Medical Biochemistry with a Year in Industry

All living things function and operate as a result of chemical processes. Medical Biochemistry at Royal Holloway, University of London helps to provide an understanding of these essential chemical processes, exploring the molecular basis of disease.

Pursue your passion for Medical Biochemistry at Royal Holloway and work towards joining the ranks of scientists striving to develop new methods of disease prevention and treatment.

You’ll study in our state-of-the-art Department of Biological Sciences, featuring cutting-edge technology including mass spectrometry, bioinformatics and gene and protein sequencing equipment.

The flexible degree course lets you tailor your learning in years 2 and 4, selecting from a variety of optional courses ranging from Microbiology to Pharmacology and Toxicology and Biology of Parasitic Diseases to Molecular and Medical Microbiology.

Learn how to make clinical diagnoses of diseases in a course taught by health professionals from local hospitals, and become a part of our renowned research culture in your year 4 lab-based independent research project. Many of our former students have contributed to published scientific papers.

The skills and experience you’ll gain as a Medical Biochemistry student will make you a highly attractive candidate to employers in a variety of sectors. You’ll gain laboratory experience across all three years and receive a grounding in physiology, genetics and microbiology as well as biochemistry for medicine. Our alumni have gone on to careers in fields including forensic medicine, biotechnology and medical research.

Our year in industry degrees are highly valued by employers and they give you the chance to gain first-hand experience of the world of work and to apply your learning to real-world scenarios. Your year in industry will start at the end of year 2.

• Gain Laboratory experience across all three years of study

• Learn how to make clinical diagnosis of diseases from health professionals from local hospitals

• Understand the importance of biochemistry in medicine

• Develop your knowledge of fundamental biochemistry, physiology, cell biology and genetics

• Join a close-knit and supportive learning community with a high staff-to-student ratio.

Course Modules

Core Modules

Year 1

• Becoming a Bioscientist

• Cell Biology and the Origin of Life

• Genetics

• Chemistry of Life

• Fundamental Biochemistry

• Protein Biochemistry and Enzymology

• Introductory Animal Physiology

• Introduction to Human Physiology

• Academic Integrity

Year 2

• Bioenergetics and Metabolism

• Protein Structure and Function

• Molecular Biology

• Immunology

• Neuronal and Cellular Signalling

• Physical Biochemistry for Life Scientists

Year 3

• Year in Industry

Year 4

• Individual Research Project

• Nutrition and Medical Biochemistry

• Cell and Molecular Neuroscience

• Clinical Diagnosis of Disease

Optional Modules

Below is a taster of some of the exciting optional modules that students on the course could choose from during this academic year. Please be aware these do change over time, and optional modules may be withdrawn or new ones added.

Year 1

• All modules are core

Year 2

• Microbiology

• Cell Dynamics: Division and Movement

• Human Physiology in Health and Disease

• Developmental Biology

• Pharmacology and Toxicology

• Natural Product Biochemistry and Sustainability

• Dissertation - Extended Essay

Year 4

• Biology of Parasitic Diseases

• Evolutionary Medicine

• Biotechnology in a Changing World

• Molecular and Medical Microbiology

• Applications of Genetic Engineering in Health and Disease

• Cell and Molecular Biology of Cancer

• Functional Genomics, Proteomics and Bioformatics

• Human Embryology

• Molecular Basis of Inherited Disease

https://www.royalholloway.ac.uk/studying-here/undergraduate/biological-sciences/medical-biochemistry-with-a-year-in-industry/

Each year you will take modules worth a total of 120 credits, with most individual modules worth 15 credits. In your final year, your Individual Research Project is worth 30 credits.

The first year is formative, while outcomes of your second and fourth year contribute one third and two-thirds of your final degree classification respectively.

You will attend a mixture of lectures, seminars and small-group tutorials, with class sizes that range from 6 to 180 students. Practical classes are a major part of all first and second year modules, and include experiments that are integral to the subject, helping to familarise you with the material and augment your understanding of key topics. These are either laboratory-based or field-based with laboratory follow-up. In your fourth year, you will complete an individual research project supervised by one of our academics, and you may have the opportunity to contribute towards a published scientific paper. The individual research project is assessed on the basis of a written report, supervisor assessment, and an oral presentation.

During your first and second years, you will complete essays and reports, and sit written examinations. In your fourth year, assignments include a range of activities, such as preparation of posters, oral presentations, creation of leaflets and podcasts, coursework essays, mock research grant applications and scientific news-and-views articles, as well as analysis of data from online repositories in mini-research projects.

Professionally accredited courses provide industry-wide recognition of the quality of your qualification.

• Royal Society of Biology