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MSci Biomedical Science with Professional Experience
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UCAS code
C744 -
A level offer
ABB -
Year of entry
2025/26 -
Course duration
Full Time: 5 Years
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Year of entry
2025/26 -
Course duration
Full Time: 5 Years
Learn about the inner workings of the human body and take part in world-class research on this multidisciplinary, research-led MSci Biomedical Science with Professional Experience course.
Biomedical science is one of the fastest-growing fields of study and is at the forefront of modern science. Learn about the systems that underpin all living organisms from a cellular, tissue, organ and whole-body perspective. From this basis, you will study the diseases that affect each area and the mechanisms that the body uses to combat them.
This highly practical MSci is specifically geared towards becoming a biomedical scientist, working in hospital and private clinical labs to help doctors diagnose and treat diseases.
To work as a biomedical scientist in the UK, you must register with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC).
Why study Biomedical Science at the University of Reading?
- You can apply for Chartered Biologist status upon graduation, which is accredited by the Royal Society of Biology.
- The course is accredited by the Institute of Biomedical Science (IBMS) and developed in partnership with practising NHS laboratory scientists.
- Benefit from our long-standing links with the Royal Berkshire Hospital.
- You have access to state-of-the-art facilities for your practical sessions and research projects.
- We are in the UK's top 10 universities for biosciences (ranked 9th in the Daily Mail University Guide, 2024).
Accreditation
This course is accredited by the Institute of Biomedical Science (IBMS), which means that upon successfully completing your studies, you’ll have the academic requirements needed to register with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC).
Accredited degree programmes contain a solid academic foundation in biological knowledge and establish a profile of key skills, including technical and transferable skills, that bioscience employers can recognise in accredited graduates.
What you'll study
The MSci follows the standard undergraduate curriculum but with an additional year of study and a master's level qualification.
The course has a strong practical basis. You will learn key cellular, molecular and biochemical techniques, including live cell microscopy, and DNA and protein technology. We work closely with the Royal Berkshire Hospital and will benefit from teaching delivered by practising NHS laboratory scientists.
In your first year, you will learn about the biochemical, molecular and cell biology basis of life, and study the fundamentals of microbiology. Your practical lessons start here and you'll learn the basic laboratory techniques. Your teaching in the second year, will focus on core biomedical subjects, including medical genetics, haematology, immunology, clinical biochemistry and infectious diseases.
The third year of the programme places a strong emphasis on the application of knowledge and skills, preparing you for your final year of study. You will undertake an Advanced Research Project during your fourth year, working in biomedical research laboratories alongside academics on cutting-edge research.
Placements and studentships
Enhance your employability and put your practical skills to the test with an integrated year-long industrial placement between your second and third years.
You could work towards the IBMS Certificate of Competence and the Registration Training Portfolio and undertake a placement in an accredited NHS training lab during your degree. Once you have achieved the IBMS Certificate of Competence and graduated, you can register with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC).
Alternatively, you could prepare for a wider range of careers by undertaking a broader placement. In previous years, students have worked at NHS training labs, Public Health England, GSK, and Covance. You can also choose to spend a year abroad, typically conducting research in an academic laboratory.You will also be able to undertake paid vacation studentships funded by organisations such as the Wellcome Trust. These can take place over six weeks during the summer break or be carried out part-time over a longer period. During studentships, you will typically work on a set project and benefit from valuable training in techniques, experimental design, and data interpretation.
Our department has a dedicated academic in charge of placements, who can provide you with advice and support.
We also offer a four-year version of this degree, MSci Biomedical Science, that does not include an integrated placement year.
Your learning environment
Our new £60m Health and Life Sciences building is the home of the School of Biological Sciences. It offers state-of-the-art research and teaching laboratories, seminar rooms, and plenty of study and social space, including a café.
Facilities and equipment
You will have the opportunity to get hands-on experience using our state-of-the-art equipment and facilities including:
- a cardiovascular imaging facility
- advanced microscopy suites purpose-built for biomedical research
- tissue culture suites
- multi-mode microplate readers (absorbance, fluorescence, luminescence)
- multicolour flow cytometry
- real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR), digital gel scanning and documentation
- spectrophotometers, centrifuges and ultra-centrifuges
- fast protein liquid chromatography (FPLC) and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)
- large scale growth, migration, harvesting, electroporation and introduction of genes of microbial and animal cells
- equipment for animal behavioural assays.
For more information, please visit the School of Biomedical Sciences website.