The School of Life Sciences is managed across two campuses of the University of KwaZulu-Natal - Pietermaritzburg and Westville (Durban).

The School was established from the merger of four separate units in January 2005 and an additional unit in 2011:

• The discipline of Biological Science at Howard College (previously part of the School of Life & Environmental Sciences).
• The School of Botany and Zoology in Pietermaritzburg.
• The disciplines of Grassland and Wildlife Science in Pietermaritzburg (previously part of the School of Applied Environmental Sciences).
• The School of Biological Sciences in Westville.

• The School of Biochemistry, Genetics and Microbiology (2011)

This new School is the largest in the College of Agriculture, Engineering and Science, and the largest such School in the country. Our size means that students have access to the best possible facilities, resources and staff, and the broadest range of curriculum options.

Our School is justly proud of its research and publication record. We are, by far, the most productive school within the University. Our research interests within the biological sciences are broad. Important research areas in the school include biochemistry, genetics, microbiology, ecology, marine biology, biomarker development, plant and animal physiology, conservation biology, cellular biology, grassland science, evolutionary biology, entomology and systematics.