Biomedical Sciences
Entry requirements
A level
Must include A Level Psychology or Science grade B or above Excluding General Studies, Critical Thinking and Extended Project A maximum of 3 subjects are considered. These can be other A-levels or Level 3 equivalents
AS
112 UCAS tariff points. Must include A Level Psychology or Science grade B or above Excluding General Studies, Critical Thinking and Extended Project A maximum of two AS-Level subjects can be considered along with two A-levels or a combination of equivalent Level 3 qualifications
Pass with 60 credits overall. At least 45 credits at Level 3 with 24 credits at Merit or Distinction (of which 18 must be in a Science or Health related subject) If applying with an Access course you only need GCSE Mathematics and English Language at grade C/4 or above or accepted equivalent. You are not required to hold three GCSEs in total and GCSE Science is not required
GCSE/National 4/National 5
GCSE English Language or English Literature and GCSE Maths at grade C/4 or above. If you do not have these or are not undertaking them, we accept other Level 2 equivalents, or we may ask you to pass BCU's GCSE equivalency tests.
HNC (BTEC)
Pass with 120 credits at level 4 Must be in a Science related subject
Pass with 120 credits at level 4 and 120 credits at level 5 Must be in a Science related subject
International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme
Obtain a minimum of 28 points overall with grade 4 or above in at least one Higher Level subject from Group 4 (Biology, Chemistry and Physics) For students who do not already hold a GCSE in Mathematics at Grade C/4 or above, we will accept grade 5 in Maths (Standard Level) from the IB Diploma For students who do not already hold a GCSE in English Language at Grade C/4 or above, we will accept Standard Level English Language (not literature) English A - Grade 4 or above or English B - Grade 5 from the IB
Pass the Irish Leaving Certificate with a minimum of 112 tariff points, achieved in five Higher level subjects. This must include Maths and English Language taken at either Ordinary level (minimum grade O1-O4 (or A-C/A1-C3)) or Higher level (minimum grade H1-H7 (or A-D/A1-D3)) Must include Psychology or Science subject in Higher Level
See level 3 entry under Irish Leaving Certificate for full details
112 UCAS points Considered with one A-level or an equivalent level 3 qualification Either the OCR Level 3 Cambridge Technical Diploma or the accompanying A-level / level 3 equivalent must be in Applied Science, Psychology or Science subject
OCR Cambridge Technical Extended Diploma
Must be in Applied Science
112 UCAS points Considered with two A-level or equivalent level 3 qualification(s) Either the OCR level 3 Cambridge Technical Extended Certificate or one of the accompanying A-levels / level 3 equivalents must be in Applied Science, Psychology or Science subject
112 UCAS points Considered with one A-level or an equivalent level 3 qualification Either the OCR Level 3 Cambridge Technical Foundation Diploma or the accompanying A-level / level 3 equivalent must be in Applied Science, Psychology or Science subject
112 UCAS tariff points Considered with one A-level or an equivalent level 3 qualification Either the BTEC level 3 National Foundation Diploma or the accompanying A-level / level 3 equivalent must be in Psychology or Science subject
Either the BTEC level 3 National Extended Certificate or one of the accompanying A-levels / level 3 equivalents must be in Psychology or Science subject
Pearson BTEC Diploma (QCF)
Considered with one A-level or an equivalent level 3 qualification Either the BTEC level 3 National Diploma or the accompanying A-level / level 3 equivalent must be in Psychology or Science subject
Pearson BTEC Extended Diploma (QCF)
Must be in Applied Science
112 UCAS points Considered with two A-levels or equivalent level 3 qualification(s) Either the BTEC level 3 National Certificate or one of the accompanying A-levels / level 3 equivalents must be in Psychology or Science subject
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)
Considered with one A-level or an equivalent level 3 qualification Either the BTEC level 3 National Diploma or the accompanying A-level / level 3 equivalent must be in Psychology or Science subject
112 UCAS tariff points Considered with two A-levels or equivalent level 3 qualification(s) Either the BTEC level 3 National Extended Certificate or one of the accompanying A-levels / level 3 equivalents must be in Psychology or Science subject
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)
Must be in Applied Science
112 UCAS tariff points Considered with one A-level or an equivalent level 3 qualification Either the BTEC level 3 National Foundation Diploma or the accompanying A-level / level 3 equivalent must be in Psychology or Science subject
Either the BTEC level 3 National Extended Certificate or one of the accompanying A-levels / level 3 equivalents must be in Psychology or Science subject
Achieve a minimum of 112 tariff points achieved in either three Advanced Highers or from a combination of two Advanced Highers plus two Highers. Where three Advanced Highers have been taken achieve a minimum of grades CCD. Where a combination of Highers and Advanced Highers have been taken you must achieve (grades of CD in two Advanced Highers plus grades of CC in two Highers). Must include Health and Social Care, Psychology or Science subject at Higher level or above
UCAS Tariff
Contextualised reduced tariff offer: 96 tariff points or equivalent e.g. A-level CCC, BTEC Extended Diploma MMM, BTEC Diploma DD Please visit: http://www.bcu.ac.uk/student-info/offer-making-strategy for more information about contextual offers.
112 UCAS points Considered with two A-level or equivalent level 3 qualification(s) One of the A-level / equivalent qualifications being taken must be in Psychology or Science subject
About this course
Do you want a career in biomedical sciences? Our practice-led degree offers a unique insight into human life processes, as well as disease and health within the population. You’ll develop a range of practical and analytical skills, with the opportunity to put them into practice during an optional sandwich year work placement. This course is based at our recently extended state-of-the-art £71 million campus in Edgbaston, Birmingham.
Biomedical sciences embrace a number of important disciplines, including physiology, biochemistry, cell biology, microbiology and genetics. These subjects are of great importance in the provision of healthcare, medical research and underpin the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries. On this course you will learn about how the human body functions in health and disease, and develop an understanding of the diagnosis, management and treatment of a range of diseases. This degree emphasises critical thinking and independent problem solving skills, which will help you to navigate a successful career after graduation.
Throughout this course you will acquire important practical and scientific skills whilst being taught in our new state-of-the-art life sciences laboratories. You will have the opportunity to take an optional sandwich-year placement in an industrial, clinical or research setting between years 2 and 3 of this course. In the final year you will undertake an independent Research Project where you will execute your own experiments under supervision.
Graduates may go on to a range of careers directly or after further post-graduate training and study. These careers include medical laboratory assistants, trainee biomedical scientists, physician associates, clinical trials for drug companies, research assistants and research technicians, marketing assistants and medical and scientific representatives. Graduates may also use their qualifications to progress into teaching careers, as well as post-graduate study to obtain MSc, MPhil, Physician Associate/Assistant and PhD qualifications. Exceptional graduates may be able progress into post-graduate Medicine and Dentistry.
Tuition fees
Select where you currently live to see what you'll pay:
The Uni
City South Campus, Edgbaston
School of Health Sciences
What students say
We've crunched the numbers to see if overall student satisfaction here is high, medium or low compared to students studying this subject(s) at other universities.
How do students rate their degree experience?
The stats below relate to the general subject area/s at this university, not this specific course. We show this where there isn’t enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.
Biomedical sciences (non-specific)
Teaching and learning
Assessment and feedback
Resources and organisation
Student voice
Who studies this subject and how do they get on?
Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)
After graduation
The stats in this section relate to the general subject area/s at this university – not this specific course. We show this where there isn't enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.
Biomedical sciences (non-specific)
What are graduates doing after six months?
This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.
Top job areas of graduates
What about your long term prospects?
Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.
Biomedical sciences (non-specific)
The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.
£29k
£33k
£34k
Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.
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This information comes from the National Student Survey, an annual student survey of final-year students. You can use this to see how satisfied students studying this subject area at this university, are (not the individual course).
This is the percentage of final-year students at this university who were "definitely" or "mostly" satisfied with their course. We've analysed this figure against other universities so you can see whether this is high, medium or low.
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You can use this to get an idea of who you might share a lecture with and how they progressed in this subject, here. It's also worth comparing typical A-level subjects and grades students achieved with the current course entry requirements; similarities or differences here could indicate how flexible (or not) a university might be.
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Post-six month graduation stats:
This is from the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education Survey, based on responses from graduates who studied the same subject area here.
It offers a snapshot of what grads went on to do six months later, what they were earning on average, and whether they felt their degree helped them obtain a 'graduate role'. We calculate a mean rating to indicate if this is high, medium or low compared to other universities.
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Graduate field commentary:
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The Longitudinal Educational Outcomes dataset combines HRMC earnings data with student records from the Higher Education Statistics Agency.
While there are lots of factors at play when it comes to your future earnings, use this as a rough timeline of what graduates in this subject area were earning on average one, three and five years later. Can you see a steady increase in salary, or did grads need some experience under their belt before seeing a nice bump up in their pay packet?
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