BSc Biomedical Sciences / Course details

Our BSc Biomedical Sciences course will give you a grounding in a range of medically related disciplines, including physiology, pharmacology, neuroscience, cell biology, microbiology, anatomy and histology, genetics, biochemistry and immunology.

You will learn how to apply biology-based science for medical use through research, health monitoring or treatment. You will benefit from the course's strong focus on practical experience, which provides a sound basis for a career at the forefront of medical research, as well as other roles both within and outside the lab.

You can choose to supplement your degree with an integrated master's, modern language learning or a year in industry, enabling you to enhance your CV and stand out from other candidates in the competitive graduate employment market.

Please note, this degree is not accredited by the Institute of Biomedical Science. We have chosen not to have our degree accredited to give you maximum flexibility in your choice of course units. If you are interested in a career as a biomedical/healthcare scientist in the NHS, you can undertake the NHS Scientist Training Programme after you have completed this Biomedical Sciences degree.

A range of study options

You can extend your degree by a year to undertake an integrated master's , gain industrial/professional experience , study with entrepreneurship or learn a modern language .

It is possible to broaden your degree by taking units from the University College , Business and Management for all Programmes or the University Centre for Academic English in exchange for a few units from your degree.

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 bioscience courses at the end of your first year or, in some cases, later.

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.

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 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 some units also include a coursework element. 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 through a presentation and a written report.

The final year contributes 60% to your overall degree mark.

As a biomedical scientist, I was able to choose from a wide range of units and could expand my knowledge of a variety of subject topics that I was interested in. I particularly enjoyed the Physiology Research Skills unit that I did in Year 2, as it gave me an opportunity to have a key role in designing and implementing scientific research.

Ana Das

I enjoyed the anatomy lectures and practicals which allowed us to work within the dissecting rooms using the cadavers. This not only increased my passion for medical science, but also drove me to work harder.

Moses Chidowe

Find out more about what it's like to study at Manchester on the  Biology, Medicine and Health Student Blog .

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;
• electromyography (EMG) 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 will 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.