Biochemistry Degree 2013
We now know the order of the three billion letters of genetic code that make up the human genome. But what do they mean? By answering one question, we have created thousands of new ones. In addition to their traditional roles in areas such as clinical diagnosis and pharmacological research and development, biochemists will be responsible for tackling many of these questions. As a Biochemistry degree student, you will be uniquely prepared to work at the forefront of these developments.
Degree programme
Entry requirements
Minimum entry requirements
- A-level grades ABB
We do not include General Studies or Critical Thinking in our offers.
Conditional offers from Surrey will be made in grades or marks, and not listed in points from the UCAS tariff.
Required subjects
GCSE English Language and Mathematics at grade C or above (or equivalent).
Two science A-levels to include Chemistry.
English language requirements
Non-native speakers of English will normally be required to have IELTS 6.5 or above, with a minimum of 6.0 in each component (or equivalent).
Please note that the University of Surrey offers English language programmes and is also an IELTS Test Centre.
Other suitable qualifications
Cambridge Pre-U
M1, M1, M2
European Baccalaureate
74%
International Baccalaureate
34 points
BTEC (QCF Level 3) Extended Diploma
DDM (in an appropriate science subject)
In addition, we accept a wide range of qualifications, including other Level 3 QCF Level 3 qualifications, Scottish qualifications, the Irish Leaving Certificate, Access Diplomas and foundation courses. Other qualifications will be considered on an individual basis.
It is important to check whether the qualifications you are taking are suitable for your chosen degree. If you are uncertain whether your qualification meets our entry requirements, please contact us.
If you are an international student and you don’t meet the entry requirements to this degree, we offer the International Foundation Year.
Selection process
Offers are made in terms of grades. We may invite candidates for interview. We invite suitable candidates to visit the University to find out more about the programme and meet staff and students.
Tuition fees
UK/EU students
Tuition fees are currently set at £9,000 per year for UK/EU undergraduates starting in 2012.
The tuition charge will be accompanied by a generous financial support package, underlining our continued commitment to widening access for those students who come from low income households.
Overseas students
The fee for students classed as overseas for fees purposes is £15,160.
The University will assess your fee status. If you are unsure whether you are likely to be considered a home, EU or overseas student for fees purposes, the UKCISA website offers more information.
Professional Training Year Fees
Programmes marked with an asterisk (*) in the table above include a professional training year.
Currently fees of £1,050 (based on an inflation assumption of 2.5%) are charged for the Professional Training Year. Fees will not have to be paid up front for those students who decide to take up the Government’s loan for higher education fees. The Professional Training year is a key factor in the high employability rates achieved by students with Surrey degrees.
Our Degree
You will gain extensive practical skills in our internationally renowned, research-oriented environment, and upon graduation you will be among the most employable graduates in the UK.
Our Biochemistry degree programme offers you the option to specialise within the exciting areas of medical biochemistry, pharmacology, neuroscience and toxicology, with a broad base at the beginning of your programme followed by ample opportunities for specific module choices. We also offer you optional modules from other related degree programmes including Microbiology, Nutrition and Biomedical Science.
We have a strong commitment to teaching you the practical skills you will need to succeed, and we provide the opportunity for you to gain experience applying them in the real world during your Professional Training year.
Our Biochemistry programme is designed to make you a well-rounded, knowledgeable and eminently employable biological scientist. You will develop the intellectual foundations and the practical experience to enter the exciting world of the new biology, as well as the transferable skills to make you successful in other fields such as management, medicine and teaching.
Programme content
Programme overview
Biochemistry encompasses the study of the chemical changes needed for life processes, such as providing energy and building block molecules from our diet so that we may grow, move and reproduce. Biochemistry is the study of the fundamental processes of life at the cellular level. It is, therefore, the most important and broadest of the life sciences, dealing with subjects such as cellular chemistry, as well as the Human Genome Project.
This programme will give you a very sound and broad background in biochemistry. You will have opportunities to familiarise yourself with state-of-the-art biochemical methodology and sample some of its most exciting applications.
The modular structure of our programme, with a broad base at the beginning and ample opportunities for specialisation at the end, and the professional placement in the middle, will give you both breadth and in-depth knowledge, which is part of the secret behind the outstanding employability of our graduates. You will have the chance to choose from a wide variety of specialised subjects, allowing optimum flexibility to create particular module combinations according to your own interests and aspirations. As a versatile and knowledgeable biochemist, you will have a broad choice of careers upon graduation.
In year 1 you will be given a broad base of knowledge and skills. You will study eight core modules. Much of the teaching is practical-based, taking place in our state-of-the-art teaching laboratories. Starting from the basis of A-level Chemistry, you will be guided towards the specific chemistry of biological molecules and biological processes. You will also follow other key modules covering topics such as Microbiology, Cell Biology, and Molecular Biology and Genetics.
During year 2 you will be exposed to more in-depth knowledge where you will apply basic theories to more complex scenarios in problem-solving exercises. You will study subjects such as Molecular Biology and Genetics, and Physiology in greater depth, and acquaint yourself with important novel subjects such as Pharmacology and Immunology, all of which are important in preparing you for your Professional Training year. Finally, you will study numerous aspects of biochemistry itself, including Analytical Biochemistry, Enzymology and Metabolism in Health and Disease.
In year 3 you will have the opportunity to tailor your own degree by choosing optional modules in specific topics that are of particular interest to you. You will be able to select specific module choices from the areas of Neuroscience, Toxicology, Pharmacology and Medical Biochemistry, all of which are supported by a strong teaching structure and state-of-the-art research.
The largest single component of the year is the research project carried out as a member of a research group under the supervision of academic staff. This will give you the opportunity to explore a research area in which you are especially interested and develop specialised lab-based skills and experience.
Programme structure
Year 1 (FHEQ Level 4)
Modules include:
- Biochemistry
- Further Chemistry
- Molecular Biology and Genetics
- Cell Biology
- Physiology
- Microbiology
- Current Topics in Biosciences
Year 2 (FHEQ Level 5)
Modules include:
- Analytical Biochemistry
- Biochemistry – Enzymes and Metabolism
- Immunology
- Molecular Biology and Genetics
- Physiology
- Pharmacology
- Cellular Microbiology and Virology
- Neuroscience
- Microbial Communities and Interactions
- Pathology and Medicine
Professional Training year
- Optional Professional Training placement year
Year 3 (FHEQ Level 6)
Modules include:
- Assessed Research Project
- Molecular Biology and Genetics
- Biochemistry – Receptors and Energy Metabolism
- Clinical Immunology and Immunohaematology
- Control of Infectious Diseases
- Biomedical Microbial Products
- Toxicology
- Biological Rhythms
- Pharmacology
- Systems Biology: Genomes in Action
- Neuroscience
- Cancer – Pathogenesis and Therapeutics
- Epidemiology, Control and Treatment of Infectious Diseases
Professional training
The majority of our students choose to do our Professional Training year – and for very good reasons. Our experienced Professional Training tutors will help you to choose between (and apply to) a selection of excellent placements in industry, hospitals and academia.
The placements that we offer are paid, and to ensure that you have a successful placement, you will normally get three tutor visits during the year. We have placements all over the UK, including pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, and research institutes.
We also have an increasing number of international placements in institutions such as Cornell University, Washington State University, Harvard Medical School (USA), the University of Turku (Finland) and Okayama University (Japan).
Career opportunities
Graduate prospects
Graduates over the last few years entered employment in roles such as:
- ICON – Clinical Project Administrator
- AstraZeneca – Analytical Chemist
- Genzyme – Quality Control Scientist
- Aventis Pasteur MSD – Pharmacovigilance Coordinator
- GlaxoSmithKline – Bioanalyst
- Health Protection Agency – Medical Technical Officer
- Procter & Gamble – Researcher
- Cancer Research UK – Junior Clinical Research Associate
- Wockhardt UK – Drug Safety and Pharmacovigilance Executive
- Gloucester Hospital – Medical Laboratory Assistant
Career opportunities
Our Biochemistry graduates are found in academic and industrial research laboratories throughout the world. You will also find them in the City, in schools, hospitals, cockpits, submarines and boardrooms. Look for us amongst the top universities for employment in the league tables.
The majority of our graduates go immediately into the job market, but further study comes a close second. This includes taught MSc programmes, PhD studentships and fast-track medical degree programmes.
Our graduates find jobs in a wide variety of health and life science industries, with recent examples including Quintiles (Clinical Trials Assistant), AstraZeneca (Analytical Chemist) and GlaxoSmithKline (Bioanalyst).
Additional information
Teaching
We offer a modular degree based on a structured programme of advanced study which offers you the flexibility to study other subjects of interest. During your first year, a significant part of the teaching is spent in laboratory practicals. In the second year, this decreases to about a quarter of your time, whereas in your final year you will be performing your own scientific research project, usually in one of our research laboratories.
On average you will have approximately 24 hours of contact time each week (lectures, practicals and tutorials), and you will also be expected to undertake private study such as laboratory writeups, essays and other coursework.
Facilities
Our teaching laboratories have recently been refurbished to provide you with state-of-the-art learning environments. You will spend a large proportion of your time within them during your first and second years. In your final year, you will spend 25 per cent of your time on your research project. This research will be carried out in one of our 4*-rated research groups. Several million pounds has been spent on refurbishing and equipping these laboratories.
Assessment
Modules are assessed individually and credits are awarded for the successful completion of each one. Assessment takes place through a combination of examination and/or coursework, practical examinations and reports.
Academic Support
You will be allocated a personal tutor to guide you through the programme and to advise on option and career choices, helping you to get the most from your studies with us. You will also be paired with a student from the year of study above you so that you may benefit from their recent experience on the programme. As a Biochemistry student at Surrey, you will be treated as an individual. You will feel welcome from your very first day, and our low student-to-tutor ratio ensures that you will get to know your personal tutor and other academic staff members well during your years with us.
Why Surrey?
Biochemistry degree 2013 at Surrey
- The Guardian University Guide 2013 ranks Surrey twelfth out of 97 in the UK for its biological sciences programmes. The Complete University Guide 2013 ranks us fourteenth
- A pioneering Professional Training year with many international opportunities including the USA, New Zealand, Finland and Japan
- The excitement of learning about biochemistry in the post-genomic era
- Over 60 per cent of the Faculty’s research was rated world-leading in the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise
- Well-designed, flexible programme with an exciting range of core and optional modules
- Dedicated approach to teaching and developing practical laboratory skills
- State-of-the-art teaching laboratories
- A low student-to-tutor ratio – small and friendly tutorial groups
- An outstanding graduate employment record
The unique aspect of Biochemistry at the University of Surrey was the chance to get a taste of real life by doing a professional placement.
Behrad Derakshan
The unique aspect of Biochemistry at the University of Surrey was the chance to get a taste of real life by doing a professional placement. Surrey’s impeccable employment rate after graduation and its modular programme were also very attractive features. The diversity of the programme enabled me to gain insight into different scientific fields such as pharmacology, molecular biology and genetics, immunology, microbiology and physiology. As a result of this, I was able to decide where in this vast field my specific interests lie.
I spent 14 months in New York City, working in a research laboratory at one of the world’s foremost clinical and medical research centres at Cornell University’s Pharmacology Department, which has been taking placement students from Surrey for years. I was given my own research project and was responsible for all of my own experiments.
Working at Cornell was an amazing experience. It confirmed my interest in science and allowed me to interact with many interesting people. It provided me with an invaluable opportunity to gain knowledge of current research and improve my communication skills, as well as opening many doors for my career in science. I am also very happy to have been offered the chance to go back to Cornell to do a PhD. It feels good.
Surrey came highly recommended by past students and has an excellent reputation for science and for jobs.
Claire Mathers
I chose to come to Surrey because it is one of the few proper campus universities in the country. Being a campus university means that it’s a great place to meet people, play sports, and the services provided on campus mean you really have everything you need and more on your doorstep. The proximity of everything on the campus gives Surrey a community feel.
Surrey also came highly recommended by past students and has an excellent reputation for science and for jobs.
The lecturers make the topics enjoyable and understandable. All of the members of staff are approachable and helpful. The placement year helped me to put my studies into context and prepared me for more in-depth studies in my final year, including my research project. The University encourages individual thought as well as working within groups, so I feel I am more prepared for problem solving in the work environment.
The Professional Training year has provided me with the essential experience needed to get a job. As a result of my placement year, I was offered a job as a forensic toxicologist. I plan to travel to Peru to do the Inca Trail first, and then when I return to start my career in science as a toxicologist.