Original post by Luwei
Biochemistry has more chemistry then biomedical sciences?
Well yes but surely there's more to it than that?
Original post by Kxtie303
Does anyone know the main differences in these degrees? I just want to make sure that I am choosing the right one to study.
Hi there @Kxtie303
Biomedical Science is much more clinically based and focuses more on human biology and the applications of science within health. Biochemistry is less clinical and is applicable to any living creature. If you look at the careers that each degree points to it should help you to choose. For example with Biomedical Science you could work in a lab or in a clinical setting and a Biochemistry degree allows you to work in clinical settings, in business and finance and in the public sector, but it is less specific than Biomedical Science in terms of career prospects. Either degree is applicable to different careers but both give you lots of options, it depends on where you want your career to go.
Hope this helps
Lauren
2nd Year Biomedical Science Student
SGUL Official Rep
i had this same struggle. i actually applied for biomed then switched to biochem after firming my uni. i'm starting in sept 2020.
i would say biomed is more about the human body and how it deals with disease. biochem is more about the chemical processes that go on inside living things. i'm not sure if this is accurate but i would say that biomed is the blanket and biochem is the thread in the blanket?
i was really drawn to biomed cos i've always been interested with the effect disease has on the body like how it reacts to it and what the disease does to the body you know? but the parts of biomed that i was most drawn to was the chemistry of these effects and reactions. i like to learn not just about how a cell reacts but the chemistry that goes on inside the cell that makes it react that way.
i also have this strong passion for chemistry that biomed just didn't satisfy. i'd like to go into toxicology, pharmacology or drug design after my bsc.
i guess you have to ask yourself if you'd like to go over it all (biomed) or go into the nitpicky details of what goes on to make it happen (biochem).
i hope this helped and i didnt ramble too much. good luck!
i would say biomed is more about the human body and how it deals with disease. biochem is more about the chemical processes that go on inside living things. i'm not sure if this is accurate but i would say that biomed is the blanket and biochem is the thread in the blanket?
i was really drawn to biomed cos i've always been interested with the effect disease has on the body like how it reacts to it and what the disease does to the body you know? but the parts of biomed that i was most drawn to was the chemistry of these effects and reactions. i like to learn not just about how a cell reacts but the chemistry that goes on inside the cell that makes it react that way.
i also have this strong passion for chemistry that biomed just didn't satisfy. i'd like to go into toxicology, pharmacology or drug design after my bsc.
i guess you have to ask yourself if you'd like to go over it all (biomed) or go into the nitpicky details of what goes on to make it happen (biochem).
i hope this helped and i didnt ramble too much. good luck!
As a general rule Biomed looks at "bigger" things that are mainluy based around humans and disease such as physiology, sport science, neuroscience, pharmacology, etc. You will probably do some "smaller" molecular stuff too such as microbiology and some biochemistry but it'll be a big mix.
Biochemistry will focus on the "smaller" molecular stuff so think on terms of proteins, enzymes, cells, etc. in normal and diseased organisms of all kinds (plants, animals, humans, etc.)
The best way to find a course you like and are interested in is to go on module content and not it's title. I love learning about health and disease so Biomed seemed perfect based on name alone. However, after looking at the specific modules covered in different courses I actually found that Microbiology was bettwr fitting for my interests. Similarly two courses with the same name could differ massively on their module content so make sure you look at the module content for any course you're considering!
Biochemistry will focus on the "smaller" molecular stuff so think on terms of proteins, enzymes, cells, etc. in normal and diseased organisms of all kinds (plants, animals, humans, etc.)
The best way to find a course you like and are interested in is to go on module content and not it's title. I love learning about health and disease so Biomed seemed perfect based on name alone. However, after looking at the specific modules covered in different courses I actually found that Microbiology was bettwr fitting for my interests. Similarly two courses with the same name could differ massively on their module content so make sure you look at the module content for any course you're considering!
Biochemistry focuses on understanding biological systems at a cellular and biochemical level. Without sounding too obvious by the name it's a laboratory based science which brings together biology and chemistry to look at the processes of living organisms. Like the poster above said, it tends to be less clinical. Biochemistry is a great degree to take due to the fact there is actually a demand rn for graduates with chemistry skills according to my chemistry teacher. Biochemistry could end up with you having a career as an analytical chemist, forensic scientist, pharmacologist and a clinical scientist specialising in biochemistry.
Biomed uses the applications of biology and applies it to a medical perspective. You'll focus on the human body looking at things such as genetics, metabolism, physiology and anatomy. However, biochemistry will be different and you would study biological things that occur outside the body such as plants and ecology. It honestly just depends on where your interests are. You could get similar jobs with both of them except chemistry jobs where biochemistry is the better option.
If you want a degree that offers the best of both worlds maybe look at a degree in biological and medicinal chemistry. This is offered at many respected unis like Nottingham and Exeter.
Biomed uses the applications of biology and applies it to a medical perspective. You'll focus on the human body looking at things such as genetics, metabolism, physiology and anatomy. However, biochemistry will be different and you would study biological things that occur outside the body such as plants and ecology. It honestly just depends on where your interests are. You could get similar jobs with both of them except chemistry jobs where biochemistry is the better option.
If you want a degree that offers the best of both worlds maybe look at a degree in biological and medicinal chemistry. This is offered at many respected unis like Nottingham and Exeter.
Do any of you have the answer on which degree would be best to go for in terms of going into a research setting?
And, if I may add, that the Biochemistry course that I might take is an undergraduate masters with an placement in industry, whereas Biomedical science would be the usual undergraduate degree.
Which is better?
And, if I may add, that the Biochemistry course that I might take is an undergraduate masters with an placement in industry, whereas Biomedical science would be the usual undergraduate degree.
Which is better?
Original post by Kxtie303
Do any of you have the answer on which degree would be best to go for in terms of going into a research setting?
And, if I may add, that the Biochemistry course that I might take is an undergraduate masters with an placement in industry, whereas Biomedical science would be the usual undergraduate degree.
Which is better?
And, if I may add, that the Biochemistry course that I might take is an undergraduate masters with an placement in industry, whereas Biomedical science would be the usual undergraduate degree.
Which is better?
Definately Biomedical Science, given that it will give you a broader array of options when applying for a PhD. Though Biochemistry is probably a bit more respected generally, given that it is a specialist branch of Chemistry.
Original post by aw03
i had this same struggle. i actually applied for biomed then switched to biochem after firming my uni. i'm starting in sept 2020.
i would say biomed is more about the human body and how it deals with disease. biochem is more about the chemical processes that go on inside living things. i'm not sure if this is accurate but i would say that biomed is the blanket and biochem is the thread in the blanket?
i was really drawn to biomed cos i've always been interested with the effect disease has on the body like how it reacts to it and what the disease does to the body you know? but the parts of biomed that i was most drawn to was the chemistry of these effects and reactions. i like to learn not just about how a cell reacts but the chemistry that goes on inside the cell that makes it react that way.
i also have this strong passion for chemistry that biomed just didn't satisfy. i'd like to go into toxicology, pharmacology or drug design after my bsc.
i guess you have to ask yourself if you'd like to go over it all (biomed) or go into the nitpicky details of what goes on to make it happen (biochem).
i hope this helped and i didnt ramble too much. good luck!
i would say biomed is more about the human body and how it deals with disease. biochem is more about the chemical processes that go on inside living things. i'm not sure if this is accurate but i would say that biomed is the blanket and biochem is the thread in the blanket?
i was really drawn to biomed cos i've always been interested with the effect disease has on the body like how it reacts to it and what the disease does to the body you know? but the parts of biomed that i was most drawn to was the chemistry of these effects and reactions. i like to learn not just about how a cell reacts but the chemistry that goes on inside the cell that makes it react that way.
i also have this strong passion for chemistry that biomed just didn't satisfy. i'd like to go into toxicology, pharmacology or drug design after my bsc.
i guess you have to ask yourself if you'd like to go over it all (biomed) or go into the nitpicky details of what goes on to make it happen (biochem).
i hope this helped and i didnt ramble too much. good luck!
Hi, I’m actually thinking of switching to biochem too! (I’m currently signed up for biomed to start in sept) as I would like the options of both actually designing the drugs that help people aswell as finding new ways to improve treatments. I’m also quite good at chemistry and liked learning it but am more passionate about human bio. The only thing is, I wouldn’t get to learn as much about all the different systems in the body and how they operate when diseased and like all the up to date research and treatments for the diseases. I would have to ask to switch ASAP as the biomed course is taught in the med school while the biochem one isn’t so can’t do it once I’ve started uni. Do you think I should go for it/ any advice on how to decide?
(edited 3 years ago)
Original post by indecisiveel2
Hi, I’m actually thinking of switching to biochem too! (I’m currently signed up for biomed to start in sept) as I would like the options of both actually designing the drugs that help people aswell as finding new ways to improve treatments. I’m also quite good at chemistry but am more passionate about human bio. The only thing is, I wouldn’t get to learn as much about all the different systems in the body and how they operate when diseased and like all the up to date research and treatments for the diseases. I would have to ask to switch ASAP as the biomed course is taught in the med school while the biochem one isn’t so can’t do it once I’ve started uni. Do you think I should go for it/ any advice on how to decide?
hiya!
so chemistry has been my favourite subject since y10 and when schools shut and our exams got cancelled, i realised that i would essentially never be learning extra chemistry again and that made me feel sort of sad and empty i don't really know how to describe it. i kept getting this nagging feeling in the back of my head saying "man i miss chemistry" and as hilarious as it sounds i would lowkey get jealous whenever i saw someone studying biochem or just chemistry in general at uni lmao.
i pushed it out of my mind tho cos like you, i loved learning about the different body systems and how disease affects each one but i was most drawn to the chemistry of how the organism is affected you know? i wanted to learn about the chemical processes that make the organism react that way. like instead of learning that coffee granules make water go black, i wanted to learn what the coffee granules do to the water to make it go black.
it kept playing on my mind tho and soon, i was so bored i started researching masters course cos i know i wanna do one and the courses i was most drawn to were centred around chemistry. it was courses like drug design, toxicology, pharmacology and analytical chemistry. i also knew i want to go into a career that has a lot of chemistry in it. right now, i'm thinking toxicology or drug design.
i made a list of the modules i was looking most forward to in biomed and then i looked if the biochem course offered them and they did offer most them either as compulsory or optional modules. i also learned that you can take 3 pathways at my uni and that's straight biochem, biochem w genetics or biochem w biomedicine. i ended up choosing straight biochem cos it had the most chemistry.
i see that you're worried about if you'll be able to learn about human anatomy & physiology. i'm not sure if you'll learn about it as in depth as you would in biomed so that might sway your decision. try comparing your uni's courses. as far as my university goes, you still learn about disease treatment and you stay up to date with new advancements. also, there is still a lot of human bio in biochem and there is a lot of overlap in biomed when it comes to those modules. for example, you'll still learn cell biology, infection & immunity, microbes, genetics and proteins, water, carbs etc.
when it comes to switching (if you decide you want to) it was a pretty easy process. i just emailed admissions and they asked for confirmation that i defo wanted to switch. in about 2 weeks, my course changed on track.
so i guess a couple question you should to yourself are:
- when it comes to disease, do you like learning about the bigger picture or the finer details to add up to the bigger picture?
- does the biochem course at your uni offer modules you really wanted to do in biomed?
- which course is geared more towards your future career aspirations? (if you know what you wanna do)
- do you enjoy chemistry? i saw you said you're good at chem but do you actually enjoy learning and studying it?
- do you feel like you're more excited at the thought of studying biochem or biomed?
- what is your gut telling you? like what is the first thought that comes in your head when you think about wanting to switch? not the thought that tries to contradict the first thought.
i really hope i helped and that i didn't ramble too much lol. and i hope you make the decision that's right for you. please hmu if you have any more questions. good luck g!
(edited 3 years ago)
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