Biological Sciences

If I wanted to do biological sciences at university do you need med school?
And do you need to work at the NHS to get your certificate?

Reply 1

MindMax2000

Universities Forum Helper

Original post by Msldbslzb

If I wanted to do biological sciences at university do you need med school?
And do you need to work at the NHS to get your certificate?

Short answer: No

Long answer: you would need to do a biological science degree.
You don't need to work at the NHS or go through med school (pretty certain that this is the same across the world, but I would say this is the case in the UK just to be safe).

Typically, you would require the equivalent of Biology and/or Chemistry A Level (at least 2 sciences) + whatever GCSE equivalents in English Language and Maths.
See the following degrees for example:
https://courses.leeds.ac.uk/e997/biological-sciences-bsc#entry
https://www.ed.ac.uk/studying/undergraduate/degrees/index.php?action=view&code=C100
https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/undergraduate/courses/biosciences/biological-sciences-msci#EntryRequirementsTab
https://www.imperial.ac.uk/study/courses/undergraduate/biological-sciences/
https://www.exeter.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/courses/biosciences/biosci/#entry-requirements

Med school (in the UK at least) is reserved for degrees in medicine.
You would not need to work at the NHS to get any degree certificate. You should work at the NHS to complete your training in specific healthcare professions though e.g. biomed scientist, doctor, nurse, etc.

Reply 2

Coventry University Student Ambassadors

Official Rep

Original post by Msldbslzb

If I wanted to do biological sciences at university do you need med school?
And do you need to work at the NHS to get your certificate?

Hi there,
Coventry University student ambassador here,
I am a 3rd year biomedical science student and i will just mention few points that might could help you answer your question.

you are not required to do med school in order to do a bio-sciences degree as you can apply straight after finishing your high school A-levels. Though in my experience I have seen many students applying into medicine "after" they have done a biosciences degree.

to graduate and get your certificate no work experience is required in the NHS though to be a certified biomedical scientist you would need to be registered with HCPC and complete your IBMS portfolio which is done through working in a NHS based placement.

you would also want to check that the course you're opting for is accredited by HCPC and IBMS which is always a plus point if is.

lastly, I will attach the links of courses we offer under biosciences with/without integrated placement options! :smile:

1.https://www.coventry.ac.uk/wroclaw/course-structure/hnc-hnd-degree/biosciences/
2.https://www.coventry.ac.uk/course-structure/ug/hls/biomedical-science-applied-biomedical-science-bsc/
3.https://www.coventry.ac.uk/course-structure/ug/hls/human-biosciences-bsc/
Hope these helps and if you're looking into making your application this academic year, I would highly recommend you check out our universities website for ore information or book an open day here:https://www.coventry.ac.uk, so you could get a good feel around the campus and gain more insight into the course structure and other extra curricular activities we offer.
All the best for the choices for the choice you'll make in coming future,
Kind regards,
Harleen.