
Macquarie University Sydney, Australia 51
National Autonomous University of Mexico Coyoacán, Mexico 51
Princeton University Princeton, United States 51
Université Grenoble Alpes Grenoble, France 51
University College London (UCL) London, United Kingdom 51
University of Aberdeen Aberdeen, United Kingdom 51
University of Alberta Edmonton, Canada 51
The University of Arizona Tucson, United States 51
University of Bern Bern, Switzerland 51
University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Los Angeles, United States 51
University of California, San Diego San Diego, United States 51
University of East Anglia Norwich, United Kingdom 51
University of Groningen Groningen, Netherlands 51
University of Guelph Guelph, Canada 51
University of Lausanne Lausanne, Switzerland 51
University of Maryland College Park, United States 51
University of Michigan Ann Arbor, United States 51
University of Oslo Oslo, Norway 51
University of Sao Paulo São Paulo, Brazil 51
Savoie Mont Blanc University Chambéry, France 51
University of St Andrews St Andrews, United Kingdom 51
University of Sydney Sydney, Australia 51
University of Tasmania Hobart, Australia 51
University of Vienna Vienna, Austria 51
AgroParisTech - Institut des Sciences et Industries du Vivant et de l'Environnement Paris, France 76
Autonomous University of Barcelona Barcelona, Spain 76
Columbia University New York City, United States 76
Ghent University Ledeberg, Belgium 76
Indiana University Bloomington Bloomington, United States 76
Laval University Québec, Canada 76
Monash University Clayton, Australia 76
North Carolina State University Raleigh, United States 76
University Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier Toulouse, France 76
Pennsylvania State University State College, United States 76
Stellenbosch University Stellenbosch, South Africa 76
University of Adelaide Adelaide, Australia 76
University of Texas at Austin Austin, United States 76
University of Alaska Fairbanks Fairbanks, United States 76
University of Barcelona Barcelona, Spain 76
University of Bristol Bristol, United Kingdom 76
University of California, Irvine (UCI) Irvine, United States 76
University of Cape Town Cape Town, South Africa 76
University of Chicago Chicago, United States 76
University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign Urbana, United States 76
University of Otago Dunedin, New Zealand 76
University of Tennessee Knoxville Knoxville, United States 76
Western Sydney University Paramatta, Australia 76
University of York York, United Kingdom 76
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam Amsterdam, Netherlands 76
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