Master of Science
MSc Biochemistry
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Fees and funding
Fees
Fees for entry in 2027 have not yet been set. For reference, the fees for the academic year beginning September 2026 were as follows:
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MSc (full-time)
UK students (per annum): £15,800
International, including EU, students (per annum): £37,800
The fees quoted above are fully inclusive of tuition, administration and computational costs.
Fees for entry are subject to yearly review. The University reserves the right to increase your tuition fee by up to 7% each year for courses lasting more than one year, including to reflect rising costs associated with delivering our educational and wider student experience. Postgraduate fees information .
Always contact the admissions team if you are unsure which fee applies to your qualification award and method of attendance.
International student CAS deposit
Self-funded international applicants are required to pay a deposit of £2500 towards their tuition fees before a confirmation of acceptance for studies (CAS) is issued. Some applicants will be required to pay a higher deposit. More information on tuition fee deposits .
Policy on additional costs
All students should normally be able to complete their programme of study without incurring additional study costs over and above the tuition fee for that programme. Any unavoidable additional compulsory costs totalling more than 1% of the annual home undergraduate fee per annum, regardless of whether the programme in question is undergraduate or postgraduate taught, will be made clear to you at the point of application. Further information can be found in the University's Policy on additional costs incurred by students on undergraduate and postgraduate taught programmes (PDF document, 91KB).
Scholarships/sponsorships
For the latest scholarship and bursary information please visit the fees and funding page .
International scholarships
Scholarships for international students are available through the Global Futures scheme. Visit the scholarship page to find out more about eligibility and how to apply.
Course unit details:
Laboratory Skills
| Unit code | BIOL66111 |
|---|---|
| Credit rating | 15 |
| Unit level | FHEQ level 7 – master's degree or fourth year of an integrated master's degree |
| Teaching period(s) | Semester 1 |
| Offered by | School of Biological Sciences |
| Available as a free choice unit? | No |
Overview
Lab Induction – Volumes and pipetting, weights and measures, aseptic technique, serial dilutions and buffer preparation.
Workshop 1 - Staining techniques: histological staining, immunohistochemistry.
Workshop 2 - Nucleic acid techniques: PCR, Real-time PCR and qPCR.
Workshop 3 - Protein handling techniques 1 & 2: 1 - Protein extraction/purification and analysis, including SDS-PAGE. 2: Western blot.
Scientific Report Writing – recording results and data, and writing scientific reports, including methods, figures, figure legends and referencing.
Students will complete a total of FOUR workshops including both parts of the Induction, Workshop 4 (both compulsory) and two further workshops from workshops 1-3.
Aims
Equip students with the theoretical understanding and practical skills relating to laboratory-based biomedical techniques to enable them to undertake, interpret and accurately record experimental research in the biomedical sciences.
Learning outcomes
Knowledge and understanding
- Develop awareness of current best practice in laboratory health and safety and understand how to keep themselves and those around them safe within a laboratory environment.
- Develop an understanding of the principles of a range of practical techniques used in the biomedical context and understand how to employ and adapt these within their own research applications.
Intellectual skills
- Develop critical understanding of the limitations of particular techniques and their applications.
- Develop an understanding of how to solve problems arising from unexpected results. Practical skills• Acquire the practical skills to enable them to follow written standard laboratory methods and achieve expected outcomes.
- Acquire technical competence in a range of biomedical and computational techniques.
- Learn best practice for recording experimental procedures and outcomes in a standard laboratory notebook.
Transferable skills and personal qualities
- Be able to carry out laboratory techniques alone or in partnership with others safely and efficiently.
- Demonstrate the ability to record experimental procedures in written form and to interpret experimental results obtained.
Teaching and learning methods
The learning and teaching processes will take the form of lectures, practical laboratory classes, laboratory demonstrations and e-Learning (completion of on-line summative assessments).
Assessment methods
| Method | Weight |
|---|---|
| Other | 20% |
| Report | 80% |
All students MUST attend Lab Induction and two further workshops from workshops 1 - 3 to complete the unit.
Lab Induction will not be assessed.
For BOTH of the other two workshops attended, from Workshops 1-3:(a) Pre-lab online MCQ test - 10% weighting, average of two tests (b) Post-lab online MCQ test - 10% weighting, average of two tests. For ONE of the workshops 1-3 (chosen by the student): A written practical report, 1000 words, containing Introduction, methods, results, discussion and conclusion with reference to relevant published literature. This has an 80% weighting. Students must also accurately record the results obtained in each lab workshop in a laboratory notebook.
Study hours
| Scheduled activity hours | |
|---|---|
| Practical classes & workshops | 36 |
| Independent study hours | |
|---|---|
| Independent study | 114 |
Teaching staff
| Staff member | Role |
|---|---|
| Susan Taylor | Unit coordinator |
Regulated by the Office for Students
The University of Manchester is regulated by the Office for Students (OfS). The OfS aims to help students succeed in Higher Education by ensuring they receive excellent information and guidance, get high quality education that prepares them for the future and by protecting their interests. More information can be found at the OfS website.
You can find regulations and policies relating to student life at The University of Manchester, including our Degree Regulations and Complaints Procedure, on our regulations website.
