School of Life Sciences

Welcome to the School of Life Sciences

Welcome to the School of Life Sciences, which is located on the Pietermaritzburg and Westville campuses. The School has a staff complement of 144 academic and support staff; houses approximately 1600 undergraduate students; and boasts a postgraduate component of 514, engaged in Honours, Masters, PhD and Postdoctoral research.

Place still available for first-year students

The College of Agriculture, Engineering and Science still has places available in its first-year programmes for funded or self-funded students.

Registration 2021

In view of the current Covid-19 public health emergency, the University has put in place measures to ensure that the 2021 registration processes continue in a manner that mitigates the health and safety risks for our staff, students, and members of our local communities.

Earth Hour Day: Harbour Cleanup

Come have fun with us as two of our beautiful coastline cities come together to raise awareness against plastic pollution in our oceans.

UKZN Hosts First Virtual Parents’ Day

UKZN held its first virtual Parents’ Day to welcome first-year students and their parents to the 2021 academic year. In his welcome address, Vice-Chancellor and Principal, Professor Nana Poku, thanked parents and students for choosing to study at the ‘most transformed of the research intensive universities in the country with...

Msizi Chatbot Launched

Click here for isiZulu version UKZN has developed the Msizi Chatbot to enhance the student and visitor experience for 2021 online registrations. Launched at the beginning of February, the Chatbot is a computer programme designed to mimic human conversation and provide predetermined answers by interpreting words given to it in...

A1 NRF Rating for UKZN Scientist

Click here for isiZulu version UKZN’s Professor Steve Johnson has obtained an A1 rating from the National Research Foundation (NRF). This is the highest rating that the NRF awards to ‘researchers who are unequivocally recognised by their peers as leading international scholars in their field for the high quality and wide impact...

Rehabilitated Yellow-Billed Kites the Focus of Novel Scientific Mercy Mission

UKZN’s Centre for Functional Biodiversity, Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife and the Centre for Rehabilitation of Wildlife (CROW) have teamed up for a scientific mercy mission. Postdoctoral researcher Dr Dave Ehlers Smith and Ezemvelo colleague Mr Brent Coverdale, recently released three rehabilitated yellow-billed kites at a Crocodile Farm outside Wartburg, KwaZulu-Natal – a location that sees hundreds of the scavengers...

New Publication on Invasive Birds to Inform Research and Management

Click here for isiZulu version South African Research Chair in Ecosystem Health and Biodiversity in KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape Professor Colleen Downs and Dr Lorinda Hart, Honorary Researcher at UKZN and lecturer at the University of Namibia, have edited a new publication for the Centre for Agriculture and Bioscience...

Postdoctoral Researcher Selected for Global Women in STEMM Programme

A postdoctoral researcher in the School of Life Sciences, Dr Céline Hanzen, is one of 100 women selected to participate in the global Homeward Bound programme, an initiative to promote leadership among women in Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, and Medicine (STEMM). Hanzen, who was selected from a pool of 376 applicants,...

Ford Wildlife Foundation Vehicles Boost Life Sciences Research

Research on hippos fish, herps, birds and other mammals by students and researchers in UKZN’s School of Life Sciences is benefitting from a donation by the Ford Wildlife Foundation (FWF) of two Ford Ranger (double cab) 4x4 vehicles. The vehicles are part of Ford Motor Company of Southern Africa’s (FMCSA) commitment to the...

UKZN Mourns Death of Aquatic Biology Expert

UKZN - including those in its School of Life Sciences - is mourning the death of Honorary Research Fellow Professor Olaf Weyl, who was Chief Scientist and Research Chair for Inland Fisheries and Freshwater Ecology at the National Research Foundation’s (NRF) South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity (SAIAB). Born in Germany, Weyl grew up...

PhD Student Publishes in Prestigious International Journal

Mr Miguel Castañeda-Zárate, a Mexican TWAS (The World Academy of Sciences) funded PhD candidate in the School of Life Sciences (SLS), has published results from his research in Current Biology, a journal with an impact factor of 9.601. In the paper, he and his two co-authors - also from the SLS...

MAgric Teaches “Old Dog” New Tricks!

Seasoned irrigation technician, Mr Danie le Roux has rebooted his academic career using his considerable experience and skill to complete a Master of Agriculture (MAgric) degree in Agricultural Extension and Rural Resource Management (AERRM) at UKZN based on research that explored problems with collective irrigation schemes and developing farmers. Le...

Life Science Teacher Awarded PhD, Now Set on Postdoc Research

Durban’s Thomas More College was proud to announce that it now has a new doctor in the house – Life Science teacher, Gary Robson, who was awarded his PhD in Biological Sciences at UKZN’s Spring Graduation ceremony. ‘For my PhD, UKZN was a natural choice as the animals I wanted...

First-year students can message us on WhatsApp +27 68 280 1806 for assistance

Dean & Head of School

Prof Ademola Olaniran

PA/Secretary:
Ms Xoli Shandu
031 260 1545
shandu@ukzn.ac.za

The School of Life Sciences is comprised of caring and enthusiastic lecturers ensure that students emerge highly employable, with a rich university experience and a first-class degree in the Life Sciences to their name.

This field of study encompasses all human, plant and animal life – ranging from microscopic germs to elephants and everything in between. Areas of specialisation within UKZN’s School of Life Sciences include:

Website under construction

We are developing a new look and feel for our website. We have a few quirks to fix, but we will have everything up and running in no time.

If you don’t find the information you need, please drop up us a line and we’ll get back to you.

Thank you for your patience and understanding.

Search

ORIENTATION 2021

Dean & Head of School

Prof Ademola Olaniran

Website under construction

Inspiring Greatness

ORIENTATION
2021