Master of Science (Hons) in Biochemistry (with Placement Year) University of Surrey, UK

Why choose this course?

• Explore the fundamental processes of life at a cellular level, from simple existence to the coordination of billions of living cells.
• Gain industry experience through our Professional Training placements scheme and spend up to a year working in the UK or abroad.
• Learn how technology and genetic principles can be used to tackle global challenges like world hunger, insulin shortages and vaccine production.    
• Immerse yourself in some of the ground-breaking research being done at Surrey on sleep, ageing, immunology, pharmacology, virology and more.  
• Choose our integrated masters pathway and complete an extended laboratory-based dissertation, preparing you for a technical research career in industry or academia.

What you will study

During the first two years of our Biochemistry course, you’ll develop a broad understanding of biochemistry, its methodology and some of its most intriguing applications. You’ll get to choose optional modules in bacteriology, biodiversity, neuroscience and virology.  

In your third year, you’ll select five optional modules, exploring topics such as genetics, immunology, pharmacology, systems biology and toxicology. You’ll also complete a research project, bringing together all the practical, analytical and presentation skills you’ve developed. Previous students have had their work published in top-tier journals, including the European Journal of Neuroscience and the Journal of Virology and Sleep.
If you choose to complete an integrated masters you will have an additional research-focused year of study. You’ll cover advanced techniques in biochemistry and you’ll enhance your scientific communication skills. During the year, you’ll be presented with several therapy areas and drug targets that you’ll develop a portfolio review for. You’ll then present your work to industry experts in a bid for funding. You'll also be given a research problem that you’ll propose a critical experimental plan for, incorporating a range of appropriate biochemical techniques. You’ll complete a laboratory-based dissertation investigating topics like antibody class switching in B cells and neurodegenerative diseases.

Biochemistry placements
You can choose to work for a range of employers, including:

• Biotechnology companies
• Food suppliers
• Hospitals
• Pharmaceutical organisations.

We also have an extensive number of partner institutions that offer placements exclusively to Surrey students, giving you access to research laboratories across the world. Explore your options via our search tool and find out more about our current partner universities and organisations.