Budding zoologists will have the chance to study to degree level in Cornwall for the first time, thanks to the launch of a new University of Exeter course.

On offer at the Tremough Campus, Penryn, the University of Exeter's BSc Zoology degree is now recruiting for its first cohort of students, who will start their three or four-year study programme in October 2008.

Until now, there have been no degree-level Zoology courses available west of Bristol.

Head of the new Zoology degree course, Dr Patricia Moore, said: "On the Tremough Campus we have one of the UK's largest groups of scientists specialising in animal behaviour, ecology and conservation and this new degree builds on our recognised expertise in this field.

Dr Patricia Moore, Tremough Campus: "This course will allow students to develop an appreciation for the factors that influence the birth, life, death and diversity of animals."

"This course will allow students to develop an appreciation for the factors that influence the birth, life, death and diversity of animals."

Like the university's other biology courses, it will involve a significant amount of fieldwork, so that students can observe animals in their natural habitats.

Zoology students will have the opportunity to take part in a field trip to Africa, as well as studying animals closer to home in Cornwall.

Students will also have the option of taking a year to study abroad or complete a work placement as part of their degree.

The university hopes to attract students who are interested in careers in zoological and veterinary sciences, animal welfare and ecology.

As well as subject-specific work, students will learn skills including statistics, psychology and observation, which are essential to a variety of careers.

The £100m Tremough Campus is a Combined Universities in Cornwall initiative of which the University of Exeter and University College Falmouth are two of the founding partners.

It is funded mainly by the European Union (Objective One), the South West Regional Development Agency, and the Higher Education Funding Council for England, with support from Cornwall County Council.

Set in 70 acres of countryside, but close to the waterside towns of Penryn and Falmouth, the campus offers a lively student community.