Why study this course?
The Biomedical Science BSc degree is designed to help you play a key role in identifying diseases, monitoring treatment and undertaking research into infectious diseases and other pathologies. This course gives you the academic competencies required by the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) and is accredited by the Institute of Biomedical Science (IBMS).
A one-year sandwich placement or two single-semester work placement modules can be undertaken to give you valuable work experience.
More about this course
Biomedical science transforms our understanding of health and disease. This course will put you at the cutting edge of science as you study everything from healthcare issues to research-based science, learning how disease is caused, identified and treated.
The subjects covered during the course are similar to the pre-clinical components of a medical degree, with topics including the structure and function of biological fluids, cells and tissues, and the relationship between bodily systems and health, disease and the environment.
Your study programme is designed so that core modules are delivered over two whole days per week, enabling you to juggle lectures with study and other responsibilities. Your first year will include an introduction to the key principles of biomedical science and place a heavy focus on developing the necessary laboratory skills and data manipulations. In Year 2, you’ll look at core discipline areas such as blood science, infection and tissue science. You’ll also get plenty of hands-on experience in a wide range of research techniques, such as spectrophotometry, polymerase chain reaction (PCR), electrophoresis and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).
Your third year will comprise more in-depth study of the major disciplines of biomedical science and you’ll have the opportunity to specialise with an independent research project on a topic of your choosing.
You’ll also benefit from the guidance of our knowledgeable academic staff – many of whom are active researchers – as well as a range of external speakers working in the pathology industry who will keep you up to date with the latest biomedical developments and laboratory practices.
Accreditation of Prior Learning
Any university-level qualifications or relevant experience you gain prior to starting university could count towards your course
Modular structure
The modules listed below are for the academic year 2022/23 and represent the course modules at this time. Modules and module details (including, but not limited to, location and time) are subject to change over time.
Year 1 modules include:
Anatomy & Physiology 1 (core, 15 credits)
Anatomy & Physiology 2 (core, 15 credits)
Biochemistry (core, 15 credits)
Cell Biology (core, 15 credits)
Fundamentals of Molecular Biology (core, 15 credits)
General Chemistry (core, 15 credits)
General Microbiology (core, 15 credits)
Professional Studies (core, 15 credits)
Year 2 modules include:
Blood Science (core, 15 credits)
Fundamentals of Medicinal Chemistry (core, 15 credits)
Infection Science 1 (core, 15 credits)
Infection Science 2 (core, 15 credits)
Methods of Bioanalytical Analysis (core, 15 credits)
Tissue Science 1 (core, 15 credits)
Tissue Science 2 (core, 15 credits)
Ethics for Science (option, 15 credits)
Infection Control (option, 15 credits)
Parasitology (option, 15 credits)
Work Placement (for Life Sciences) (option, 15 credits)
Year 3 modules include:
Advanced Blood Science (core, 15 credits)
Advanced Infection Science (core, 15 credits)
Advanced Tissue Science (core, 15 credits)
Clinical Biochemistry (core, 15 credits)
Project (core, 30 credits)
Systems Pathology (core, 15 credits)
Applied Immunology (option, 15 credits)
Genomics (option, 15 credits)
Medical Genetics (option, 15 credits)
Sandwich Placement (option, 30 credits)
Virology (option, 15 credits)
Where this course can take you
Many graduates go on to careers in hospital and private medical laboratories as healthcare assistants, phlebotomists and biomedical scientists. Previous students have found work with companies such as NHS pathology laboratories and The Doctors Laboratory.
Other possible career paths include management, medical research, education and specialised laboratory work. The skills you’ll learn are also applicable to public health (water, foodstuffs, disease surveillance etc), veterinary laboratories, blood banks, forensics, and pharmaceuticals development.
You can also use this course as an entry point into the competitive world of graduate medical studies and go on to MSc and PhD. Together with further studies, this course serves as a great entry point to the newly emerging role of physician associate.
