Are you interested in a career in the health services, in a pharmaceutical company or in medical research? Whether you're looking for a change of career, or may not have the scientific background or entry requirements for a degree in Biomedical Science, our Foundation Year offers the opportunity to fill any knowledge gaps and build your confidence.
This programme is designed for students who do not meet the requirements for direct entry to Stage 1 of our degree courses, and is an excellent conversion course for applicants who have shown academic ability in non-science subjects.
As well as learning about the latest developments in the understanding and treatment of human diseases, you develop wider transferable skills in problem solving, communication and teamwork.
In your foundation year, you study compulsory modules in biology, chemistry and scientific methods, plus a choice of optional modules. On successful completion of the foundation year, you will have reached a standard above A level and so be fully equipped to tackle a BSc degree course.
In your Biomedical Science degree, you'll explore the biochemical processes that occur in the human body, learn how they respond to diseases and how this knowledge can be used to identify and treat diseases. Practical work is at the heart of our teaching and this allows you to gain skills that are in high demand in the industry. We give you extensive practical training and you spend up to two-and-a-half days a week in the laboratory.
Early in your degree you develop your skills as a bioscientist, covering biological chemistry, genetics, molecular and cellular biology, human physiology and disease, and metabolism. Modules go on to include advanced immunology, haematology and blood transfusion, and pathogens. In your final year you complete a research project which can be lab or literature based. You have a broad choice of optional modules including neuroscience, bioinformatics and genomics and cancer biology.
Biomedical Science student Timo talks about his course at the University of Kent.
You can also tailor your degree to suit you by adding a sandwich year, where you’ll undertake a paid role. This will give you the chance to put into practice the skills you’ve learnt and develop new ones, as well as building important connections. You can also expand your horizons with our year abroad, where you'll study at one of our partner institutions.
Our BSc (Hons) Biomedical Science course is fully accredited by the Institute of Biomedical Science (IBMS) and the Royal Society of Biology (RSB).
The University will consider applications from students offering a wide range of qualifications. All applications are assessed on an individual basis but some of our typical requirements are listed below. Students offering qualifications not listed are welcome to contact our Admissions Team for further advice. Please also see our general entry requirements.
DDD including either a Science subject (i.e. Biology, Chemistry, Physics), Sport, Psychology or Mathematics at grade D
Maths and English Language at grade 4/C
The University welcomes applications from Access to Higher Education Diploma candidates for consideration. A typical offer may require you to obtain a proportion of Level 3 credits in relevant subjects at merit grade or above.
MMP in Applied Science, Biomedical Science, Medical Science, Sport or Sports Coaching. All other subjects are considered on a case by case basis. Please contact us for further advice on your individual circumstances.
24 points overall or 11 points from three HL subjects including HL Science subject, Sport, Psychology or Maths at 4 or SL Science subject, Sport, Psychology or Maths at 5
N/A
The University will consider applicants holding T level qualifications in subjects closely aligned to the course.
Please contact the School for more information at studynats@kent.ac.uk.
If you are an international student, visit our International Student website for further information about entry requirements for your country, including details of the International Foundation Programmes. Please note that international fee-paying students who require a Student visa cannot undertake a part-time programme due to visa restrictions.
Please note that meeting the typical offer/minimum requirement does not guarantee that you will receive an offer.
Please see our English language entry requirements web page.
Please note that if you do not meet our English language requirements, we offer a number of 'pre-sessional' courses in English for Academic Purposes. You attend these courses before starting your degree programme.
Duration: 4 years full-time
The following modules are indicative of those offered on this programme. This listing is based on the current curriculum and may change year to year in response to new curriculum developments and innovation.
The modules for Stages 1-3 of the degree course can be viewed on the Biomedical Science - BSc (Hons) page.
The 2022/23 annual tuition fees for this course are:
For details of when and how to pay fees and charges, please see our Student Finance Guide.
For students continuing on this programme, fees will increase year on year by no more than RPI + 3% in each academic year of study except where regulated.*
The University will assess your fee status as part of the application process. If you are uncertain about your fee status you may wish to seek advice from UKCISA before applying.
Find out more about accommodation and living costs, plus general additional costs that you may pay when studying at Kent.
We have a range of subject-specific awards and scholarships for academic, sporting and musical achievement.
Search scholarshipsKent offers generous financial support schemes to assist eligible undergraduate students during their studies. See our funding page for more details.
You may be eligible for government finance to help pay for the costs of studying. See the Government's student finance website.
Scholarships are available for excellence in academic performance, sport and music and are awarded on merit. For further information on the range of awards available and to make an application see our scholarships website.
At Kent we recognise, encourage and reward excellence. We have created the Kent Scholarship for Academic Excellence.
The scholarship will be awarded to any applicant who achieves a minimum of A*AA over three A levels, or the equivalent qualifications (including BTEC and IB) as specified on our scholarships pages.
Teaching includes lectures, laboratory classes, workshops, problem-solving sessions and tutorials. You have an Academic Adviser who you meet with at regular intervals to discuss your progress, and most importantly, to identify ways in which you can improve your work further so that you reach your full potential.
Most modules are assessed by a combination of continuous assessment and end-of-year exams. Exams take place at the end of the academic year and count for 50% or more of the module mark. Stage 1 assessments do not contribute to the final degree classification, but all stage 2 and 3 assessments do, meaning that your final degree award is an average of many different components. On average, 26% of your time is spent in an activity led by an academic; the rest of your time is for independent study.
For a student studying full time, each academic year of the programme will comprise 1200 learning hours which include both direct contact hours and private study hours. The precise breakdown of hours will be subject dependent and will vary according to modules. Please refer to the individual module details under Course Structure.
Methods of assessment will vary according to subject specialism and individual modules. Please refer to the individual module details under Course Structure.
The programme aims to:
You gain knowledge and understanding of:
You gain the following intellectual abilities:
You gain subject-specific skills in the following:
You gain transferable skills in the following:
Our recent graduates have gone on to careers including:
The School of Biosciences runs employability events with talks from alumni outlining their career paths since graduation.
The University also has a friendly Careers and Employability Service, which can give you advice on how to:
You graduate with an excellent grounding in scientific knowledge and extensive laboratory experience. In addition, you also develop the key transferable skills sought by employers, such as:
You can also gain new skills by signing up for one of our Kent Extra activities, such as learning a language or volunteering.
Our Biomedical Science degree programme is accredited by the Institute of Biomedical Science (IBMS) and the Royal Society of Biology (RSB). For future employers, this accreditation helps to demonstrate a wide-ranging scientific education with practical skills and experience.
This course page is for the 2022/23 academic year. Please visit the current online prospectus for a list of undergraduate courses we offer.
T: +44 (0)1227 823254
E: internationalstudent@kent.ac.uk
Discover Uni is designed to support prospective students in deciding whether, where and what to study. The site replaces Unistats from September 2019.
Discover Uni is jointly owned by the Office for Students, the Department for the Economy Northern Ireland, the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales and the Scottish Funding Council.
It includes:
Find out more about the Unistats dataset on the Higher Education Statistics Agency website.