Biomedical Sciences with Foundation Year
Entry requirements
A level
CDD / 80 UCAS points. Including Science subject at A Level or Level 3 equivalent, at grade C or above.
Pass with 60 credits overall. At least 45 credits at Level 3 with 18 credits at Merit or Distinction (of which 12 must be in a Science-related subject)
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.
International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme
Obtain a minimum score of 24 overall with grade 4 or above in Biology, Chemistry, Physics or Maths at Higher Level. 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 English B - Grade 5 from the IB Diploma. 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.
Pass the Irish Leaving Certificate with a minimum of 80 tariff points, achieved in five Higher level subjects. This must include English Language and Maths taken at either Ordinary Level (minimum grade O4) or Higher level (minimum grade H4). Must include Science subject at Higher level.
See level 3 entry under Irish Leaving Certificate for full details
OCR Cambridge Technical Extended Diploma
MMP. Must be in Applied Science.
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)
MMP. Must be in Applied Science.
Achieve a minimum of 80 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 DDD. Where a combination of Highers and Advanced Highers have been taken, you must achieve grades of DDDD. Must include Science subject at Higher level or above.
Achieve a minimum of 80 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 DDD. Where a combination of Highers and Advanced Highers have been taken, you must achieve grades of DDDD. Must include Science subject at Higher level or above.
T Level
Pass overall (C or above on the core) Must be in Science
UCAS Tariff
80 UCAS points. Considered with two A Levels or equivalent level 3 qualifications. One of the A Level or equivalent qualifications must be taken in a Science subject.
About this course
Do you want a career in biomedical sciences? Our practice-led BSc (Hons) Biomedical Sciences offers a unique insight into human life processes, as well as disease and health within the population.
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 and be taught in our state-of-the-art life sciences laboratories. 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 postgraduate training and study. These careers include medical laboratory assistant, trainee biomedical scientist, physician associate, working on clinical trials for drug companies, research assistant and research technician, marketing assistant and medical and scientific representative. Graduates may also use their qualifications to progress into teaching careers, as well as postgraduate study to obtain MSc, MPhil and PhD qualifications. Exceptional graduates may be able progress onto postgraduate Medicine and Dentistry.
**Foundation Year**
The BSc (Hons) Biomedical Sciences with a Foundation Year course has been specifically designed to support your transition to degree-level study in Health Sciences. As a student, you will undertake a foundation year situated at level 3 study, which has been designed as a prelude to your chosen degree course, providing opportunities for you to develop your knowledge, skills and understanding. Your learning journey through your foundation year will provide a secure platform on which you can build throughout your academic career in higher education.
As part of the foundation year, you will explore and develop number of essential academic, interpersonal and professional skills that will help you succeed in your future degree level studies.
On successful completion of your foundation year, you are guaranteed to progress on to the first year of the BSc (Hons) Biomedical Sciences degree. If you are interested in progressing on to one of our other Health Sciences degrees, this will be subject to space available on those courses and meeting the relevant entry requirements, which may include passing an interview.
Tuition fees
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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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Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF):
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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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This information is from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), for undergraduate students only.
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:
The Higher Education Careers Services Unit have provided some further context for all graduates in this subject area, including details that numbers alone might not show
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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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