Biomedical Engineering with a Foundation Year

UCAS code: H160

Here's what University of Sheffield says about its Biomedical Engineering with a Foundation Year course.

If you don't have the usual scientific or mathematical background for an engineering degree, a foundation year is for you. After successfully completing the foundation year, you automatically progress onto year 1 of your chosen degree.

The foundation year is designed to prepare you for your degree. You’ll study core topics such as mathematics and an introduction to engineering, gaining hands-on experience through laboratory work and lab reports. You’ll also complete a project relevant to your chosen degree programme, ensuring you are fully prepared to succeed in your first year of your MEng degree and build confidence in both learning and practical application.

The Biomedical Engineering MEng course prepares you to be at the forefront of the rapidly growing medical technology sector, developing your skills and knowledge to create innovative solutions that can save and improve lives.

Our expert academic team, composed of industry experts, clinicians and academics, has been teaching biomedical engineering at Sheffield for over a decade. They will show you how both traditional and contemporary engineering principles can be applied to transform healthcare, integrating diverse engineering disciplines to develop innovative solutions that improve health and quality of life.

In your first year of your degree, you’ll gain a solid foundation in both engineering and the underpinning sciences. You’ll study the structure and function of the human body alongside fundamental engineering principles, learning how engineering concepts are applied to medicine and biology.

In year two of your degree, you choose one of two pathways that align with your interests. Pathway A leads to either the Biomedical Engineering or Medical Devices and Systems final-year routes, while Pathway B leads to Biomanufacturing or Biomaterials & Tissue Engineering.

Alongside pathway-specific modules, you’ll continue to build core skills in biomechanics, mechatronics, data-driven design, and machine learning, while gaining experience in laboratories, computational tools and collaborative design projects.

In year three of your degree, you’ll specialise further by selecting your final-year route. Core modules develop your research and professional skills and teach the design process for bringing biomedical solutions from concept to market. You’ll also complete a Group Design Project, applying knowledge to a real-world biomedical challenge and building advanced technical, analytical, and collaborative skills

Your final year features an Individual Research Project, allowing independent or team-based work to investigate a specialised topic. Professional development and research modules prepare you for career or further study. Optional modules let you focus on areas such as medical device regulation, bioimaging, nanomaterials, biopharmaceutical engineering, computational biomechanics, cardiovascular and musculoskeletal modelling, human movement biomechanics and women’s health.

Accredited by the Institute of Physics and Engineering in Medicine (IPEM) and the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET)on behalf of the Engineering Council for the purposes of fully meeting the academic requirement for registration as an Incorporated Engineer and partially meeting the academic requirement for registration as a Chartered Engineer.