Biomedical Science
Biomedical science is the laboratory discipline that underpins clinical diagnosis and patient care. When a doctor orders a blood test, a tissue biopsy or a culture for infection, it is a biomedical scientist who analyses the sample, interprets the results and reports the finding that guides treatment decisions. The discipline encompasses haematology, clinical biochemistry, microbiology, immunology, histopathology and transfusion science, and its practitioners combine precise analytical technique with the scientific understanding to distinguish a normal result from a pathological one.
At London South Bank University, this three-year full-time programme is accredited by the Institute of Biomedical Science, meaning that graduates can apply to be registered as Biomedical Scientists with the Health and Care Professions Council. The IBMS accreditation is the professional standard that employers across NHS pathology services and private laboratories look for, and it makes this degree a direct route into a regulated healthcare profession. The programme benefits from professional relationships in the healthcare sector, and students gain placement experience in laboratory settings, developing practical competence alongside their academic understanding of the underlying science.
You will study the scientific principles governing the body's normal physiology and the ways in which disease disrupts those processes, building the analytical and interpretive skills that make a competent clinical laboratory scientist. You will develop proficiency in laboratory technique and instrumentation, in quality assurance and in the safe handling of biological samples, all of which are fundamental to professional practice.
Graduates register with the HCPC and enter employment in NHS pathology departments, private diagnostic laboratories, blood transfusion services and research organisations. The profession offers clear career progression from entry-level scientist through specialist and lead roles to laboratory management and consultancy. Postgraduate study in clinical biochemistry, microbiology, haematology or related biomedical sciences offers further progression for those who wish to specialise or pursue research.