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Human Biosciences - BSc (Hons) *

Currently viewing course to start in 2026/27 Entry.

Human Biosciences is an exciting branch of modern science, involving many disciplines and cutting-edge technology. It is focused on human biology and health, providing a perfect springboard for a variety of careers within the growing life sciences sector....

  • Level Undergraduate
  • Study mode Full Time
  • Award BSc (Hons)
  • Start date September 2026

This course is:

Available with Professional Placement year

Open to International Students

Overview

Human Biosciences is an exciting branch of modern science, involving many disciplines and cutting-edge technology. It is focused on human biology and health, providing a perfect springboard for a variety of careers within the growing life sciences sector.

Our degree is practice-led and designed to support you to develop a range of practical and analytical skills, with the opportunity to put them into practice during an optional professional placement year. Through the course, you will gain an insight into human life processes, both in health and disease.

What's covered in this course?

Our Human Biosciences course encompasses several disciplines, including human anatomy and physiology, human nutrition and metabolism, human molecular genetics, infection and immunity, pharmacology and toxicology and science communication. These subjects play a huge role in healthcare provision and medical research, as well as underpinning the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries. With input from industry and healthcare science, this course has been designed to help you develop important practical and scientific skills sought after by employers.

To further support your employability, you will have the opportunity to complete a professional placement year in an industrial or research setting between years two and three of the course. In the final year you will also undertake an independent research project under the guidance of one of our expert academic staff.

During year one, you will learn alongside students on our BSc (Hons) Biomedical Science course. During years two and three you will study a Human Biosciences-specific curriculum, covering a greater variety of subjects with more optional modules in your final year compared with the IBMS-accredited BSc (Hons) Biomedical Science. These include human nutrition and metabolism, communicating science, biomaterials and tissue engineering, proteomics, and pharmacology and toxicology. This gives you the opportunity to explore subjects which you may wish to build upon in your career, in roles in drug development and clinical trials, sales and marketing, or research, or through postgraduate level study for example in Sport and Exercise Nutrition, Dietetics, or Medical Engineering.

Professional Placement Year

This course offers an optional professional placement year. This allows you to spend a whole year with an employer, following successful completion of your second year, and is a great way to find out more about your chosen career. Some students even return to the same employers after completing their studies.

If you choose to pursue a placement year, you will need to find a suitable placement to complement your chosen area of study. You will be able to draw on the University’s extensive network of local, regional, and national employers, and the support of our Careers teams. If you are able to secure a placement, you can request to be transferred to the placement version of the course.

Please note that fees are payable during your placement year, equivalent to 20% of the total full-time course fee for that year.

Why Choose Us?

  • Taught by expert academic staff with a range of experience from the biotechnology industry, clinical sciences, education, and research.
  • Work in our well-equipped teaching laboratories and develop a broad range of skills that will prepare you for a career in the Life Sciences and beyond.
  • Get involved in our cutting-edge research, and work alongside our research staff on an independent project in the final year.
  • Apply for a travel scholarship as part of our Go Abroad scheme to carry out exciting work placements overseas.

Open Days

Join us for an Open Day where you'll be able to learn about this course in detail, chat to students, explore our campus and tour accommodation. Booking isn't open for this event yet, register your interest and we'll let you know as soon as booking goes live.

Next Open Day: 28 June 2025

Register your interest Take a virtual tour

Entry Requirements

Essential requirements

112 UCAS Tariff points. Learn more about UCAS Tariff points.

If you have a qualification that is not listed, please contact us.

Fees & How to Apply

Please select your student status to view fees and apply
  • UK Student
  • International Student

UK students

Annual and modular tuition fees shown are applicable to the first year of study. The University reserves the right to increase fees for subsequent years of study in line with increases in inflation (capped at 5%) or to reflect changes in Government funding policies or changes agreed by Parliament. View fees for continuing students.

Award: BSc (Hons)

Starting: Sep 2026

  • Mode
  • Duration
  • Fees

(Back to price) * The Government is proposing to increase the cap on full-time regulated tuition fees to £9,535 from 2025/26 onwards and the University is planning on increasing fees to that maximum level once legislation is enacted. Part-time fees are charged pro-rata, where applicable.

International students

Annual and modular tuition fees shown are applicable to the first year of study. The University reserves the right to increase fees for subsequent years of study in line with increases in inflation (capped at 5%) or to reflect changes in Government funding policies or changes agreed by Parliament. View fees for continuing students.

Award: BSc (Hons)

Starting: Sep 2026

  • Mode
  • Duration
  • Fees

Access to computer equipment 

You will require use of a laptop, and most students do prefer to have their own. However, you can borrow a laptop from the university or use one of our shared computer rooms. 

Printing 

You will receive £5 print credit in each year of your course, available after enrolment. 

Field trips 

All essential field trips and associated travel costs will be included in your course fees. 

Access to Microsoft Office 365 

Every student at the University can download a free copy of Microsoft Office 365 to use whilst at university and for 18 months after graduation. 

Key software 

You will be able to download SPSS and Nvivo to your home computer to support with your studies and research. 

Key subscriptions 

Subscriptions to key journals and websites are available through our library. 

Excess printing (optional) 

Once you have spent your £5 credit, additional printing on campus costs from 5p per sheet. 

Personal stationery and study materials (optional) 

Based on the past experience of our students, you might find it helpful to set aside about £30 for each year of your studies for your personal stationery and study materials. 

Accommodation and living costs (optional)

The cost of accommodation and other living costs are not included within your course fees. More information on the cost of accommodation can be found in our accommodation pages.

Guidance for UK/EU students

UCAS

UK and EU students applying for most undergraduate degree courses in the UK will need to apply through UCAS.

The Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) is a UK organisation responsible for managing applications to university and college.

Applying through UCAS
 Register with UCAS
 Login to UCAS
 Complete your details
 Select your course
 Write a personal statement
 Get a reference
 Pay your application fee
 Send UCAS your application

Guidance for International students

There are three ways to apply:

1) Direct to the University

You will need to complete our International Application Form and Equal Opportunities Form, and submit them together with scan copies of your original academic transcripts and certificates.

2) Through a country representative

Our in-country representatives can help you make your application and apply for a visa. They can also offer advice on travel, living in the UK and studying abroad.

3) Through UCAS

If you are applying for an undergraduate degree or a Higher National Diploma (HND), you can apply through the UK’s Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS).

You can request a printed form from your school or nearest British Council office. You will be charged for applying through UCAS. Birmingham City University’s UCAS code is B25 BCITY.

Personal statement

Your personal statement is a highly important part of your application. It gives you a crucial opportunity to say why you’re applying and why the institution should accept you.

Here are the key areas you’ll need to address:

Course choice

Why does this course appeal? What areas are of particular interest?

Career plans

If you have a specific career in mind, say how your chosen course will help you pursue this goal.

Work experience

Mention any work that is relevant to your subject, highlighting the skills and experience gained.

School or college experience

Highlight skills gained at school/college, eg summer schools or mentoring activities.

Non-accredited skills or achievement

eg Duke of Edinburgh Award, Young Enterprise scheme.

You should also mention your future plans – if you’re planning to take a year out, don't forget to give your reasons. Talk about any subjects you’re studying that don’t have a formal assessment and any sponsorships or placements you’ve applied for. And don't be scared to add in details about your social, sports or leisure interests.

Get more information on writing personal statements.

Course in Depth

Year One

In order to complete this course, you must successfully complete all the following CORE modules (totalling 120 credits).

Year Two

In order to complete this course, you must successfully complete all the following CORE modules (totalling 120 credits).

Final Year

In order to complete this course, you must successfully complete all the following CORE modules (totalling 100 credits).

In order to complete this course, you must successfully complete at least 20 credits from the following indicative list of OPTIONAL modules.

All core modules are guaranteed to run. Optional modules will vary from year to year and the published list is indicative only.

How you'll learn

The curriculum design has been informed by the latest research and practice, with input from a range of employers, to ensure that you have the skills and experiences needed for a career in the Human Biosciences. The curriculum enables you to acquire a broad but in-depth knowledge of Human Biosciences, and to develop the range of technical and transferable skills needed for a range of jobs or further study.

The course is delivered using a blended approach with a combination of scheduled and directed in class and online learning, supplemented with students’ own independent study. Scheduled classes will include lectures, smaller group workshops to consolidate learning, and laboratory practicals to develop key lab and data handling skills.

Lectures may be delivered in-person or as hybrid and recorded to support accessibility. A range of digital technologies are used to enhance your learning experience as part of our blended approach (for example, LT LabStation, Anatomy TV & Anatomage tables and polling software).

Further studies

On completion of the course, you may wish to progress onto a taught Master’s programme or research degree in human bioscience or biomedical related subjects.

Employability

Enhancing your employability skills

Our Human Biosciences course encompasses several disciplines, including human anatomy and physiology, human nutrition and metabolism, human molecular genetics, infection and immunity, pharmacology and toxicology and science communication. These subjects play a huge role in healthcare provision and medical research, as well as underpinning the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries.

With input from industry and healthcare science, this course has been designed to help you develop important practical and scientific skills sought after by employers. In your final year, you will also undertake an independent research project under the guidance of one of our expert academic staff, which will further enhance your skills.

Graduate jobs

This course will support your progression into a range of graduate job roles, including in biotechnology, drug development and clinical trials, sales and marketing, or research. It can also be used as an entry qualification for postgraduate level study, for example Physician Associate, Graduate Entry Medicine/Dentistry, Sport and Exercise Nutrition, Dietetics, or Medical Engineering.

Links to industry

Our degree is practice-led and designed to support you to develop a range of practical and analytical skills, valued by employers. Through the course, you will gain an insight into human life processes, both in health and disease.

Placements

To further support your employability, you will have the opportunity to complete a professional placement year in an industrial or research setting between years two and three of the course. You would be responsible for securing your placement with support from our dedicated placements tutor, and a placement cannot be guaranteed. 

More about our placement opportunities

Facilities & Staff

We have invested over £400 million in our facilities, including an upgrade to our Skills and Simulation facilities at City South Campus. We boast up-to-date, innovative facilities that simulate the real situations that you may come across in the workplace. These resources are essential in offering you a hands-on introduction to health and social care practice.

Nutrition Science Kitchen

Our kitchen has several workstations to allow you to wash, prepare and cook food. There are multi-coloured chopping boards (following food hygiene standard regulations) and a range of utensils and appliances. This space is used by a range of courses including Dietetics, Secondary Design and Technology and Sport. You may use this room to prepare certain meals for teaching basic cooking or baking skills to school children and exploring nutritional education, or protein high recipes for athletes to support their training and fitness regime.

Microbiology Laboratory

The lab is equipped with modern equipment for teaching the molecular biology techniques that underpin modern clinical and research labs such as polymerase chain reaction (PCR) machines and a variety of cell-analysis and cell-culture tools. The department also has DNA sequencing equipment.

Bioscience Laboratory

Our purpose-built bioscience laboratory features a range of specialist equipment to support your studies, including Zeiss PrimoStar microscopes.

Nutrition Science Research Laboratory

This laboratory is used by staff or students doing specific projects such as analysing the chemistry of food in the later stages of their degree.

Skills Classroom

This room can be used to practise a variety of skills but is primarily home to our Anatomage tables. An Anatomage table allows you to investigate anatomy digitally, from organs and muscles to skeletal forms and blood flow, the software includes real-life MRI scan data to help you develop your understanding of anatomy.

Our staff

Dr Martin Figgitt

Lecturer in Biomedical Sciences

Martin has a good biomedical science background with experience in both research and clinical environments. His clinical science experience includes working in hospital blood sciences laboratories performing various blood tests, such as full blood counts, coagulation screening and blood film analysis and blood transfusion serology and cross...

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Dr James Barnett

Senior Lecturer (Biomedical Science)

James graduated from the University of Sheffield in 2000 with a BSc (Hons) in Biochemistry and Genetics. James’ first graduate job was at The Binding Site Ltd, where he was employed as a technician In the monoclonal antibodies department. James later embarked on a research career, and in 2002 joined the group of Professor Colin Robinson in the Dept...

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Dr Martin Goldberg

Lecturer in Clinical Microbiology

After completing his degree in Bacteriology and Genetics at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, Martin worked for several years as a Biomedical Scientist in the large microbiology labs at Leicester Royal Infirmary. During this time, he became a Fellow of the Institute of Biomedical Sciences. Martin then moved to the Genetics Department at...

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Dr Chris Hartley

Lecturer in Biomedical Sciences

Dr Hartley completed a BSc in Sports and Exercise Science at the University of Leeds before working for an orthopaedic company. Whilst working he completed an MSc in Biomechanics at Manchester Metropolitan University. Chris completed his PhD at Loughborough University, investigating ‘the effect of high impact exercise on markers of bone and joint...

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Dr Helen Clarke

Senior Lecturer

Dr Helen Clarke is a Senior Lecturer at Birmingham City University. She completed both her degree and PhD at Aston University. Her degree is in Applied and Human Biology and her PhD focuses on the effects of Metformin on the Vascular system. She joined BCU in 2003 and embarked on her teaching career in health education. She teaches on clinical...

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