Veterinary Biosciences Degree 2013
On our Veterinary Biosciences degree you will learn about the science of animal health and disease - issues which are constantly in the news. For example, the recent outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease and bluetongue have had major animal health and economic impact. The risk of human infection from avian and swine influenza, Salmonella and E. coli highlights the importance of understanding the links between animal and human health. Our understanding of the scientific basis of these topics has increased dramatically, but the challenges remain and global warming is likely to bring new diseases to this country. If you are interested in contributing to the enhancement of animal (and indirectly human) health, then this is the programme for you.
Degree programme
Entry requirements
Minimum entry requirements
- A level grades AAB
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/maths A-levels, preferably Biology and 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, M1
European Baccalaureate
75%
International Baccalaureate
35 points
BTEC (QCF Level 3) Extended Diploma
DDD
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
This degree is unique in being run in collaboration with experts from world-class veterinary institutes, the Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency (AHVLA) and the Institute for Animal Health (IAH), based within 20 minutes of the University. It also provides the opportunity to undertake a Professional Training year in research and clinical settings.
The programme provides you with a unique training in veterinary science and its associated disciplines, equipping you for a diverse range of careers in the veterinary arena, including bioscience research, veterinary public health, veterinary research and veterinary infectious diseases and diagnostics. It also provides career opportunities in organisations such as the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), the Food Standards Agency (FSA) and the Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD). It does not provide recognised training for those wishing to practise as a vet, but it may be suitable as an entry point for veterinary medicine.
In the first year our modular programme structure provides a unique blend of bioscience topics ranging from molecular biology to veterinary anatomy, ensuring a solid foundation on which to build for your specialisation in the subsequent years.
Your second year combines further studies in a range of bioscience subjects with specialised animal science modules. The optional Professional Training year offers a range of veterinary placements in clinical and research settings. This unique training will complement your academic knowledge and enhance your employment prospects upon completion of your degree. Your final year consists of core modules in specialised aspects of animal science, combined with a choice from a range of optional modules, together with a research project conducted in one of our own research laboratories or, subject to arrangement, neighbouring veterinary research institutes.
Animal handling course
In your first year you will spend one week on rotation on a pig, sheep, cattle and poultry farm. This period will provide you with hands-on training in animal handling, biosecurity and disease control.
Summer research internships
Veterinary Biosciences students will have the opportunity to undertake overseas summer research internships at, for example, North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine and Universidade de São Paulo, Brazil.
Programme content
Programme overview
The programme provides you with a strong understanding of the key elements that underpin all modern biological sciences. Specialist modules will also provide a more detailed study of the specific aspects of veterinary sciences and the interplay with human health.
In year 1 you will acquire a strong knowledge and skills base from a unique blend of bioscience topics and specialist veterinary modules, including veterinary anatomy and animal handling (both taught and practical). The programme has the flexibility to accommodate students with and without A-level Chemistry, to bring every student’s knowledge to the standard necessary for year 2. At the end of year one, the top four students will have the opportunity to undertake overseas summer research internships at North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine and Universidade de São Paulo, Brazil.
During year 2 the broad base of the programme is expanded to include animal virology and immunology, as well as mammalian physiology, animal nutrition, pharmacology and toxicology.
In year 3 you will study modules focusing on the scientific basis of health and disease in animals, public health, veterinary immunology and pathology, plus a range of core biosciences topics. These are combined with a research project carried out within one of our research groups, or at a neighbouring veterinary research institute, under the supervision of a member of academic staff. This will give you the opportunity to explore a research area that you are especially interested in and to develop specialised lab-based skills and experience.
Programme structure
Year 1 (FHEQ Level 4)
Core modules:
- Biochemistry 1
- Molecular Biology and Genetics 1
- Cell Biology
- Physiology 1
- Microbiology 1
- Chemistry and Maths for Biosciences
- Veterinary Anatomy and Animal Handling
- Practical and Biomedical Bacteriology
Year 2 (FHEQ Level 5)
Core modules:
- Molecular Biology and Genetics 2
- Introduction to Immunology
- Cellular Microbiology and Virology
- Physiology 2
- Animal Nutrition, Toxicology and Pharmacology
Optional modules include:
- Pharmacology 1
- Biochemistry – Enzymes and Metabolism
- Pathology and Medicine
- Analytical Biochemistry and Chemistry
- Neuroscience 1
- Microbial Communities and Interactions
- Food Microbiology
Professional Training year
- Optional Professional Training placement year
Year 3 (FHEQ Level 6)
Core modules:
- Molecular Biology and Genetics 3
- Epidemiology, Control and Treatment of Infectious Diseases
- Animal Infectious Diseases, Public Health and Food Safety
- Veterinary Immunology and Pathology
- Research Project
Optional modules include:
- Biochemistry – Receptors and Energy Metabolism
- Pharmacology 2
- Biomedical Microbial Products
- Pathogenesis of Infectious Disease
- Neuroscience 2
- Toxicology
- Biological Rhythms
- Systems Biology – Genomes in Action
Professional training
Our students are encouraged to take advantage of the excellent professional placement provision that we offer. Our experienced Professional Training tutors will help you to choose between, and apply to, a strictly vetted selection of excellent placements in industry, veterinary surgeries, research laboratories and academia.
For this programme, you will have the opportunity to undertake Professional Training year placements at the nearby AHVLA and IAH, providing you with a unique insight into working in these world-class veterinary research institutes. Additional placements in state-of-the-art veterinary surgeries and other academic research institutes are also available. The Professional Training year offers students an opportunity to work in a number of disciplines, such as pathology, bacteriology, virology, epidemiology, bioinformatics, risk analysis and parasitology, alongside veterinary scientists and vets.
The Professional Training year is of immense benefit to students, both in their final-year study and in helping them to get appropriate jobs after graduating.
Career opportunities
Graduate prospects
Biological science graduates from the University of Surrey have typically gone on to become, for example, postgraduate researchers, or laboratory scientists within the Health Protection Agency, NHS, the Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency or the Institute for Animal Health. Many have entered related industries, in the pharmaceutical, food and agriculture sectors.
Career opportunities
Our graduates are found in academic and industrial research laboratories throughout the world. Look for Surrey amongst the top universities for employment in both general and subject-specific league tables.
The Veterinary Biosciences programme provides excellent preparation for a wide range of careers in biological sciences, veterinary research, animal health and disease, public health, animal nutrition and the food and pharmaceutical industries. The programme may also provide a suitable platform for undertaking a further undergraduate degree in veterinary medicine or a postgraduate degree (MSc or PhD).
A strategic link with North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine offers two places on their veterinary medicine programme for students graduating from the Veterinary Biosciences programme at Surrey (subject to meeting the NCSU entrance requirements).
The majority of graduates from our Biosciences programmes go immediately into the job market, but further study, including MSc and PhD degrees, is also a popular choice.
Additional information
Teaching
We offer a modular degree based on a structured programme of advanced study which allows you to pursue the subjects essential to your particular degree, but at the same time offers you the flexibility to study other subjects of interest.
During your first year, almost half of your time is spent in laboratory practicals. In your second year, this decreases to around a quarter of your time. In your final year, you will conduct your own scientific research project, usually in one of our state-of-the-art research laboratories.
Facilities
The laboratories in which you will undertake practical work have recently been fully refurbished and are equipped with state-of-the-art technology and audiovisual equipment.
Our commitment to the development of your practical skills means that you will spend a great deal of time utilising these facilities. For your research project in year 3, you will work within our research laboratories alongside active researchers.
Assessment
Each module is assessed individually and credits are awarded for the successful completion of each one. Assessment is by a combination of examination and/or coursework. Credits are then accumulated towards the award of Bachelor of Science (BSc) with Honours.
Academic Support
You will be allocated a personal tutor to guide you through the programme and to advise on module option and career choices, helping you get the most from your studies with us. You will also be paired with a Veterinary Biosciences student from the year of study above you so that you can benefit from their recent experience on our programmes.
Why Surrey?
Veterinary Biosciences degree 2013 at Surrey
- A Professional Training year in specialist veterinary research and clinical settings
- Experience the interface between human and veterinary medicine
- Excellent preparation for a wide range of careers in bioscience research, veterinary research, animal health and disease, public health, animal nutrition, food and pharmaceutical industries and veterinary microbiology
- Visits to world-leading veterinary surgeries
- Opportunity for ten-week overseas summer research internship
- Opportunity to study veterinary medicine at North Carolina State University (NCSU) College of Veterinary Medicine on graduation
- Learn about the exciting advances in biological research including infectious diseases, nutrition, immunology, anatomy, pharmacology, pathology, toxicology and systems biology
- Undertake your final-year research project in a top-rated research group
The course has a good balance between lectures and practical work, with very enthusiastic lecturers and a personal tutor on campus if you ever need someone to talk to.
Charlotte Batcheldor
BSc Veterinary Biosciences
I enjoy the variety of modules on the Veterinary Biosciences programme. In a single day I can go from a lecture on immunology, to a lecture about animal nutrition, to a practical microbiology class.
I love the Library – there are quiet areas, areas for group study, areas where you can eat and study, and most importantly a lot of computers! Also, on weather-permitting days, the campus is a lovely place to sit outside to do some work.
I would definitely recommend Surrey for Veterinary Biosciences. The course has a good balance between lectures and practical work, with very enthusiastic lecturers and a personal tutor on campus if you ever need someone to talk to.
I am currently in the middle of my Professional Training placement year working for Fitzpatrick Referrals, which is a veterinary practice that specialises in neurology and orthopaedic surgery. My role includes assisting the veterinary surgeons and nurses with their day-to-day tasks and managing the microbiology lab.
Guildford has everything a student needs, including sports and leisure facilities, shopping centres and a lively social scene, all within ten minutes of the campus. My first-year accommodation was in the Manor Park campus. It was all newly built and organised in a way that made it easy to get to know your flatmates whilst still having the privacy of your own lockable room.
For my Professional Training placement year I’m working at ZSL London Zoo in the pathology department.
Emily Moxom
BSc Veterinary Biosciences
Surrey is one of a few universities that offer Veterinary Biosciences, and I liked the fact that Surrey is situated near to the Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency (AHVLA) and the Institute for Animal Health (IAH).
I enjoy the fact that the individual lectures are taught by specialists in the particular subject, meaning that you can have every confidence in your learning and benefit from the experience and enthusiasm of those teaching you.
For my Professional Training placement year I’m working at ZSL London Zoo in the pathology department. My role involves assisting the veterinary pathologists with their daily task of determining the cause of death of animals submitted for post-mortem. I particularly enjoy the variety as every day brings new challenges.
There are many benefits to undertaking a placement year: the extra scientific knowledge you gain will be invaluable in your final year and further cements existing knowledge. It also makes you recognise what you are studying for and gives you a better idea of what subject fields you might go into after your degree. Plus, the University academics are always available to answer questions and provide support. Tutors visit you several times over the course of your placement.
I own a horse and so enjoy caring for and riding horses. I also joined the Surrey riding team and had great fun competing for the team as it was extremely rewarding.
Veterinary Biosciences at Surrey
An introduction to our Veterinary Biosciences programme
