Life Sciences with Entrepreneurship

Life sciences sits at the intersection of biology, chemistry, and medicine, exploring the mechanisms that underpin living organisms from the molecular level to whole ecosystems. It matters because advances in this field drive breakthroughs in healthcare, agriculture, environmental conservation, and biotechnology. This degree at the University of Manchester pairs that scientific grounding with entrepreneurship, preparing you not just to understand life processes but to translate discoveries into real-world impact.

Your first year, delivered as a foundation year, gives you a broad introduction to the biological sciences before you choose your specialism at the end of that period, from a position of greater knowledge. From there you will explore areas such as genetics, cell biology, physiology, biochemistry, and ecology, developing skills in laboratory practice, data analysis, and scientific reasoning. The entrepreneurship strand runs alongside your science studies, covering business development, innovation management, intellectual property, and the commercialisation of research.

You will learn how to identify scientific opportunities, build a case for investment, and navigate the regulatory and ethical landscape surrounding new biotechnologies. Together these two strands sharpen both your analytical thinking and your practical ability to turn ideas into ventures.

This is a four-year full-time programme, with the first year serving as a foundation year. Graduates from life sciences with entrepreneurship go on to careers spanning research and development, biotech and pharmaceutical startups, science communication, healthcare consulting, product management in medtech companies, and policy roles in public health. Many also pursue postgraduate study in molecular biology, biomedical research, or business, and some proceed to found their own ventures at the interface of science and commerce.