You have 20 hours of contact time with lectures and workshops taking up about 6-10 hours per week.   

In your first year, you will gain a solid foundation in topics areas such as physiology, biochemistry, genetics, and cell biology in lectures, seminars, and tutorials. You will use your theory to build on your practical skills in a well-equipped, modern laboratory.   

In your second year you will start to specialise. You will choose from a range of modules from across our Biosciences courses so you can shape your leaning journey.   

Work placement/study abroad option: Between your second and final year, you’ll have the option to study abroad or do a work placement for up to a year. Not only will this give you an amazing experience to talk about but will also give your CV a boost. If you’d rather go straight to your final year, that’s absolutely fine too. 

In your final year you will find that you have grown to love certain topics that you just need to delve deeper into. You can select from all modules, whether this be disease, blood or medicine, and focus your major project or dissertation in this area.  

Throughout your degree, you will be assessed in a variety of ways. This will include exams, literature reviews, portfolios, lab reports, practical and presentations. Coursework assessments are generally 50-100% per module. You will also take part in a 15 -credit work experience, complete with a final portfolio. 

Work placement

Graduate with invaluable work experience alongside your degree and stand out from the crowd.  

This course offers you the opportunity to enhance your study and CV with a work placement sandwich year. It’s a chance to explore career possibilities, make valuable contacts and gain sought after professional skills.  

Our dedicated Careers and Employment team are here to help guide you through the process.

If you take up a work placement between your second and third year of study, at the University of Hertfordshire you’ll pay no tuition fee for this year. We’ll ask you to make your decision in your second year, so there is plenty of time to think about it. 

What's next for my career?

Our Biosciences graduates are highly sought after by employers in the industry due to the reputation of our teaching, the vocational element to our degrees and the fact that many of our students already have a year's work experience when they graduate which they gain in the sandwich year. Graduates can find employment in the pharmaceutical, food and drink, agrochemical and biotechnology industries as well as in industrial, academic and charity funded research. Some graduates also go on to work in health care and environment agencies. First salaries range from £12,000 to £22,000 pa.

Typical job titles of recent graduates:

• Trainee Biomedical Scientist,,
• Clinical Trials Associate,
• Drug Safety Coordinator,
• Medical Representative,
• Lab Scientist,
• Microbiologist,
• Research Assistant,
• Tissue Culture Technologist,
• Donor Transplant Assistant.

Typical employers of recent graduates:

• Pfizer,
• Denfleet Pharma Ltd,
• Health Protection Agency,
• GlaxoSmithKline,
• AstraZeneca,
• NHS Trusts
• Lark Technology.

Our graduates are highly sought after. They find employment in the pharmaceutical, food and drink, agrochemical and biotechnology industries, as well as in industrial, academic and charity-funded research. Jobs include drug safety coordinator, lab scientist, microbiologist, research assistant and donor transplant assistant.