Biological Sciences
Biochemistry is the study of the chemical processes that underlie living systems, examining how molecules including proteins, nucleic acids, lipids and carbohydrates are structured, how they interact and how they carry out the functions that sustain life at the cellular and molecular level. It is an interdisciplinary science that incorporates molecular biology, molecular genetics, bioinformatics and biotechnology, and it sits at the heart of our understanding of how health is maintained and how disease develops. Advances in biochemistry underpin drug discovery, genetic medicine and the biotechnology industry.
At the University of Edinburgh this four-year programme, within the biological sciences degree family, gives you a rigorous and comprehensive education in biochemistry within a research-intensive department. You will study protein structure and function, enzyme catalysis, metabolism, gene expression and regulation, cell signalling, genomics and the experimental techniques that underpin modern biochemical research. Edinburgh's research environment is exceptional, and you will engage with scientists working at the frontiers of the field throughout your studies.
A year abroad is built into the programme, giving you the opportunity to experience biochemistry research and education in a different national academic context, which broadens your scientific perspective and builds your international network.
Graduates of biochemistry go on to careers in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, where drug discovery, development and manufacturing all depend on biochemical expertise. Academic and government research roles, clinical laboratory science in the NHS, and roles in diagnostics, nutrition, food science and agricultural biotechnology are among the other common destinations. The analytical rigour and laboratory skills developed through a biochemistry degree also provide a strong foundation for postgraduate professional programmes in medicine, veterinary medicine and dentistry, and many graduates pursue doctoral research in biochemistry, molecular biology, structural biology or a related discipline.