less specialised courses or more specialised courses at university

i will be applying for university this year and i have a few courses that i'll probably be applying for: microbiology, biomedical science and biological sciences. looking at degrees in those courses there are degrees within those degrees, like for biological sciences there are degrees for biological sciences and then theres degrees for biological sciences (biochemistry) etc. im wondering if it would be better if i do a degree such as biological sciences (biochemistry) or just biological sciences. i have no preference to doing either

Reply 1

McGinger

Have a look at this course at Bristol - flexible program, you can transfer between any of the CMM programmes and do not have to decide on your final degree focus until the end of your second year.
Undergraduate | School of Cellular and Molecular Medicine | University of Bristol
Also, Biological Sciences at Unis like Loughborough will cover a range of topics
- Biological Sciences BSc | Undergraduate study | Loughborough University (lboro.ac.uk) - allowing you to develop different interests and potentially then specialise at postgrad level.

Reply 2

Uni of Southampton Students

Official Rep

Hey @calvin0205 😁

I would definitely have a look at the modules available for each course. I chose to do Biology over a more specific biological sciences course like Biochemistry because of two reasons. One was because it was more open ended and allowed me to specialise later on when I found what I wanted to specialise in. Two was that the modules available for biology were much more to my taste than the other courses, as well as the mandatory modules being ones that I wanted to take. As well as looking at the modules, I would have a look at what sort of career you're planning on going into, and see if the different courses offer field trips or lab work that would give you experience in that field.

Hope this helps!
Jen (UoS student rep)

Reply 3

Lancaster Student Ambassador

Official Rep

Original post by calvin0205

Hi @calvin0205

I'm a biochemistry student at Lancaster University. I personally chose biochemistry, a more specialised bioscience degree, as the modules were more tailored to my interests! It's a very personal choice, and the only really different will be how broad your first year is and what optional modules you can take in other years. I don't think either degree will give you an advantage or disadvantage, as when applying for further study/jobs you can highlight relevant modules and projects to highlight the area the role may be in.

I personally prefer "smaller" biology (cellular and sub-cellular - molecular and structural biology) and I knew by choosing this biochemistry degree I wouldn't be forced to take some of the modules I'd be less interested in that may appear in other biology/biomedical degrees.

Good luck with your applications!
Rebecca (Lancaster Student Ambassador)