Undergraduate study

Overview

• Particular emphasis on mammalian biochemistry and human disease
• The flexibility to combine Biochemistry with a very wide range of other subjects
• Integrated coverage of molecular biology
• Opportunity to study abroad at a range of partners in the USA, Canada, Europe or Australia, or have a sandwich year. The sandwich year can be spent working in one of 16 laboratories at European institutions, including the Pasteur Institute. ERASMUS funding is available for these placements

According to a Quality Assurance Agency report, Keele offers 'enthusiastic, committed and caring staff', and 'all subgroups of students achieve their potential'. The Biochemistry course is in the national top five for 'added value' (degree class compared with entry qualifications) and has scored consistently well in recent National Student Surveys topping the charts in the 2013 NSS with 100% overall satisfaction with the course.

Degree Routes

Biochemistry may be studied for the following modular degrees, all involving some interdisciplinary aspects.

BSc Dual Honours: with a second subject studied for three years (see list).

BSc Biochemistry (Major): including study of a second subject for Years 1 and 2.

The BSc programmes are of three years’ duration (four years with an industrial placement).Transfer between these programmes may be possible within the first year.

Biochemistry is the science that studies the activities of living organisms at the cellular and molecular level. It is a key science in medical research and diagnosis, and has led to many important advances in the treatment of human disease. A degree in Biochemistry is the first step towards a wide variety of careers in the pharmaceutical and food industries, in the hospital service, and in many aspects of biological and medical research.

Course Structure 

Three-year courses: BSc Dual Honours and Biochemistry (Major)
The three-year BSc Dual Honours Biochemistry course aims to provide you with a comprehensive knowledge of this rapidly expanding science. It is taught by biochemists who are themselves engaged in projects in several areas of medical research, molecular biology, biochemistry or structural biology. The first two years are common to all Principal Biochemistry courses. In the Dual Honours course you study Biochemistry alongside another subject of your choice for all three years of your course. The Biochemistry (Major) course differs only in the third and final year, where students select all modules from their preferred subject.

Four-year courses: Science Foundation Year and Sandwich Course
It is possible to add a fourth year to the course in order to tailor it to suit individual needs. There are essentially two ways in which this can be done:

• Add a Science Foundation Year prior to the start of the three-year course
• Take a sandwich course, by including an Industrial Placement after two years of the three-year course

You can only select one of these options.

Summary of Biochemistry Degree Courses

Course Content

The first year of the biochemistry course provides an introduction to protein structure and function, molecular biology and protein synthesis, metabolism and energy transduction, and the function of membranes and organelles in the cell.  Although the major emphasis in these modules is on higher organisms, you will also study structure and function in microbial cells.

In the second year, you will go on to study a number of these systems in greater depth, to illustrate how biochemical activities are adapted to particular circumstances. The emphasis of this part of the course is on mammalian (and particularly human) biochemistry and cell biology. There is coverage of the immune system and its role in combating disease. This theme is continued in a module which pays special attention to the changes in metabolism associated with disease states such as diabetes. There is particular emphasis on the new and expanding technical developments in DNA and protein molecular biology with a full module dealing with recombinant DNA technology and genetic engineering, and another that covers the way in which cells respond to their environment, through signalling pathways.

Students taking Dual Honours take four modules in their third year, one of which must be a research project, while students taking Biochemistry (Major) take eight modules, including 30 credits worth of project.  All students take the Acquisition, Analysis and Communication of Information module, which develops the skills required for retrieving and interpreting published research, and for analysing and communicating experimental data. Students choose the remaining modules from the list below, selecting combinations which reflect their interests.

Throughout the course you will be developing Keele’s 10 key graduate attributes, which along  with your other subject, your co-curricular and development strand activities will combine to make you a Distinctive Keele graduate.

Biochemistry modules currently offered:

First Year

Nature's Tools: Proteins and Enzymes
Information and Inheritance
Metabolism: Major Metabolic Pathways
Cells and Organelles: Biochemical Aspects of Cell Biology

Second Year

Gene and Protein Engineering
Metabolism in Health and Disease
Endocrinology and Signalling
Molecular, Cellular and Structural Immunology

Third and Fourth Years

Experimental Research Project (15 or 30 credit versions)
Non-experimental Research Project
Biochemistry and Therapy of Disease
Macromolecular Structure and Function
Clinical Pathology
Human Parasitology
Acquisition, Analysis and Communication of Information
Advances in Medicine

Codes and Combinations

All students who study a science subject are candidates for the degree of Bachelor of Science (with Honours) (BSc Hons).

Dual Honours course can be combined with:

Major and Foundation courses available:

Teaching and Assessment

Biochemistry is a laboratory-based subject, and the Keele course has a strong practical emphasis, with laboratory sessions held throughout the three years. Laboratory classes in the first and second years are be held in state-of-the-art teaching laboratories. In the final year, practical projects are often linked to one of the research interests in the School of Life Sciences. The laboratory programme also provides time to get to know staff in a relaxed environment, and to develop other important skills such as communication, problem solving and IT skills.

The course is delivered by a dedicated team of enthusiastic academics and visiting clinicians and researchers, so students are exposed to a wide variety of teaching styles.  

Lectures are supplemented with tutorial work in small groups, aimed at consolidating and amplifying lecture material and at identifying and overcoming any problems that students may be encountering with their work.

Performance in each module will be assessed by a mixture of examination and in-course assessment. The proportion of each varies somewhat between modules but is typically weighted towards examination (e.g. 67-75%) for taught modules. Some modules with a high practical component will have a correspondingly high in-course assessment component. In-course assessment may take several forms including poster presentation, essays, laboratory reports and oral presentations.

Programme specifications (new window)

Skills and Careers

The Biochemistry course aims to produce highly motivated graduates who are suitably prepared for employment, principally in industry and in the Health Service, and who are well equipped to study for a higher degree. At the same time, students will develop and use a range of key skills that are suitable for employment outside these directly related subjects. A substantial proportion of Biochemistry graduates go into other areas where numeracy and an objective scientific approach to problem solving are valued.

Brian Swain entered Keele as a mature student, after working as a Retail Representative for Marion Merrell Dow. He studied Biochemistry and Chemistry Dual Honours for two years and transferred to Single Honours Biochemistry for his final year. Brian graduated with a 2ii Honours degree in Biochemistry and is now a Business Manager with Zeneca Innovex. His view is that:

“ Degree level training at Keele is a great preparation for commerce and life.”

Brian Swain

Biochemistry destinations for graduates who completed their undergraduate course in 2011:

Of those who responded:

Want to work in?

Many students are excited by careers that utilise the academic knowledge and skills developed on their degree:

• Clinical Biochemist
• Biomedical Scientist
• Forensic Scientist
• Research Scientist
• Toxicologist
• HE Lecturer
• Analytical Chemist
• Clinical Research Associate

What else?

For those who do not wish to pursue a career directly related to their degree, here are some career ideas to open up options:

• Health and Safety Inspector
• Training Standards Officer
• Science Writer
• Science Teacher
• Pharmacologist
• Technical Author

Visit our Careers pages (new window)

Most students at Keele choose a three-year Dual Honours course. It can be a great advantage to study two Principal subjects equally to degree level, particularly if both are science subjects. In Biochemistry students will learn the techniques of modern molecular biology that underpin much of the current research across a range of Life Sciences. This makes Biochemistry a good choice to combine with many science subjects.

Biochemistry and Biology
Many of our students choose to combine Biochemistry with Biology in order to cover the entire range of the Life Sciences discipline, from molecules and cells to whole organisms. Biochemistry will show you how cells work at a molecular level, whereas in Biology you will look at the whole organism, from its physiology to the way it is adapted to its environment.

Biochemistry and Neuroscience
Those who are fascinated by the mind and how it works, can combine Biochemistry with Neuroscience. The functioning of nerve cells at a molecular level will be dealt with in the Biochemistry course. In Neuroscience students will learn how this must be integrated with key concepts from neurobiology, psychology and computer science in order to begin to understand how our brain works, and what determines our behaviour patterns. You will also discover how molecular malfunctions can cause diseases from depression and schizophrenia to Alzheimer’s Disease and CJD.

Biochemistry and Forensic Science
This is a popular combination bringing together two of the fastest moving areas of 21st-century science. The strong chemical foundation of many of the techniques of modern forensics is nicely complementary to the analysis of life at the molecular level in the Biochemistry course. The exploitation of biochemical techniques in forensic science, particularly the use of DNA fingerprinting, provides one of the most interesting examples of this complementarity.

Biochemistry and Computer Science
Modern Biochemistry, both in research and in industry, makes good use of powerful computing technology to analyse very large sets of data – from the study of the 3 billion bases of the human genome and the quantitation of gene expression using microarrays, to the analysis of 3-D protein structures using X ray crystallography. Combining Biochemistry and Computer Science provides a powerful and distinctive advantage for careers in these crucial and rapidly growing areas.

Whatever your choice of second Principal subject, the Dual Honours system keeps open a wider range of possibilities for your future career. It allows you to market yourself as a Biochemist, Biologist or Neuroscientist, or to promote your multidisciplinary skills according to circumstances. As a springboard for a higher degree or a career in research, a Dual Honours degree is just as acceptable as Biochemistry (Major) and many of our graduates go on to study for a higher degree in either subject area.

See also: Biochemistry and Human Biology