Venues

Old Aberdeen Campus

Content

First Year: Students take courses in Chemistry and Medical Sciences plus additional courses selected from the wide range available from science and other areas.

Second Year: Students take core courses drawn from Biochemistry (Molecular Biology of the Gene, Energy for Life), Genetics (Genes and Evolution) and Microbiology and Immunology (Microbes, Infection and Immunity) programmes. The second year curriculum also includes two courses devoted to development of Foundation and Research Skills in the Life Sciences.

Third Year: The third year curriculum in Biotechnology is interdisciplinary. Courses consider both the fundamental science that has enabled the biotechnology industry to develop, and the applications of different biological systems. Students gain a comprehensive understanding of the ways in which biological systems function and interact, including gene expression analysis, studies of the functions of genes and their protein products, and how the component biological processes within the cell interact.

Fourth Year (Honours): All students begin their Honours year by attending a two-day reading party. An important feature of the Honours course is a ten-week research project, carried out in research laboratories within the Institute of Medical Sciences. This project provides the opportunity to carry out original research, using state-of-the-art technology alongside postgraduate and postdoctoral staff. The fourth year curriculum is divided into a core course and two options courses in the first semester, with the research project and research tutorials in the second semester.

Entry Requirements

2025 entry requirements:

Standard entry:
4 Highers at BBBB (by end of S5) including 2 maths or science subjects by end S6 plus English, Maths and Chemistry or Physics at National 5. Those with Highers at BBB by end of S5 are encouraged to apply.

For second year entry you would require the above plus 3 Advanced Highers at ABB including Biology and another maths or science subject at AB or BA.

Widening access entry:
2 Highers at BB (by end of S5). Additional Highers/Advanced Highers in S6.

1 Foundation Apprenticeship is accepted in place of a non-essential Higher.