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What makes Medical Sciences at Worcester special?

At Worcester you will benefit from small class sizes and easy access to the lecturing staff in the course team, helping you to study in a friendly and productive learning environment. While our Medical Sciences degree is designed to help you in your application to study graduate-entry Medicine if you wish to become a medical doctor, you can also choose to follow a career in other medical sciences, and to apply for postgraduate courses as well as Physician Associate courses.

Over three years you'll gain a science degree with a clinical focus. In the first two years you'll develop essential knowledge and skills in areas such as cell biology, human anatomy and physiology, pathophysiology and disease prevention. In the third year there is an emphasis on Public Health and on disease prevention, diagnosis and treatment.

At Worcester we focus on Medical Sciences career development throughout the course. Staff from both scientific and clinical fields support you to develop key skills, whilst enhancing your understanding of the healthcare industry, preparing you for a range of career options and in particular for your application to graduate-entry Medicine, either at our Three Counties Medical School or elsewhere.

Overview

Overview

Key features

  • Excellent preparation for progression to professional healthcare programmes, in particular graduate entry Medicine
  • You'll gain knowledge and practical experience of the science behind medicine in the context of current research. Such as an understanding of human health and the causes, prevention and treatment of disease
  • New laboratories and specialist equipment – an inspiring environment for you to gain practical skills and to develop research ideas
  • In Year 2 you'll take a module to prepare you for the University Clinical Aptitude
  • Taught by internationally recognised scientists

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Three Counties Medical School

The Three Counties Medical School opened in September 2023 and is now seeking applications from both UK and International graduates.

At Worcester we have an excellent reputation for educating nurses, midwives, physician associates, paramedics, and other healthcare professionals with an interdisciplinary and inter professional approach. This has been achieved by close collaboration with the NHS and our graduates in these disciplines are highly regarded within the local healthcare community.

We are building on our existing strengths in healthcare education, and our strong links with the NHS, to establish the Three Counties Medical School.

Find out more about the Three Counties Medical School
Entry requirements

Entry requirements

Entry requirements

  • 96 UCAS Tariff points MUST include A Level Biology, Human Biology or Chemistry and A Level in another science, Maths or Statistics.
  • 104 UCAS Tariff points MUST include A Level Biology, Human Biology or Chemistry. 

T Levels may be used to meet the entry tariff requirements for this course. Find out more about T levels as UCAS tariff points here.

Other qualifications, such as BTEC in a Science, and Access to Higher Education, will also be considered.

Don't quite meet the entry requirements or returning to education? Consider studying a Biological Science with Foundation Year.

Other information

International Students – Making an Application

If you are applying as an EU or Non-EU student you are strongly advised to apply online through the Universities & Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS).

If you are using The Common Application, you can add the University of Worcester to your list of colleges via this link and complete the application there. Further information can be found here “Making an International Application”.

Applicants whose first language is not English are required to provide a language test certificate as evidence of their proficiency and must ensure that it is, or is comparable to, Academic IELTs of 6.0 with a score of at least 5.5 in each component.

Mature Students

We welcome applicants who hold alternative qualifications/experience and mature students who can demonstrate the ability to benefit from the course and show their potential to complete the course successfully. Although recent preparatory study at an appropriate level (e.g. an Access to Higher Education Diploma) is recommended, students may be considered on the basis of prior evidenced professional/work experience and/or other assessment procedures, and the assessment of personal suitability. University Admissions Office staff can offer information, advice and guidance on this process. Further information can also be found here.

Two students looking into their microscopes whilst the lecturer leans over the lab counter to talk to them.

Biological sciences foundation year

If you don't quite meet the entry requirements or you're returning to education then you might consider studying this degree with a foundation year.

Find out more about courses with a foundation year
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Our Open Days are the perfect way to find out.

Book your place

In our laboratory practical sessions you will gain knowledge and practical experience of the science behind medicine in the context of current research. We offer a range of practical sessions throughout the course, including biochemistry labs, dissections and pre-clinical physiological studies, such as electrocardiography and vascular doppler.

A close up of a person's gloved hands completing a brain dissection A close up of a person's gloved hands completing a brain dissection A close up of a person's gloved hands completing a brain dissection
Course content

Course content

Our courses are informed by research and current developments in the discipline and feedback from students, external examiners and employers. Modules do therefore change periodically in the interests of keeping the course relevant and reflecting best practice. The most up-to-date information will be available to you once you have accepted a place and registered for the course. If there are insufficient numbers of students interested in an optional module, this might not be offered, but we will advise you as soon as possible and help you choose an alternative. 

Year 1

Mandatory

  • Introduction to Human Anatomy and Physiology
  • Cell Biology
  • Health and Disease
  • Chemistry for the Life Sciences
  • Introduction to Genetics and Evolution
  • Professional Development in Biomedical Science.

First Year Module in Focus: Health and Disease

This module will survey the epidemiology of the most common human diseases contracted in developed nations, give insight into the pathophysiology of these conditions and an overview of modern treatments. Finally, given estimates of the general effect of genetics versus environment on our health, we cover life-style strategies to minimise, delay and perhaps avoid the contraction of these diseases. The module also focuses on the development of skills essential for working in a multidisciplinary team in the medical or biosciences whatever your vocation.

Year 2

Mandatory

  • Medical Imaging
  • Systems Physiology 1
  • Preparation for Graduate Entry Medicine
  • Molecular and Cellular Biology
  • Project Development
  • Professional Aspects of Biomedical Science

Second Year Module in Focus: Medical Imaging

Medical imaging in the 21st Century uses a range of imaging technologies to diagnose diseases, monitor disease progression, and evaluate the effects of therapies. In this module, students will develop an understanding of the key underpinning scientific principles and clinical applications of current technologies in medical imaging. We will investigate the underpinning science and clinical use of a range of contemporary imaging methods, including conventional radiography (X-ray), CT (computed tomography), MRI (magnetic resonance imaging), and others. We will also examine in detail the most important anatomical landmarks used by clinicians to diagnose and follow-up medical conditions.

Year 3

Mandatory

  • Research Project
  • Clinical Biochemistry
  • Microbiology and the immune system
  • Benchside to Bedside: Interdisciplinarity in Medical science
  • Sustainability in public health
  • Neuroendocrinology

Optional

  • Pharmacology
  • The Biochemistry of Cancer

Third Year Module in Focus: Clinical Biochemistry

The module concentrates on clinical utility and understanding how biochemical investigations are used in clinical medicine for disease diagnosis. Disease diagnosis is a complex process, which involves an account of patient history plus signs and symptoms in conjunction with various biochemical, biological and histological clinical tests. Throughout this module you will consider the biochemical and metabolic changes that occur during human disease states, gaining knowledge on how blood electrolyte and pH homeostatic changes can be used to diagnose certain conditions. You will also develop and understanding of how biochemical markers can be used to determine organ and endocrine gland involvement and appreciate the biochemical alterations that occur in chronic illness such as, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and cancer. Specific case histories will be used to interpret real clinical data with respect to disease diagnoses with you becoming diagnosticians.

What do you study? Watch PhD student Theresa conduct an Ankle-brachial Index text

Teaching and assessment

Teaching and assessment

We enable you to develop the independent learning capabilities that will equip you for lifelong learning and future employment, as well as academic achievement.

A mixture of independent study, teaching and academic support through the personal academic tutoring system enables you to reflect on progress and build up a profile of skills, achievements and experiences that will enable you to flourish and be successful.

Teaching

You will be taught through a combination of lectures, seminars, group work, interactive workshops and laboratory practical classes. Interactive workshops take a variety of formats and are intended to enable the application of learning through discussion and small group activities. Seminars enable the discussion and development of understanding of topics covered in lectures.

We pride ourselves on the practical nature of our degree courses. You will undertake practical classes relevant to Medical Sciences in superb teaching laboratories as well as practicing clinical skills that will help your application for graduate-entry Medicine.

In addition, meetings with personal academic tutors are scheduled on at least 4 occasions in the first year and three occasions in each of the other years of a course.

You will use a range of excellent laboratory facilities, computing suites and software relevant to Medical Sciences throughout the course.

The course will enable you to develop your critical thinking, problem design and solving, teamwork, presentation and other learning skills which are essential for your career development.

Contact time

In a typical week, you will have around 16 contact hours of teaching, structured around lectures, practical classes and tutorials. In the final year there is normally slightly less contact time to enable you to undertake more independent study. The precise contact hours will depend on the optional modules selected. Typically, weekly contact time will be structured around: 

  • 8 hours of lectures
  • 7 hours of supervised laboratory practicals
  • 1 hour of workshops
  • 1 hour of Study Skills (Level 4 only) 

Independent self-study

In addition to the contact time, you are expected to undertake around 21 hours of personal self-study per week. Typically, this will involve completing online activities, reading journal articles and books, working on individual and group projects, undertaking research in the library and online, preparing coursework assignments and presentations, and preparing for examinations.

Independent learning is supported by a range of excellent learning facilities, including The Hive and library resources, the virtual learning environment, and extensive electronic learning resources.

Duration

3 years full-time

Timetables

Timetables are normally available one month before registration. Please note that whilst we try to be as student-friendly as possible, scheduled teaching can take place on any day of the week, and some classes can be scheduled in the evenings.

Teaching staff

You will be taught by a teaching team whose expertise and knowledge are closely matched to the content of the modules on the course. Our Biological Sciences team is made up of senior academics, professional practitioners and technical laboratory officers. The team includes internationally recognised scientists whose specialist areas including; cardiovascular disease, wound healing, cancers, diabetes and dementia-related disorders.

Teaching is informed by research and consultancy, and the majority of staff in the department have a higher education teaching qualification or are Fellows of the Higher Education Academy. You can learn more about the staff by visiting our staff profiles.

Assessment

The course provides opportunities to test understanding and learning informally through the completion of practice or ‘formative’ assignments.

Each module has one or more formal or ‘summative’ assessments that are graded and count towards the overall module grade. Assessment methods include written examinations and a range of coursework assessments such as essays, online tests, reports, portfolios, presentations, and a final year medical sciences research project. Regular assessment is used to help provide you with frequent feedback, enabling you to identify your strengths, as well as areas for improvement. Feedback is provided in a number of different ways including online written feedback and self, peer, tutor or small group feedback.

Assessment in the early stages of the degree tends to be more knowledge-based to ensure a strong and broad grounding in the subject area, with some opportunities for essay writing and critical analysis. Assessment in the later degree stages tends to assess your critical appraisal skills, depth of understanding and your ability to think independently. Some assessments take place in groups, focusing on the team product or how well you lead your team to complete a task.

A variety of assessment methods are employed across the programme, each aligned to the intended learning outcomes of the modules. Assessment formats include multiple-choice tests, essays, structured practical exams, reflective essays, oral and poster presentations, scientific report writing, short-answer question tests, reflective writing, learning logbooks, research project work and practical skills passports.

The precise assessment requirements for an individual student in an academic year will vary according to the mandatory and optional modules taken, but a typical formal summative assessment pattern for each year of the course is:

Year 1

  • 4 x laboratory reports
  • 2 x written examinations
  • 6 x multiple choice tests
  • 1 x essay
  • 2 x oral presentation
  • 1 x team report
  • 1x case study

Year 2

  • 3 x practical report
  • 4 x written examinations/tests
  • 2 x essays
  • 1 x group presentation
  • 2 x lay summary/case study analysis
  • 1 x reflective report
  • 1 x research proposal
  • 1 x team report

Year 3

  • 2 x practical report
  • 6 x written examinations/tests
  • 1 x Objective Structured Practical Examinations (OSPE)
  • 1 x group report
  • 1 x group poster presentation
  • 2 x individual poster presentation
  • 3 x reflective report
  • 2 x action plans

Feedback

You will receive feedback on practice assessments and on formal assessments undertaken by coursework. Feedback on examination performance is available upon request from the module leader. Feedback is intended to support learning and you are encouraged to discuss it with personal academic tutors and module tutors as appropriate.

We aim to provide you with feedback on formal course work assessments within 20 working days of hand-in.

Programme Specification

For comprehensive details on the aims and intended learning outcomes of the course, and the means by which these are achieved through learning, teaching and assessment, please download the latest programme specification document.

Meet the team

You will be taught by a teaching team whose expertise and knowledge are closely matched to the content of the modules on the course.

Here are a few members of the department who currently teach on this course:

Dr Allain Bueno

Dr Allain Bueno

Dr Bueno joined the University of Worcester in January 2012, after 4 years of Post-doctoral experience at the Institute of Brain Chemistry and Human Nutrition in London, working with Prof Michael Angus Crawford, one of the pioneers in fatty acid metabolism and brain composition.

Dr Bueno investigated in his PhD the effects of dietary fats on adipose tissue metabolism, and how different types of fat can influence disorders such as inflammation and diabetes. In his MPhil Dr Bueno investigated the impact of surgical removal of fat pads on metabolic adaptations in obesity induced by diet and by neurochemical malfunctioning.

Dr Bueno graduated as a Biomedical Scientist – Medical Modality – from Paulista School of Medicine, Sao Paulo Federal University in Brazil. He has extensive experience in clinical sciences, having worked and taught in a leading Tertiary Referral Hospital. His current area of research includes the biochemistry of dietary fats and their role in oxidative stress, brain metabolism and function.

Dr Amy Cherry

Dr Amy Cherry

Amy is the Course Leader for our BSc Biomedical Science course.

Amy’s research focuses on understanding how proteins work at the molecular level and on how one can use knowledge of protein structure to tackle disease. Her PhD was sponsored by GlaxoSmithKline and investigated the molecular mechanism of Hepatitis C virus replication and possible inhibition strategies which can be used in drug development. Following this, she was awarded a Career Development Fellowship from the Medical Research Council to study proteins involved in DNA repair. She then moved to the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm where she studied molecular details of the Hedgehog signalling pathway.

Since joining us, Amy has continued her research as part of the Worcester Biomedical Research Group, studying proteins involved in leukaemia and neurophysiology.

dr-steven-j-coles

Dr Steven J Coles

Steve joined the University of Worcester in 2013, following 5 years post-doctoral experience at Cardiff University, School of Medicine (Section of Haematology), working with Professors Tonks and Darley. During his time at Cardiff, Steve investigated the role of the immune checkpoint molecule, CD200, in a type of blood cancer known as acute myeloid leukaemia (AML).

Since joining us, Steve has introduced several new modules to the Biological and Biomedical Sciences curriculum that align with his expertise, including: Immunology and  Biochemistry of Cancer.

Steve has also helped to establish and lead the Worcester Biomedical Research Group, where the research focuses on Cancer, Neurodegeneration and Cardiovascular Disease.

mike wheeler

Dr Mike Wheeler

Dr Mike Wheeler is Course Leader for Medical Sciences and joined the University of Worcester in 2010 after researching in the area of plant molecular genetics. Mike developed a strong background in the biology of cell signalling in plants, with specific research into the mechanisms of self-incompatibility in poppy and the control of polarity in pollen tubes of tobacco.

In addition to his research into plant molecular genetics Mike is also developing means of using molecular biology to solve problems in conservation biology which is a longstanding passion of his. In this area Mike is currently developing eDNA (environmental DNA) techniques to assess the effect of invasive and non-native species on species of conservation concern. Mike is also concerned with projects to help people engage with nature as a means to combatting poor mental health. He leads bird walks around the campus and is involved with projects aimed at increasing birdlife around campus to enrich the environment. He is currently involved in a scheme to improve winter feeding for farmland birds at Lakeside campus in partnership with the local RSPB group. He is a member of the Sustainable Environments Research Group.

Careers

Careers

As a Medical Sciences graduate you'll be ideally suited for a range of career options and in particular for progression to a graduate-entry 4-year MBChB programme.

You'll also be well-placed to apply for postgraduate courses such as MSc, MRes or PhD studies, as well as Physician Associate courses. 

There are a fantastic range of career opportunities in pharmaceutical and healthcare industries as well as in academia. In addition, the course acts to support the development of key transferable skills required by many industries, such as independent thinking, scientific enquiry and analytical skills. This will enable you to apply for jobs within industries such as; pharmaceutical, medical technology and roles such as; research and development, clinical trials, or management, sales and marketing.

Two students are walking next to each other and smiling

Careers and Employability

Our Graduates pursue exciting and diverse careers in a wide variety of employment sectors.

Find out how we can support you to achieve your potential
Costs

Fees and funding

Full-time tuition fees

UK and EU students

The standard fee for full-time home and EU undergraduate students enrolling on BA/BSc/LLB degrees and FdA/FdSc degrees in the 2024/25 academic year is £9,250 per year.

For more details, please visit our course fees page.

International students

The standard tuition fee for full-time international students enrolling on BA/BSc/LLB degrees and FdA/FdSc degrees in the 2024/25 academic year is £16,200 per year.

For more details, please visit our course fees page.

Part-time tuition fees

UK and EU students

The standard tuition fees for part-time UK and EU students enrolling on BA/BSc/LLB degrees and FdA/FdSc degrees in the academic year 2024/25 are £1,156 per 15-credit module, £1,542 per 20-credit module, £2,312 per 30-credit module, £3,083 per 40-credit module, £3,469 per 45-credit module and £4,625 per 60 credit module.

For more details, please visit our course fees page.

Additional costs

Every course has day-to-day costs for basic books, stationery, printing and photocopying. The amounts vary between courses.

If your course offers a placement opportunity, you may need to pay for an Enhanced Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) check.

Accommodation

Finding the right accommodation is paramount to your university experience. Our halls of residence are home to friendly student communities, making them great places to live and study.

We have over 1,000 rooms across our range of student halls. With rooms to suit every budget and need, from our 'Chestnut Halls' at £131 per week to 'Oak Halls' at £221 per week (2024/25 prices).

For full details visit our accommodation page.
How to apply

How to apply

Applying through UCAS

Medical Sciences BSc (Hons) – B190

Medical Sciences BSc (Hons) with Foundation Year – B191

UCAS is the central organisation through which applications are processed for entry onto full-time undergraduate courses in Higher Education in the UK.

Read our How to apply pages for more information on applying and to find out what happens to your application.

Apply via UCAS

Medical Sciences BSc (Hons) - B190 Medical Sciences with Foundation Year - B191

Get in touch

If you have any questions, please get in touch. We're here to help you every step of the way.

Admissions office

admissions@worc.ac.uk
01905 855111

Dr Mike Wheeler

Course Leader
m.wheeler@worc.ac.uk
01905 54 2414

Professional Administrative Service (School of Science and the Environment)

sse@worc.ac.uk
01905 855201 or 01905 855202

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