From the tallest tree to the smallest cell, all life stems from biochemical processes. Investigating these processes right down to the molecular level has brought about huge leaps in our understanding across many disciplines – from evolution and reproduction to disease prevention and engineering. Biochemical research will be extremely important in the coming decades. If you want to be part of it then this course could be a great place to start. Biochemistry is the investigation of the chemical processes that leads to life and the processes of metabolic regulation, nervous integration and information storage by biochemical systems. The ability of biological machines to reproduce and pass on information of our evolutionary history are all driven by chemical processes that are in themselves becoming very well understood and well characterised at the molecular level. The next leap for biochemistry will be to explain the complexity of living processes such as consciousness at the level of chemistry, this has the potential to revolutionize areas of science such as computation. Biochemical research has the capacity to unlock stem cell therapies and overcome cancer and dementia. It also has much to offer engineering in advanced materials and novel solutions to problems that have evolved over billions of years. The potential for biochemical research in the coming decades is vast and the course is the starting point for many areas of further study and application in industry.

• This course is accredited by the Royal Society of Biology.
• You’ll have the opportunity to gain hands-on experience using scientific instrumentation in our modern biological sciences labs. In the third year of your course, you’ll also have the chance to benefit from a work placement. This could help you to gain relevant real-world experience and enhance your future employability prospects.
• All our teaching staff are educated to doctoral level in their respective subject areas and have expertise in most areas of biological sciences.
• As a student on this course you’ll be able to apply for undergraduate membership of the Biochemical Society and The Physiological Society (UK). You’ll also be eligible for student affiliate membership of the Royal Society of Biology and upon successful graduation be eligible to apply for one year associate membership, this can help open up networks at a crucial time when applying for jobs.

Placements

In the third year of this course, you’ll get the chance to step out of the classroom and into the real world on an optional placement year in an organisation related to your areas of interest. This is when you’ll really be able to see your knowledge in action, pick up invaluable skills for your future career and boost your employability to help you hit the ground running after graduation.

You could stay to do your placement in the UK or experience a new culture and work abroad for one year. Where could this year take you?

Previous students in the Biological Sciences subject area have undertaken placements with Abcam plc, the Edinburgh Cancer Research Centre, Leeds Institute of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Medicine, Pfizer, Solvay (Novecare), The European Molecular Biology Laboratory (Germany) and Sooam Biotech Research Foundation (South Korea).

Your Career

Graduates from our Biological Sciences courses can consider a wide range of career options in areas such as medical research, the NHS, molecular sciences, medical genetics, pharmaceuticals, developing scientific patents, medical sales or marketing, medical writing and teaching.

Previous graduates have gone on to work in roles such as Clinical Study Co-ordinator in Ophthalmology at NHS, Laboratory Technician at ALS, Microbiology Medical Laboratory Technician at IDEXX Laboratories and PhD Researcher at the University of Huddersfield.**

*Percentage of graduates from this course who are in work and/or further study fifteen months after graduating (Unistats 17/18 data, UK domiciled graduates).