Undergraduate courses

We offer a wide range of degrees to give you both breadth of vision and specialised knowledge across the range of the modern biological sciences.

The School comprises three departments: Genetics and Genome Biology, Molecular and Cell Biology and Psychology and Vision Sciences. Together with the Department of Respiratory Sciences from the School of Medicine, we collaborate in teaching and research.

We also provide you with the opportunity to undertake a four-year degree. You can either spend one year studying abroad in the USA, Japan or at another European university (under the Erasmus scheme), or you can transfer to a four-year sandwich degree that includes a year working in a related industry.

Our degrees

Biological Sciences BSc (with optional year abroad or year in industry)
Full-time, 3-4 years | UCAS code: C100
From the simplest to the most complex organisms, from the molecular level to the evolutionary development of species, the living world is endlessly complex and fascinating. This degree takes you across biological boundaries with the option to specialise in your second year.

Biological Sciences MBiolSci (with optional year abroad or year in industry)
Full-time, 4-5 years | UCAS code: C103
This four-year degree expands on the Biological Sciences BSc to prepare you for high-level entry into industry. It’s also a solid base for pursuing PhD research.

Biological Sciences (Biochemistry) BSc (with optional year abroad or year in industry)
Full-time, 3-4 years | UCAS code: C700
What are the chemical processes that happen inside all living things? And what do they tell us about the baffling complexity of life? Welcome to the fascinating world of biochemistry. This degree includes the option to change your specialism in your second year.

Biological Sciences (Biochemistry) MBiolSci (with optional year abroad or year in industry)
Full-time, 4-5 years | UCAS code: C703
This four-year degree expands on the Biological Sciences (Biochemistry) BSc to prepare you for high-level entry into industry. It’s also a solid base for pursuing PhD research.

Biological Sciences (Genetics) BSc (with optional year abroad or year in industry)
Full-time, 3-4 years | UCAS code: C400
From human health to food production, genetics impacts many aspects of society. You’ll look at how genetics functions in today’s biosciences, as well as what it takes to work at the forefront of the industry. This degree includes the option to change your specialism in your second year.

Biological Sciences (Genetics) MBiolSci (with optional year abroad or year in industry)
Full-time, 4-5 years | UCAS code: C403
This four-year degree expands on the Biological Sciences (Genetics) BSc to prepare you for high-level entry into industry. It’s also a solid base for pursuing PhD research.

Biological Sciences (Microbiology) BSc (with optional year abroad or year in industry)
Full-time, 3-4 years | UCAS code: C500
Microorganisms. They might be small, but they tell us more about life on Earth than almost any other living things. You’ll learn how they’re both helpful and harmful, as well as the evolving role of microbiology in biotechnology, health and disease. This degree includes the option to change your specialism in your second year.

Biological Sciences (Microbiology) MBiolSci (with optional year abroad or year in industry)
Full-time, 4-5 years | UCAS code: C503
This four-year degree expands on the Biological Sciences (Microbiology) BSc to prepare you for high-level entry into industry. It’s also a solid base for pursuing PhD research.

Biological Sciences (Neuroscience) BSc (with optional year abroad or year in industry)
Full-time, 3-4 years | UCAS code: B140
No computer is more powerful or complex than the human brain. And you’ll get to study the central role it plays in our nervous system – and what can happen when it goes wrong. This degree includes the option to change your specialism in your second year.

Biological Sciences (Neuroscience) MBiolSci (with optional year abroad or year in industry)
Full-time, 4-5 years | UCAS code: B143
This four-year degree expands on the Biological Sciences (Neuroscience) BSc to prepare you for high-level entry into industry. It’s also a solid base for pursuing PhD research.

Biological Sciences (Physiology with Pharmacology) BSc (with optional year abroad or year in industry)
Full-time, 3-4 years | UCAS code: B1B2
The relationship between the subcellular realm and the whole organism is a delicate and fragile one. Tiny changes can have huge effects on body systems, but can be tackled or prevented with correctly targeted drugs. This degree includes the option to change your specialism in your second year.

Biological Sciences (Physiology with Pharmacology) MBiolSci (with optional year abroad or year in industry)
Full-time, 4-5 years | UCAS code: B1B3
This four-year degree expands on the Biological Sciences (Physiology with Pharmacology) BSc to prepare you for high-level entry into industry. It’s also a solid base for pursuing PhD research.

Biological Sciences (Zoology) BSc (with optional year abroad or year in industry)
Full-time, 3-4 years | UCAS code: C300
Zoology covers the behaviour, ecology and evolution of everything within the animal kingdom. Alongside the fundamental theories of zoology, you’ll also gain hands-on lab and fieldwork experience. This degree includes the option to change your specialism in your second year.

Medical Biochemistry BSc (with optional year abroad or year in industry)
Full-time, 3-4 years | UCAS code: C720
To make big breakthroughs in diagnosing and treating disease, we often have to look at life at the molecular level. Studying biochemistry in this way will help you tackle the world’s most pressing health issues.

Medical Biosciences (Biochemistry) MBiolSci (with optional year abroad or year in industry)
Full-time, 4-5 years | UCAS code: C723
This four-year degree expands on the Medical Biochemistry BSc to prepare you for high-level entry into industry. It’s also a solid base for pursuing PhD research.

Medical Genetics BSc (with optional year abroad or year in industry)
Full-time, 3-4 years | UCAS code: C431
Genetics and molecular biology already tell us so much about who we are. But when researched and tested in the right ways, they also tell us how to better diagnose and treat disease. If this sounds up your alley, this degree is for you.

Medical Biosciences (Genetics) MBiolSci (with optional year abroad or year in industry)
Full-time, 4-5 years | UCAS code: C433
This four-year degree expands on the Medical Genetics BSc to prepare you for high-level entry into industry. It’s also a solid base for pursuing PhD research.

Medical Microbiology BSc (with optional year abroad or year in industry)
Full-time, 3-4 years | UCAS code: C521
Infectious diseases account for a third of all deaths. It’s a hard stat to take in, but it’s why we keep studying the microscopic organisms that cause them. In this degree, you’ll learn how infectious diseases are caused, prevented, managed and cured – in both research and clinical environments.

Medical Biosciences (Microbiology) MBiolSci (with optional year abroad or year in industry)
Full-time, 4-5 years | UCAS code: C523
This four-year degree expands on the Medical Microbiology BSc to prepare you for high-level entry into industry. It’s also a solid base for pursuing PhD research.

Medical Physiology BSc (with optional year abroad or year in industry)
Full-time, 3-4 years | UCAS code: B120
The human body is a well-oiled machine. But it’s still susceptible to disease. Why is this? You’ll answer questions like this through studying how the body works at a molecular, cellular and systems level.

Medical Biosciences (Physiology) MBiolSci (with optional year abroad or year in industry)
Full-time, 4-5 years | UCAS code: B123
This four-year degree expands on the Medical Physiology BSc to prepare you for high-level entry into industry. It’s also a solid base for pursuing PhD research.

Clinical Sciences BSc
Full-time, 3 years | UCAS code: B990
Combine the study of medical and clinical sciences with cutting-edge scientific methods and practice, and prepare for a career where you can make a difference - in the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries, academic research, or even as a doctor.

Biological Sciences with Foundation Year BSc
Full-time, 4 years | UCAS code: C199
If you would love to study Biological Sciences here at Leicester, but your A-level subjects don’t match our entry criteria, or you don’t quite have the entry requirements to get in, this degree is your bridge to making it happen.

Why choose Biological Sciences at Leicester?

• Our degrees will prepare you for a wide range of career opportunities - 95% of our graduates are in work or further study six months after graduation
• We invented the technique for DNA fingerprinting - used by courts and crime agencies throughout the world
• Gain experience in general laboratory skills and learn specialised techniques including electron microscopy, NMR, PCR and patch clamping