Biomedical Science

About biomedical science at Sheffield

Our biomedical science courses cover everything from human physiology and pharmacology, to molecular and cell biology, helping you to define the future of clinical medicine. You’ll study the basis of genetic diseases, cancer, the physiological consequences of ageing (including hearing loss) and consider how we tackle antimicrobial resistance. You’ll explore therapies that use stem cell technology, and discover how we develop drug treatment for inflammatory disease.

As you progress through your degree you’ll be able to specialise in key areas such as Stem Cells and Cancer, Neuroscience, Physiology and Pharmacology, and Developmental and Cell Biology. Whichever specialism you’re interested in, your personal tutor will support you to tailor your degree to your interests and career goals.

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Our courses

Our courses all come with options to gain additional experience beyond the three-year BSc. You can add an extra year of research experience with an integrated masters, or gain valuable work experience with a top employer as a recognised part of your degree by spending a year on a work placement. You can even apply to spend a year studying abroad in a fantastic location, after you've joined the University.

Courses with a placement year

What our students say

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Teaching

As a biomedical science student you'll learn in lots of different ways, from lectures and small group tutorials to learning by doing during practical lab sessions and research projects.

From your first year you’ll study a range of biomedical science modules, with the freedom to explore optional topics from across the breadth of bioscience. You might incorporate genetics to focus on heritable disease, microbiology to focus on infectious disease, evolution to focus on developmental defects, or biochemistry that underpins all life.

We encourage our students to be fully engaged throughout their courses, so you'll have lots of opportunities to be creative, think independently, and express your ideas. You’ll be in the lab completing in-depth practicals, studying human anatomy alongside our medics using dissection and advanced modelling techniques, and even sharing your own knowledge and benefiting from others' expertise through peer assisted study sessions. All giving you plenty of chances to gain new transferrable skills and experience to put on your CV.

Find out more about our teaching

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Research projects

You’ll undertake research projects throughout your degree, getting practical hands-on experience in the laboratory that will lead to an in-depth research project and dissertation in your third year.  Most students focus their interests as they progress and specialise in a theme such as:

• Physiology and Pharmacology - explore from the level of cell and organ to the whole body
• Neuroscience - specialise in the development and function of the human nervous system
• Developmental and Cellular Biology - from genetic control of cell function to the organisation of the entire human body
• Stem Cells and Cancer - exploring the potency of stem cells in health and disease

There are several types of capstone projects to choose from depending on your interests and career goals, each of them giving you plenty of chances to gain new transferrable skills and experience to put on your CV. Current projects include:

• Lab-based: Investigate a scientific problem, using state-of-the-art facilities and working alongside our leading research scientists
• Patients as educators: Meet patient volunteers and study the basis of their chronic pathology to address a clinical challenge
• Clinical Diagnostics: Work alongside clinicians from the Sheffield Children’s Hospital to analyse genuine patient samples and accelerate cancer diagnosis
• Molecular systems and computing: Analyse and evaluate complex data to investigate fundamental biological processes, with opportunities to learn computer programming
• Science communication: Build up a portfolio of writing on a scientific topic of your choice and evaluate the effectiveness of different communication strategies
• Education and outreach: Organise events to get school children better engaged with science – students generally work in primary schools or university technical colleges (UTC) to gain teaching experience communicating science to school children

And if this really excites you, our integrated Masters courses (MBiomedSci) allow you to work for a fourth year to complete a further, in-depth research project whilst embedded in one of our specialist research groups.

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Peer Assisted Study Sessions (PASS)

PASS (Peer Assisted Study Sessions) is a university programme that provides support for students from different levels on the same degree programme.

Weekly revision sessions are designed to help students to better understand course content and develop essential study skills.

The sessions are run by higher-level students known as PASS Leaders who have studied the same modules previously and use their knowledge and experience to support your transition to university.

The sessions are fun, collaborative and interactive and research has shown that regular attendance at PASS sessions has a correlation with improved academic performance.

As a PASS leader, I aimed to provide an inclusive learning experience to every student, challenging and supporting them as they developed a love of learning, and became independent learners.

Reem Abouward

BSc Biomedical Science PASS Leader