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should i study biomedical science or neuroscience at uni?

just started my a levels in bio, chem and psychology and i have started thinking about what courses i should apply for at uni. currently looking at bristol, edinburgh and kcl (all pretty good STEM wise).

my plan at first was to study neuroscience but i am aware it is a relatively new-ish field and not quite sure about job opportunities that have decent salaries. thought biomed might be a better option and might have better job security and will be a useful degree if i want to specialise in any particular field. maybe i can do a biomed degree and then later go into neuro?? idk if it’s a waste of time tho.

i have hardly any knowledge about this and would really appreciate feedback!! :smile:
Original post by li1503
just started my a levels in bio, chem and psychology and i have started thinking about what courses i should apply for at uni. currently looking at bristol, edinburgh and kcl (all pretty good STEM wise).
my plan at first was to study neuroscience but i am aware it is a relatively new-ish field and not quite sure about job opportunities that have decent salaries. thought biomed might be a better option and might have better job security and will be a useful degree if i want to specialise in any particular field. maybe i can do a biomed degree and then later go into neuro?? idk if it’s a waste of time tho.
i have hardly any knowledge about this and would really appreciate feedback!! :smile:

I do the same subjects as you and went into my a levels thinking that I was going to be a cognitive neuro researcher. Although, I changed my mind when finding out they work with AI and it's a LOT more complicated than I thought it would be. With those subjects you could easily go for clinical psychology (it isn't just therapy but you actually treat people) or I'm personally thinking of going into the field of forensics/crimonology. Your best bet now is to either go for something with psychology (most science based unis will prefer physics + chem + bio but since instead of physics ur doing psychology it might be a tad bit more complicated to go into biomed).
And yeah, it's probably possible to have a biomed degree and then go into neuro, if that's what you wanna do go for it. You've still got many years + personally at my school there's a whole careers department which help you with this process, so you don't have to worry about making that decision yet.
Mind if I ask, do you want to do Biomedical Science or Biomedical Sciences at uni as none of those unis offer IBMS accreditation on their courses as they’re all RG unis.

IBMS courses will offer a means to enter diagnostic area in a hospital (pathology) and going to an RG uni will not (basically research).
Original post by Scienceisgood
Mind if I ask, do you want to do Biomedical Science or Biomedical Sciences at uni as none of those unis offer IBMS accreditation on their courses as they’re all RG unis.
IBMS courses will offer a means to enter diagnostic area in a hospital (pathology) and going to an RG uni will not (basically research).


Is going to a RG uni going to guarantee a career in research?
Original post by confused.otter
Is going to a RG uni going to guarantee a career in research?


There is no “guarantee” in anything but it’s more inclined towards research as opposed to diagnostics, however, where my course was IBMS accredited, I’m far more knowledgable on that section than research.

What I mean by that is if you want to work in diagnostics, you will have to have your degree accredited by the IBMS but with research, that isn’t necessary. However, it does mean your course has been tailored more towards laboratory research such as cancer studies, microbiology research for things such as medicine or food etc…

Sorry if that’s not a helpful answer!

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