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Biological Sciences Foundation (1+3)

Entry requirements


A level

C,D,D-C,C,C

CCC-CDD depending on subjects studied.

Access to HE Diploma

M:45

Merit grades in all 45 graded Level 3 units, including a minimum of three Science related units.

GCSE/National 4/National 5

All applicants must have a minimum of five GCSEs at grade C/4 or above, including English Language, Mathematics and two Sciences. Core and Additional Science/Dual Science acceptable as the two Sciences. Alternatively, if separate sciences are being studied then one of these must be GCSE Biology. Applicants over 21 can be considered on GCSEs alone

International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme

27-28

27-28 points, including scores of 3/4 in two Higher Level subjects, depending on subjects being studied.

Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)

DMM

Applied Science only. Please note alternative BTEC subjects are not acceptable for this programme.

CCC-CDD in Advanced Highers depending on subjects studied. Combinations of Advanced Highers/Highers or just Highers will be considered on a case by case basis.

T levels considered in a relevant subject and specialism.

Welsh Baccalaureate - Advanced Skills Challenge Certificate (first teaching September 2015)

C

Grade C, plus CC-DD at A level depending on subjects studied.

UCAS Tariff

80-96

We've calculated how many Ucas points you'll need for this course.

About this course


Course option

4years

Full-time | 2024

Subject

Biology

Intended for adult learners or undergraduates who wish to take up Biology but do not have the appropriate subject background, Biological Sciences offers a foundation year at nearby Carmel College. This is not a programme in itself but acts as a springboard onto other Life Science degrees. This deferred choice programme means that you have the flexibility and freedom to switch to your chosen degree after completing the foundation year (Year Zero).
The aim of this programme is to make you an expert in one particular field with the ability to cross discipline boundaries, a highly attractive prospect to employers.

Year Zero comprises introductory modules taught at Carmel College. Years One, Two and Three will continue at Liverpool following the chosen area of interest through to BSc (Hons) or MBiolSci (Hons) completion.
Programme options are:
- Biochemistry (C700)

- Biological and Medical Sciences (C130)

- Biological Sciences (C100)

- Genetics (C400)

- Human Physiology (B120)

- Microbiology (C500)

- Pharmacology (B210)

- Tropical Disease Biology (C111)

- Zoology (C300).

The Uni


Course location:

University of Liverpool

Department:

School of Life Sciences

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What students say


How do students rate their degree experience?

The stats below relate to the general subject area/s at this university, not this specific course. We show this where there isn’t enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

Biology

Sorry, no information to show

This is usually because there were too few respondents in the data we receive to be able to provide results about the subject at this university.


Who studies this subject and how do they get on?

94%
UK students
6%
International students
35%
Male students
65%
Female students
98%
2:1 or above
8%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

B
B
C

After graduation


The stats in this section relate to the general subject area/s at this university – not this specific course. We show this where there isn't enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

Biology (non-specific)

What are graduates doing after six months?

This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.

£18,000
med
Average annual salary
97%
med
Employed or in further education
59%
med
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

13%
Sales assistants and retail cashiers
11%
Natural and social science professionals
11%
Science, engineering and production technicians

The recession was tough on biology graduates, and although the jobs market has improved for them - a lot - it's still not back to where it was a few years ago. If you want a career in biology research — and a lot of biology students do - you'll need to take a doctorate, so give some thought as to where you might do it and how you might fund it (the government still funds doctorates for good students). A lot of graduates also take 1 year Masters courses to specialise in this wide and deep subject - most students take a standard biology course for their first degree and then specialise in subjects like ecology, conservation or marine biology later. Hospitals, universities, biotech firms, zoos and nature reserves and clinical and scientific testing are common industries of employment for biology graduates.

What about your long term prospects?

Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.

Biology (non-specific)

The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.

£21k

£21k

£25k

£25k

£30k

£30k

Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.

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Lower entry requirements
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Same University
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Biological Sciences
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This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.

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Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF):

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This information comes from the National Student Survey, an annual student survey of final-year students. You can use this to see how satisfied students studying this subject area at this university, are (not the individual course).

This is the percentage of final-year students at this university who were "definitely" or "mostly" satisfied with their course. We've analysed this figure against other universities so you can see whether this is high, medium or low.

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This information is from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), for undergraduate students only.

You can use this to get an idea of who you might share a lecture with and how they progressed in this subject, here. It's also worth comparing typical A-level subjects and grades students achieved with the current course entry requirements; similarities or differences here could indicate how flexible (or not) a university might be.

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Post-six month graduation stats:

This is from the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education Survey, based on responses from graduates who studied the same subject area here.

It offers a snapshot of what grads went on to do six months later, what they were earning on average, and whether they felt their degree helped them obtain a 'graduate role'. We calculate a mean rating to indicate if this is high, medium or low compared to other universities.

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Graduate field commentary:

The Higher Education Careers Services Unit have provided some further context for all graduates in this subject area, including details that numbers alone might not show

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The Longitudinal Educational Outcomes dataset combines HRMC earnings data with student records from the Higher Education Statistics Agency.

While there are lots of factors at play when it comes to your future earnings, use this as a rough timeline of what graduates in this subject area were earning on average one, three and five years later. Can you see a steady increase in salary, or did grads need some experience under their belt before seeing a nice bump up in their pay packet?

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