Biology: Sensory Biology

This course offers a broad and practical introduction to how animals use their senses to interpret their surroundings. You will learn about vision and other forms of light reception, smell, taste, hearing, balance, and mechanoreception. More unexpected senses such as electroreception, magnetoreception, as well as senses for temperature and infrared radiation are also covered. By comparing different species, you will see how evolution has shaped solutions that help animals communicate, find food, avoid dangers, and adapt to their environments.

The course consists of a series of modules that address different levels of organisation, both theoretically and in the lab. These include the cell and molecular biology of sensory cells, the function of sensory organs, the structure of the nervous system and its processing and integration of sensory information, as well as how the senses of animals are adapted to the lifestyles and habitats of their owners (sensory ecology).

Teaching combines lectures, seminars, demonstrations, laboratory practicals and project work. Supervised activities and practical exercises help you understand how senses are structured and function. You will learn various methods used in physiology, ethology, and human psychophysics. This means you will not only try techniques used in research but also gain a deeper understanding of how we ourselves interpret sensory input.

During the laboratory practicals, you will collect and analyse data. You will practise collaborating, interpreting results, and applying scientific methods in ways that feel concrete and useful. Demonstrations allow you to see how advanced equipment works and how researchers operate in real-life settings.

Towards the end of the course, you will complete a larger project in which you explore your own chosen topic within sensory biology. The project concludes with a full-day symposium where you will present and discuss your findings with other students. Here, you will gain valuable experience in communicating research orally – a skill useful regardless of your future path.

Assessment consists of four written examinations throughout the course, as well as approved participation in laboratory practicals, seminars and project work.

Prerequisites

For admission to course is required 90 credits scientific studies, including knowledge equivalent to BIOA10 Cell and Microbiology 15 credits, BIOA11 Genetics and Evolution 15 credits, BIOB13/BIOC11 Human and Animal Physiology 15 credits or BIOB10 Zoology and Botany 15 credits, and chemistry 15 credits. English 6/English B.

Selection criteria

Seats are allocated according to: ECTS (HPAV): 100 %.

Tuition fees for non-EU/EEA citizens

Citizens of countries outside:

• The European Union (EU)
• The European Economic Area (EEA) and
• Switzerland

are required to pay tuition fees. You pay an instalment of the tuition fee in advance of each
semester.

Tuition fees, payments and exemptions

Full programme/course tuition fee: SEK 46,250
First payment: SEK 46,250

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Note that you may also need to pay an application fee, or provide proof of exemption.

Application fee

No tuition fees for citizens of the EU, EEA and Switzerland

There are no tuition fees for citizens of the European Union (EU), the European Economic Area (EEA) and Switzerland.