
- UCAS course code
- BB12
- UCAS institution code
- M20
Course description
Our BSc Pharmacology and Physiology course enables you to combine the study of the most critical aspects of the two disciplines.
The pharmacology component of the course looks at drug actions on living systems - where they act, what they do, how they are metabolised, and how they exert toxic effects.
Physiology is the study of function in living systems. This could be in plants and animals but, at Manchester, we concentrate on the function of humans and other mammals.
In the final year, your advisor will help to ensure that your course of study involves a balance between both subjects.
Special features
Industrial experience
You can extend your degree by a year to gain a year of industrial/professional experience and enhance your CV.
Foundation year available
You can prepare for the full degree course if you do not have the appropriate qualifications for direct entry by undertaking our foundation course first.
Flexibility to transfer between courses
You can transfer between most of our biological sciences degree courses at the end of your first year or, in some cases, later.
A range of study options
It is possible to broaden your degree by taking units from the University College , Business and Management for all Programmes or the University Language Centre in exchange for a few units from your degree.
Teaching and learning
You will benefit from a wide range of teaching and learning methods that suit the content and aims of each course unit.
These range from lectures and tutorials to practical and research projects, including the final year project .
Find out more about how you will learn and see a typical Year 1 timetable on our teaching and learning page.
Coursework and assessment
Assessment methods vary widely to suit the nature of the course unit and each level of study.
- Lecture units are usually assessed by written exam (multiple choice, short answer questions or essay-based), which are held at the end of an academic semester in either January or May/June.
- Practical units are usually assessed by experimental report and/or short written assignment and/or written exam.
- The proportion of independent study assignments increases during each year of study.
Year 1
Lecture units are usually assessed by e-learning activities during the unit and multiple choice exams at the end of the semester. Year 1 contributes 10% to your overall degree mark.
Year 2
Lecture units are usually assessed by essay-based exam and short answer questions. Year 2 contributes 30% to your overall degree mark.
Final year
Lecture units are usually assessed by essay-based exam. Students also take two 'honours' papers: degree programme-specific examinations comprising essays and data-handling problems.
A significant part of the year (accounting for one-quarter of the overall degree mark) is the project, which is assessed by literature review and a written report.
The final year contributes 60% to your overall degree mark.
Course unit details
This course is modular. You will study compulsory course units and choose some optional units.
Most units are assigned 10 credits and you will take 120 credits each year.
Course content for year 1
You will gain a broad introduction to biological sciences, covering key concepts such as:
- pharmacology
- physiology
- biochemistry
- genetics
- anatomy
- neuroscience
- molecular biology
Year 1 also provides an introduction to the essential data handling and laboratory skills required for all biological scientists.
Course units for year 1
The course unit details given below are subject to change, and are the latest example of the curriculum available on this course of study.
Title | Code | Credit rating | Mandatory/optional |
---|---|---|---|
Academic Tutorials Year 1 | BIOL10000 | 10 | Mandatory |
Biochemistry | BIOL10212 | 10 | Mandatory |
Molecular Biology | BIOL10221 | 10 | Mandatory |
From Molecules to Cells | BIOL10232 | 10 | Mandatory |
Introduction to Laboratory Science | BIOL10401 | 10 | Mandatory |
Introduction to Experimental Biology - Human Biology | BIOL10422 | 10 | Mandatory |
Writing and Referencing Skills (online unit) | BIOL10741 | 0 | Mandatory |
Body Systems | BIOL10811 | 10 | Mandatory |
Drugs: From Molecules to Man | BIOL10822 | 10 | Mandatory |
Excitable Cells: the Foundations of Neuroscience | BIOL10832 | 10 | Mandatory |
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Course content for year 2
You will study in greater depth and continue to specialise. You will also undertake a dissertation.
In the Research Skills unit, you have the opportunity to carry out techniques that are widely used in current biological science research.
Course units for year 2
The course unit details given below are subject to change, and are the latest example of the curriculum available on this course of study.
Title | Code | Credit rating | Mandatory/optional |
---|---|---|---|
Academic Tutorials Year 2 | BIOL20000 | 10 | Mandatory |
Human Sciences EDM | BIOL21061 | 10 | Mandatory |
Dissertation | BIOL21090 | 10 | Mandatory |
Endocrinology | BIOL21261 | 10 | Mandatory |
Gut and Renal Human Physiology | BIOL21272 | 10 | Mandatory |
Clinical Drug Development | BIOL21302 | 10 | Mandatory |
Drugs & the Brain | BIOL21312 | 10 | Mandatory |
Membrane Excitability: Ion Channels & Transporters in Action | BIOL21321 | 10 | Mandatory |
Molecules and Cells in Human Disease | BIOL21351 | 10 | Mandatory |
`Omic Technologies & Resources | BIOL21152 | 10 | Optional |
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Course content for year 3
Final year topics reflect the current hotspots of bioscience endeavour and the research interests of our staff, and are constantly being updated.
You will undertake an independent in-depth research project that may involve supervised practical work in a laboratory, or you may choose to work on e-learning, educational, data analysis, bioinformatics or enterprise topics.
Course units for year 3
The course unit details given below are subject to change, and are the latest example of the curriculum available on this course of study.
Title | Code | Credit rating | Mandatory/optional |
---|---|---|---|
Academic Tutorials Year 3 | BIOL30000 | 0 | Mandatory |
Projects | BIOL30030 | 30 | Mandatory |
Project Literature Review | BIOL30101 | 10 | Mandatory |
Advanced Ion Transport (E) | BIOL31591 | 10 | Mandatory |
Ion Transport in Health & Disease (E) | BIOL31622 | 10 | Mandatory |
Human Reproductive Biology (E) | BIOL31561 | 10 | Optional |
Advanced Endocrinology (L) | BIOL31571 | 10 | Optional |
Cardiovascular Systems (E) | BIOL31582 | 10 | Optional |
Toxins, Toxicants & Toxicity (E) | BIOL31602 | 10 | Optional |
Neuroinflammation in Health & Disease (E) | BIOL31612 | 10 | Optional |
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Scholarships and bursaries
What our students say
I am very glad I chose this degree; it gives me the flexibility between physiology units and more intense pharmacology units. Manchester is a great city to be in as a student because everything I need is so accessible and I always feel safe.
Catrin Vaughan
Pharmacology and Physiology was the perfect choice for me, I have learnt about some of the most striking phenomena of the body, and also to understand the processes involved in disease and how different treatments work. I have also been able to study some slightly unusual optional units. In my second year, I was able to go and watch a post mortem at Manchester Royal Infirmary to complement a pathology course unit. This was incredibly memorable and interesting.
Jenni Walton-Gould
Find out more about what it's like to study at Manchester on the Biology, Medicine and Health Student Blog .
Facilities
Learning facilities
Our modern teaching labs are equipped for a range of biological and biomedical techniques. The following are just a few of the techniques you could undertake during your degree:
- polymerase chain reaction (PCR);
- DNA sequencing;
- gel electrophoresis;
- spectrophotometry;
- dissection and histology;
- electroencephalography (EEG) and electrocardiography (ECG);
- immunofluorescence microscopy.
Our computing facilities include access to over 200 PCs in dedicated clusters and e-learning tools including online lecture notes, discussion boards, lecture podcasts and quizzes.
You will also have access to the University's other facilities for undergraduate students.
Research facilities
As a final year student, you have the opportunity to undertake a project in the labs of our world-class bioscience researchers.To support our research, we have extensive research facilities equipped with high-quality technology.