Coventry University
UCAS Code: 11FC | Higher National Certificate - HNC
Entry requirements
Access to HE Diploma
The Access to HE Diploma to include 15 Level 3 credits at Merit in Science Units. Plus GCSE English and GCSE Mathematics at grade 4 / C or above.
GCSE/National 4/National 5
Minimum 5 GCSEs graded 9-4 / A* - C including Maths and English.
International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme
to include Biology, Chemistry or Physics at Higher level.
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)
in a Science based subject.
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)
in a Science based subject.
UCAS Tariff
Minimum two A2 levels or BTEC equivalent qualification, including a Science based subject.
About this course
Applied biosciences explores life at all levels from chemicals, molecules and cells to organ systems, laying the foundation for a career in human health and disease.
This course explores essential concepts such as chemistry, cell and molecular biology, microbiology, and anatomy and physiology. Practical aspects focus on laboratory skills specific to the subject studied and include the safe use of complex equipment, report writing and the development of accurate lab skills.
This Higher National Diploma (HNC) follows the curriculum for Year 1 of the Applied Biosciences BSc (Hons) degree course.
For the most up-to-date information about course modules, sandwich years or part-time learning, please visit our website.
Modules
Chemistry for Biosciences
Introduction to Microbiology
Applied Cell Biology
Introduction to Anatomy and Physiology
We regularly review our course content, to make it relevant and current for the benefit of our students. For these reasons, course modules may be updated. Please check our website for the latest information.
Assessment methods
The learning outcomes of modules, assignments and projects will be clearly stated. Your work will be marked according to how well you achieve these learning outcomes and your final feedback will refer to each outcome, as well as providing an overall percentage grade.
Assessment methods vary and include, practical class and project performance, written practical reports, project thesis, laboratory experiments, tutorial tasks and assessments, which take place at the end of each six-week block.
Course Breakdown:
Coursework
Presentations
Exams
Tuition fees
Select where you currently live to see what you'll pay:
The Uni
CU London (Dagenham)
CU Coventry
CU Group
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.
Biosciences (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)
Chemistry
Sorry, no information to show
This is usually because there were too few respondents in the data we receive to be able to provide results about the subject at this university.
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.
Biosciences (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
These stats refer to the prospects of graduates from general courses in biosciences. About a quarter go into further study and for those who go into work, bioscience, teaching and finance jobs are the most common types of employment. But you can go into most careers with this kind of degree — the majority of jobs for graduates don’t ask for a particular degree subject - and you will acquire a wide range of skills valued by many employers. If you want to find out more specifically about the prospects for your chosen subject, it might be a good idea to go on open days and talk to tutors about what previous graduates from your chosen subject went on to do.
Chemistry
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
Chemistry graduates are in demand from a wide range of industries, from the food, oil, chemicals and pharmaceuticals to consultancy, technical analysis and teaching. They're also prized by business and finance employers for their research and data handling skills — anywhere there is research and data to be explained, you can find chemistry grads. If you want a career in research, you need a doctorate, so start planning now if you fancy one of these exciting and challenging jobs - but good students can usually get grants to take a doctorate, so don't worry about the financing if you think you have what it takes. The recession wasn’t too kind to chemists, particularly in the pharmaceutical industry (one of the key employers for chemists), but things are getting back to normal for this flexible group and it's one of the few degrees that is bucking the current trend and increasing graduate numbers.
What about your long term prospects?
Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.
Biosciences (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.
£18k
£23k
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.
Sorry, no information to show
This is usually because there were too few respondents in the data we receive to be able to provide results about the subject at this university.
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Course location and department:
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Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF):
We've received this information from the Department for Education, via Ucas. This is how the university as a whole has been rated for its quality of teaching: gold silver or bronze. Note, not all universities have taken part in the 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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