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Biomedical Science with Foundation Year - BSc (Hons) *

Currently viewing course to start in 2025/26 Entry.

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. This course is based at our state-of-the-art campus in Edgbaston, Birmingham....

  • Level Foundation
  • Study mode Full Time
  • Award BSc (Hons)
  • Start date September 2025

This course is:

Open to International Students

Overview

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. This course is based at our state-of-the-art campus in Edgbaston, Birmingham.

Why choose a foundation year course?

The BSc (Hons) Biomedical Sciences with a Foundation Year course has been specifically designed to support your transition to degree-level study in Life Sciences.

You will undertake a level 3 Foundation Year, which has been designed to prepare you for your chosen degree course, providing opportunities for you to develop your knowledge, skills and understanding. Your learning through your foundation year will provide a secure platform on which you can build throughout your 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.

This course is open to International students.

What's covered in this course?

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. 

Why Choose Us?

  • Taught by expert academic staff with a range of experience from the biotechnology industry, clinical sciences, education, and research.
  • Work in our well-equipped teaching laboratories and develop a broad range of skills that will prepare you for a career in the Life Sciences and beyond.
  • Get involved in our cutting-edge research, and work alongside our research staff on an independent project in the final year.
  • Apply for a travel scholarship as part of our Go Abroad scheme to carry out exciting work placements overseas.

Open Days

Join us for an on-campus Open Day where you'll be able to learn about this course in detail, chat to students, explore our campus and tour accommodation.

Next Open Day: 24 November 2024

Book your place

Entry Requirements

These entry requirements apply for entry in 2025/26.

All required qualifications/grades must have been achieved and evidenced at the earliest opportunity after accepting an offer to help confirm admission and allow for on-time enrolment. This can also include other requirements, like a fee status form and relevant documents. Applicants can track their application and outstanding information requests through their BCU mySRS account.

Essential requirements

80 UCAS Tariff points. Learn more about UCAS Tariff points.

If you have a qualification that is not listed, please contact us.

Fees & How to Apply

Please select your student status to view fees and apply
  • UK Student
  • International Student

UK students

Annual and modular tuition fees shown are applicable to the first year of study. The University reserves the right to increase fees for subsequent years of study in line with increases in inflation (capped at 5%) or to reflect changes in Government funding policies or changes agreed by Parliament. View fees for continuing students.

Award: BSc (Hons)

Starting: Sep 2025

  • Mode
  • Duration
  • Fees
  • Full Time
  • 1 year foundation followed by 3 year degree
  • TBC
  • Apply via UCAS

International students

Annual and modular tuition fees shown are applicable to the first year of study. The University reserves the right to increase fees for subsequent years of study in line with increases in inflation (capped at 5%) or to reflect changes in Government funding policies or changes agreed by Parliament. View fees for continuing students.

Award: BSc (Hons)

Starting: Sep 2025

  • Mode
  • Duration
  • Fees
  • Full Time
  • 1 year foundation followed by 3 year degree
  • TBC

Access to computer equipment 

You will require use of a laptop, and most students do prefer to have their own. However, you can borrow a laptop from the university or use one of our shared computer rooms. 

Printing 

You will receive £5 print credit in each year of your course, available after enrolment. 

Field trips 

All essential field trips and associated travel costs will be included in your course fees. 

Access to Microsoft Office 365 

Every student at the University can download a free copy of Microsoft Office 365 to use whilst at university and for 18 months after graduation. 

Key software 

You will be able to download SPSS and Nvivo to your home computer to support with your studies and research. 

Key subscriptions 

Subscriptions to key journals and websites are available through our library. 

Excess printing (optional) 

Once you have spent your £5 credit, additional printing on campus costs from 5p per sheet. 

Personal stationery and study materials (optional) 

Based on the past experience of our students, you might find it helpful to set aside about £30 for each year of your studies for your personal stationery and study materials. 

Accommodation and living costs (optional)

The cost of accommodation and other living costs are not included within your course fees. More information on the cost of accommodation can be found in our accommodation pages.

Guidance for UK/EU students

UCAS

UK and EU students applying for most undergraduate degree courses in the UK will need to apply through UCAS.

The Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) is a UK organisation responsible for managing applications to university and college.

Applying through UCAS
 Register with UCAS
 Login to UCAS
 Complete your details
 Select your course
 Write a personal statement
 Get a reference
 Pay your application fee
 Send UCAS your application

Course in Depth

Foundation Year

In order to complete this course a student must successfully complete all the following CORE modules (totalling 120 credits).

Year One

In order to complete this course a student must successfully complete all the following CORE modules (totalling 120 credits).

Year Two

In order to complete this course a student must successfully complete all the following CORE modules (totalling 100 credits).

Year Three

In order to complete this course a student must successfully complete all the following CORE modules (totalling 80 credits).

In order to complete this course a student must successfully complete at least 40 credits from the following indicative list of OPTIONAL modules.

All core modules are guaranteed to run. Optional modules will vary from year to year and the published list is indicative only.

Download course specification

Download now

How you'll learn

Our teaching philosophy is focused on enabling students to progress as self-directed learners. You will be encouraged to investigate, to be creative and enterprising, and to think critically about the current and future global challenges faced by modern day scientists. These attributes will be developed within independent subject modules, overseen by a dedicated team of scientists with teaching and research expertise covering the whole range of biomedical sciences disciplines.

You'll be exposed to a number of different teaching and learning styles, as well as a range of assessment types. You will also be able to influence your learning pathway by choosing from a choice of optional modules in your second and final years of study.’

Employability

Enhancing your employability skills

We'll develop you into a work-ready graduate. Employability skills are embedded throughout the programme that will enable you to succeed in careers in science, and which are transferable across a variety of graduate careers

You will also have access to the Universities Graduate+ programme which will provide you with opportunities to engage in extracurricular activities that will help to expand your employability attributes. There are modules in the programme that provide you with opportunities to develop employability skills on work placements or as part of research-focused projects.

Placements

You will have the opportunity to gain valuable work-life skills as part of a placement that will be relevant to biomedical sciences. You'll be offered a choice of placements in educational, industrial or research based settings, but we'll also encourage you to find your own placement that suits your interests and needs.

More about our placement opportunities

International

Birmingham City University is a vibrant and multicultural university in the heart of a modern and diverse city. We welcome many international students every year – there are currently students from more than 80 countries among our student community.

The University is conveniently placed, with Birmingham International Airport nearby and first-rate transport connections to London and the rest of the UK.

Our international pages contain a wealth of information for international students who are considering applying to study here, including:

Facilities & Staff

We have invested over £400 million in our facilities, including an upgrade to our Skills and Simulation facilities at City South Campus. We boast up-to-date, innovative facilities that simulate the real situations that you may come across in the workplace. These resources are essential in offering you a hands-on introduction to health and social care practice.

Biomechanics Laboratory 

Our biomechanics laboratory is a long room with cameras mounted on the sides, and sensors in the floor. It’s used to record motion, evaluate people's movements and analyse gait. It’s generally used by Sports courses and Biomedical Engineering.

Nutrition Science Kitchen

Our kitchen has several workstations to allow you to wash, prepare and cook food. There are multi-coloured chopping boards (following food hygiene standard regulations) and a range of utensils and appliances. This space is used by a range of courses including Dietetics, Secondary Design and Technology and Sport. You may use this room to prepare certain meals for teaching basic cooking or baking skills to school children and exploring nutritional education, or protein high recipes for athletes to support their training and fitness regime.

Microbiology Laboratory

The lab is equipped with modern equipment for teaching the molecular biology techniques that underpin modern clinical and research labs such as polymerase chain reaction (PCR) machines and a variety of cell-analysis and cell-culture tools. The department also has DNA sequencing equipment.

Bioscience Laboratory

Our purpose-built bioscience laboratory features a range of specialist equipment to support your studies, including Zeiss PrimoStar microscopes.

Nutrition Science Research Laboratory

This laboratory is used by staff or students doing specific projects such as analysing the chemistry of food in the later stages of their degree.

Skills Classroom

This room can be used to practise a variety of skills but is primarily home to our Anatomage tables. An Anatomage table allows you to investigate anatomy digitally, from organs and muscles to skeletal forms and blood flow, the software includes real-life MRI scan data to help you develop your understanding of anatomy.

Our staff

Julie Davis

Foundation Year Lecturer

Julie joined the ADD (Academic Development Department) in 2018 as a Lecturer on the HELS Foundation Year programme. Prior to joining Birmingham City University, she worked at a number of local FE and HE institutions where she developed and delivered a range of Early Years and Education programmes.

More about Julie

Jessica Lowe

Foundation Year Lecturer

Jessica joined the ADD (Academic Development Department) in 2019 as a Lecturer on the HELS Foundation Year Programme. Her role is to lead and develop modules to support students on their journey on the Foundation Year Programme. Prior to joining BCU, she has worked in a FE and HE institution teaching students on a range of courses in Early Years...

More about Jessica

Dr James Barnett

Senior Lecturer (Biomedical Sciences)

James graduated from the University of Sheffield in 2000 with a BSc (Hons) in Biochemistry and Genetics. James’ first graduate job was at The Binding Site Ltd, where he was employed as a technician In the monoclonal antibodies department. James later embarked on a research career, and in 2002 joined the group of Professor Colin Robinson in the Dept...

More about James