Biomedical Science

Biomedical science is the laboratory-based discipline that underpins modern medicine. It applies the methods of biochemistry, cell biology, microbiology, haematology, histopathology, and molecular biology to understanding disease and developing the diagnostic and therapeutic tools that clinical medicine depends on. The vast majority of clinical decisions are informed by biomedical laboratory results, making biomedical scientists an essential but often invisible part of the healthcare system.

This four-year full-time programme at the University of Brighton includes a sandwich year and a work placement, both of which provide direct professional experience in biomedical laboratory settings before you complete your final year. In a field where laboratory competence and professional experience are central to employability, these practical placements are genuinely significant. The programme is accredited in the manner that allows graduates to pursue registration with the Health and Care Professions Council as a biomedical scientist, the professional route for those who want to work in NHS laboratories.

With a typical tariff of 104 points, the programme is accessible to students with solid science foundations and the commitment to develop serious laboratory skills.

You will study human physiology, biochemistry, haematology, microbiology, immunology, molecular biology, and pathology, alongside the analytical and quality assurance principles that govern professional laboratory practice. The sandwich year and placement give you direct experience of working in clinical or research laboratory settings, building the practical competences alongside the theoretical knowledge.

Graduates from biomedical science programmes move into careers in clinical laboratories within the NHS and independent sector, pharmaceutical and biotech research, academic research, quality control, regulatory affairs, and science education. The Health and Care Professions Council registration route is the gateway to clinical biomedical scientist roles. Many graduates continue to postgraduate study in a specialist area of biomedical science or in a clinical field.