Close
This is a four-year version of our BSc (Hons) Biochemistry course with an integrated foundation year. Solve some of the most interesting and important health problems in the world today. Contribute to healthcare at both ends of the spectrum, from diagnosis and disease profiling to drug discovery and development. Enhance your employability and gain real-world experience with an optional placement.
While biomedical scientists work on diagnosis and disease profiling and biopharmaceutical scientists work on drug discovery and development, biochemistry sits directly in between these disciplines and contributes to healthcare in both areas.
You will examine the origin of life, the study of disease, and the complex chemistry and developmental biology of whole organisms. Study areas including biological chemistry, cell biology, clinical chemistry, and molecular biology.
Our teaching methods address different learning styles and provide a diverse learning experience. The course integrates traditional lecture and laboratory-based learning with active, experiential and enquiry-based learning.
You will be taught via laboratory practical work, tutorials, lectures, seminars, group work and e-learning. We also encourage you to develop independent study skills.
This course shares a common first year with BSc (Hons) Biopharmaceutical Science and BSc (Hons) Medicinal Chemistry, which allows you to easily change course at the end of the first year should one of these routes appeal to you.
The Integrated Foundation Year is specially designed to support you where you've just missed the grades required for direct entry onto a three-year degree, or if you have relevant work experience and are now looking to broaden your subject knowledge but want more time to develop study skills before starting your degree.
Entry requirements are provided for guidance only and we may offer you an entrance interview which will help us determine your eligibility for your chosen degree. This enables us to consider making you an offer if you're perhaps a mature student who's been out of education for a period of time, or you've gained significant knowledge and skills through employment rather than traditional education.
Eligible entry qualifications:
Find out how many points your qualifications are worth using the UCAS Tariff calculator.
If you're unsure of whether you think you might be suitable for the course, please contact us.
**If you've studied for a GCSE which has a numerical grade, you'll need to achieve a grade 4 or above. Equivalent alternative qualifications are also accepted, such as Level 2 Key Skills in Communication and Application of Number.
If English isn't your first language, please see our English language requirements.
For more information about our Integrated Foundation Year courses, please see our Help and Advice articles.
The annual fee for this course is £9,250 if you're from the UK/Ireland/EU settled/pre-settled.
If you're a full-time UK/Irish/EU settled/EU pre-settled student, you may be eligible to receive financial support to cover your fees for the full four years. UK and EU settled students may also be eligible to receive a maintenance loan.
Please note, this course isn't available to international students.
Learn more about settled status, pre-settled status, special discounts, visa requirements, and Common Travel Area (CTA) agreements for the Republic of Ireland applicants in our Help and Advice article.
Take a look at the scholarships and bursaries that may be available to you.
This information was correct at the time of publication.
Biochemists are employed in an increasingly wide range of roles in biological, environmental and clinical fields, with employment opportunities stretching from healthcare through forensic science to the food and pharmaceutical industries.
Companies that have employed our graduates include pharmaceutical multinationals such as GSK, FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies, Pfizer and AstraZeneca.
The employability of Sunderland graduates reflects our mix of academic rigour and practical skills. To enhance this mix, we encourage you to apply to undertake a one-year placement between your second and final year.
Placements provide an invaluable opportunity to put your learning into practice and understand the context for your new knowledge. As part of the course you will also make several industry visits.
You’ll be taught by passionate academic staff with a broad range of relevant research interests including:
This course gives you the opportunity to develop skills which you can use in a range of employment situations including: