Why choose the School of Life Sciences
This course is aligned to the areas of need identified by the British Pharmacological Society including clinical pharmacology, public health science and healthcare policy.
We work with leading employers including Glaxo Smith Kline, Pharmaron and Medicines & Healthcare products Regulatory Agency.
Our Student Skills Lab scheme offers additional, hands-on practice of lab work, testing and trying out techniques for real-world applications.
About the course
On this degree, you develop a range of skills in pharmacology and health sciences, with laboratory work and real-world application enabling you to put those skills into practice. You start by building a firm foundation in areas including chemistry, microbiology, anatomy and cell biology. You then progress to subjects at the forefront of modern research such as immunology, pharmacogenetics and toxicology, giving you a complete perspective on the entire drug discovery and development process from ‘invention’, through the clinical phases, to the drug reaching patients.
Facilities and specialist equipment
- Contemporary STEM building with high-tech labs and vibrant study spaces, providing you with a supportive and welcoming learning environment
- Cell culture lab and specialised analytical science suite
- HPLC, FTIR and GC-MS machines, alongside facilities for qPCR and protein purification, allowing you to carry out cutting-edge pharma and biotech experiments
Industry links
Our Life Sciences Liaison Board works with industry professionals across the pharma-biotech, health and food sectors, including Glaxo Smith Kline, Pharmaron, NHS, Life Science Group and Medicines & Healthcare products Regulatory Agency. Our collaboration within the sector help you establish links and gain valuable work experience.
Student experience
Our academics are involved in real-world research, leading the way in areas such as obesity, cancer pathways, medicines development and global food security.
Our academic staff’s active involvement in the field ensure you keep up to date with emerging practices and the latest pharmacological developments.
Our staff’s research and professional expertise feeds directly back into their teaching, creating a vibrant, practical-oriented learning environment.
We have strong links within the clinical and industrial sectors, making sure our courses are aligned to industry needs and offer you the opportunity for work experience.
Take part in masterclasses by a range of experts including Rothamsted Research; MSD Merck; Medicines & Healthcare products Regulatory Agency; and the UK Health Security Agency.
Learn from field trips to leading industry settings such as MSD Merck.
Expand your network of professional contacts through our annual STEM Careers Expo.
Gain additional lab-work experience via the Student Skills Lab scheme where you can try out techniques for real-world applications, under the guidance of recent graduates.
with Professional Practice Year
This course has the option to be taken over four years which includes a year placement in industry. Undertaking a year in industry has many benefits. You gain practical experience and build your CV, as well as being a great opportunity to sample a profession and network with potential future employers.
There is no tuition fee for the placement year enabling you to gain an extra year of experience for free.
*Only available to UK/EU students.
with Foundation Year
A Degree with a Foundation Year gives you guaranteed entry to an Undergraduate course.
Whether you’re returning to learning and require additional help and support to up-skill, or if you didn’t quite meet the grades to pursue an Undergraduate course, our Degrees with Foundation Year provide a fantastic entry route for you to work towards a degree level qualification.
With our guidance and support you’ll get up to speed within one year, and will be ready to seamlessly progress on to undergraduate study at Bedfordshire.
The Foundation Year provides an opportunity to build up your academic writing skills and numeracy, and will also cover a range of subject specific content to fully prepare you for entry to an Undergraduate degree.
This is an integrated four-year degree, with the foundation year as a key part of the course. You will need to successfully complete the Foundation Year to progress on to the first year of your bachelor’s degree.
Why study a degree with a Foundation Year?
- Broad-based yet enough depth to give you credible vocational skills
- Coverage of a variety of areas typically delivered by an expert in this area
- Gain an understanding of a subject before choosing which route you wish to specialise in
- Great introduction to further study, and guaranteed progression on to one of our Undergraduate degrees
The degrees offering a Foundation Year provide excellent preparation for your future studies.
During your Foundation Year you will get the opportunity to talk to tutors about your degree study and future career aspirations, and receive guidance on the most appropriate Undergraduate course to help you achieve this; providing you meet the entry requirements and pass the Foundation Year.
Studying our BSc (Hons) Pharmacology and Health Science course will equip you with in-depth knowledge and skills in biomedical and pharmaceutical sciences. These skills will give you a perspective on the science of drug invention from discovering new drugs through to their use in the clinic. To build the foundations of your study, you will be given a broad understanding of Human Anatomy and Physiology to analyse the relationship between body parts and their functions. This can also be related to our unit in Human Metabolism which you will explore on a cellular level. On a deeper level, you will be introduced to the study of microorganisms in our Microbiology and Biochemistry unit which will give you an understanding of biochemical principles using practical techniques such as spectrophotometry. This closely links to our Cell Biology unit where you will discover various cell structures and types and understand how this is fundamental to human life. In addition, you will gain experience in using light microscopes while establishing good laboratory practice. You will also develop your knowledge on basic concepts in Chemistry and Molecular Genetics where you will get to explore topics such as chromosome function, genetic inheritance and cell division.
In more specialised areas, you will develop your knowledge and understanding of drugs and its role in treating human diseases in our Pharmacology unit. This can be related to our Immunology unit where you will closely study the human immune system and how it protects us against a range of pathogens and diseases on a cellular level. More importantly, you will gain a broad understanding of Toxicology and its applications to the pharmaceutical sector by examining clinical case reports that involve adverse drug reactions, drug misuse and toxic poisoning. In the field of medicine, you will develop your understanding of how the human body functions in our Medical Physiology unit that will provide you with in-depth knowledge in human physiology, how it is affected by disease and its impact on drug development strategies. You will look more closely at human illness in our Pharmacology of Disease unit that will equip you with the skills to identify the causes of disease and how to treat them using drugs and pharmaceuticals. In practical areas of study, you will learn how drugs are developed and subsequently brought to the market in our Drug Development unit.
In more advanced areas, you will learn how drugs can be tailored to individual patients and more importantly, reduce side effects and adverse reactions in our Pharmacogenetics unit. More importantly, our Drug Dispensing and Healthcare Policy unit will expose you to how medicines are safely handled, prescribed and administered according to legal and health and safety requirements. This closely links to our Drug Delivery unit where you will identify ways of improved drug delivery, such as through oral or nasal routes, and how this can deliver improved therapeutic outcomes for patients. From a societal point of view, you will learn how pharmacological principles are translated into effective treatments in a clinical setting while considering the impact of modern medicine on public health and society in our Clinical Pharmacology and Public Health unit. Furthermore, you will also learn to translate new technologies into clinical environments in our Translational Medicine unit while considering the ethical implications of this.
To equip you with the research and practical skills for this course, our Skills in Pharmaceutical Sciences unit will teach you to record, analyse and report data from experiments. Finally, you will undertake a Pharmacology in Health Science Research Project in your final year that will give you the opportunity to plan, design and execute a piece of research into a topic of your interest that is relevant to your field of study. To help you with this, our Skills in Science unit will equip you with a range of skills you need for your research and for a career in science
Assessment is integral in all units to check that you have met the threshold standards expected of all graduates. They are also linked to learning designed to develop key subject-specific and transferable skills for future employment. The requirements of each assessment will be detailed in a formal assessment brief document and discussed in teaching sessions. Units with single assessments will be supported by formative development. The assessment tasks will include:
- End of unit examination (unseen written examinations)
- Problem-based learning based on case studies with poster presentation of findings
- Laboratory notebook and laboratory reports
- Literature review
- Business proposal
- Oral presentation.
Students are actively supported through their assessments both directly in subject specific areas by tutors and by working with the Study Hub to provide targeted workshops to support academic skills development. The focal areas include an introduction to academic integrity developing good academic practice scientific writing use of statistics and communication of science to diverse audiences including presentation skills also aligned to assessment requirements.
Throughout course delivery workshops and tutorials are used to support the development of academic skills alongside the learning and the assessment process. All in-course assessments are supported by timetabled interactive tutorial sessions with formative assessment tasks as appropriate. In addition assessments that are based around practical work will involve a briefing before and a session after the laboratory work to explain further the expectations of the assessment and support specific tasks such as data analysis.
Examinations are supported by timetabled revision sessions and by workshop sessions covering examples of past examinations and the expectations of examination questions at each level. To assist our learners assignment briefs a uniform set of information and a consistent set of assessment criteria across the course.
At the start of each level students are given introductory session(s) that set out the expectations for each year. For entry points several sessions are used to provide guidance and support to students joining the University. These provide details of support for the development of academic skills and learning from the School the Study Hub and initiatives such as peer-assisted learning (PASS scheme).
For students progressing between levels introductory sessions are also provided to ensure the students are aware of the change in expectations of learning and assessment. This will flag areas such as expectations for increased selfdirected learning critical thinking and analysis that are expected as students go through the learning process.
A key aim for the school is the integration of transferable skills within learning and assessment to enhance employability. Our courses build awareness of business applications of knowledge with assessments that develop practical ideas and employability. This is supported by the University Careers and Employability service throughout the course.
Careers
After graduation, you may progress into diverse careers related to sciences including in academic or commercial research and development or management and policy-related roles in local and national government agencies.
Entry Requirements
- GCSE grade 4/Functional Skills Level 2 Maths
Entry Requirements
- GCSE grade 4/Functional Skills Level 2 Maths
Entry Requirements
- GCSE grade 4/Functional Skills Level 2 Maths
Fees for this course
UK
The full-time standard undergraduate tuition fee for the Academic Year 2025/26 is £9,535 per year. You can apply for a loan from the Government to help pay for your tuition fees. You can also apply for a maintenance loan from the Government to help cover your living costs. See www.gov.uk/student-finance
Excellence Scholarships
Worth £2,500 per year of study over three years when you score a defined number of UCAS tariff points from specified qualifications*
» If you don’t qualify for an Excellence Scholarship but have 120 UCAS tariff points, you have enough points for one of our Achievement Scholarships offering £500 per year of study**
» Other scholarships, bursaries and financial support packages are available
* Points requirements vary depending on type of qualification.
** Threshold is 120 UCAS tariff points across all awarding bodies and qualifications.
International
The full-time standard undergraduate tuition fee for the academic year 2025/26 is £16,900 per year.
There are range of Scholarships available to help support you through your studies with us.
A full list of scholarships can be found here.
Fees for this course
UK
The full-time standard undergraduate tuition fee for the Academic Year 2025/26 is £9,535 per year. You can apply for a loan from the Government to help pay for your tuition fees. You can also apply for a maintenance loan from the Government to help cover your living costs. See www.gov.uk/student-finance
Excellence Scholarships
Worth £2,500 per year of study over three years when you score a defined number of UCAS tariff points from specified qualifications*
» If you don’t qualify for an Excellence Scholarship but have 120 UCAS tariff points, you have enough points for one of our Achievement Scholarships offering £500 per year of study**
» Other scholarships, bursaries and financial support packages are available
* Points requirements vary depending on type of qualification.
** Threshold is 120 UCAS tariff points across all awarding bodies and qualifications.
International
The full-time standard undergraduate tuition fee for the academic year 2025/26 is £16,900 per year.
There are range of Scholarships available to help support you through your studies with us.
A full list of scholarships can be found here.
Fees for this course
UK
The full-time standard undergraduate tuition fee for the Academic Year 2025/26 is £9,535 per year. You can apply for a loan from the Government to help pay for your tuition fees. You can also apply for a maintenance loan from the Government to help cover your living costs. See www.gov.uk/student-finance
Excellence Scholarships
Worth £2,500 per year of study over three years when you score a defined number of UCAS tariff points from specified qualifications*
» If you don’t qualify for an Excellence Scholarship but have 120 UCAS tariff points, you have enough points for one of our Achievement Scholarships offering £500 per year of study**
» Other scholarships, bursaries and financial support packages are available
* Points requirements vary depending on type of qualification.
** Threshold is 120 UCAS tariff points across all awarding bodies and qualifications.
International
The full-time standard undergraduate tuition fee for the academic year 2025/26 is £16,900 per year.
There are range of Scholarships available to help support you through your studies with us.
A full list of scholarships can be found here.
Virtual Tour
