The course provides all of the practical skills needed for working in a laboratory, including preparing solutions, chemical handling and working with state-of-the-art laboratory instruments, and you’ll also undertake nutritional, chemical and microbiological analysis of food, air, soil and water, and investigate chemical synthesis, gene cloning, protein analysis and other microbiological techniques.
From an academic perspective, you’ll study the key environmental and biological principles that govern the natural world, diseases, anatomy and physiology, and also gain the enhanced research skills required for further study.
The course has employability at its heart and will set you up for various roles within a laboratory setting. You’ll be taught in the laboratories and classrooms in our Knightstone Campus, and you’ll also be able to take advantage of all of the
independent study facilities on offer in the University Centre in the redeveloped Winter Gardens.
Foundation Degrees are Level 5 qualifications equivalent to the first two years of a full Honours Degree. They are designed with employer input and combine academic study with work-based learning. They often include a work experience element, and UCW’s commitment to great graduate outcomes is also underpinned by our students having access to a Careers Coaching service for the whole time they are enrolled with us.
Please click on the next tab to find out more about what you’ll learn on this programme and how it is delivered. The information below deal with our partnership with UWE Bristol and what is and isn’t included in the cost of tuition.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to get in touch with the course leader Dr Elena Borodina or UCW’s HEART team. It would also be great to meet you and show you around at our next Open Day.
Subject to final approval, students who pass this course will be awarded a Foundation Degree from the University of the West of England, Bristol. The agreement between UWE Bristol and UCW is reviewed on an ongoing basis and is next due to be renewed in 2024. UWE Bristol students at UCW are entitled to use the facilities and resources at the two institutions, and are also required to adhere to the regulations of both organisations. Please click on the Terms and Conditions button for more information.
Full-time: £8,250 per year
Part-time: £5,500 per year
This covers all of the teaching and assessment elements that are required for students to complete the course.
It also includes:
- The use of the specialist laboratory equipment and facilities on offer at UCW.
- All of the resources and facilities on offer across all UCW campuses.
- Attendance at guest lectures and conferences at UCW.
- Annual £10 printing and photocopying allowance for full-time students and £5 for part-time students.
- The use of UCW computer equipment at any of our campuses and access to Microsoft Office 365 while you are enrolled with UCW.
- The loans of books from our libraries.
- Access to all of the UCW student support and careers services.
It does not include:
- Attendance on optional UK ( approximately £50 per day/night) and overseas (approximately £75 per night) visits and trips.
- Extra printing and photocopying above the £10 limit.
- The cost of books that you may wish to purchase.
- Transport between our campuses, and to/from your partner university and any work placements. We encourage students to take advantage of termly bus passes to reduce transport costs.
- Accommodation and other living expenses.
UCW publishes its Tuition Fees Policy on the Wider Information Set page of this website.
You may also be eligible for additional financial support, depending on your circumstances.
All of the modules on this course are compulsory and worth either 15 or 30 credits. Successful completion of all of the modules in the first year is worth 120 credits at Level 4 and equivalent to a Certificate of Higher Education. Successful completion of the second year is also worth 120 credits and will lead to the award of the Level 5 Foundation Degree.
Year 1:
- Anatomy and physiology (15 credits)
- Core chemistry (15 credits)
- Environmental science (15 credits)
- Laboratory skills and data analysis for biosciences (30 credits)
- Microbiology (15 credits)
- Practical cell biology and biochemistry (30 credits)
Year 2:
- Ecology and ecosystems (30 credits)
- Human health and diseases (15 credits)
- Practical molecular biology and biotechnology (30 credits)
- Research skills and laboratory project (30 credits)
- Work-based learning (15 credits)
This course is taught via a combination of lectures, seminars, skills practice, presentations, practicals, lab work, case studies and group workshops. UCW’s Higher Education Library Plus (HE.LP) team also deliver a series of sessions on degree-level research and academic writing to all first-year students. When not in scheduled lecturers and seminars, students are expected to continue learning through independent self-study. This involves reading relevant literature, working on individual and group projects, and undertaking research in preparation for coursework and exams.
This course has an average of 13 hours of scheduled teaching per week.
At UCW, we also understand that some students benefit from more contact time with lecturers than is the norm at a traditional university, so we do all we can to make sure academic staff are available for their students when they are needed.
Assessment is via a combination of written exams, practical exams and coursework, with an assessment breakdown of 40% written exams, 10% practical exams and 40% coursework.
- Graduates of this course are eligible to apply for related Top-up Degrees to gain full Honours.
- The course has also been designed to enable graduates to either progress on a research career pathway or gain employment in roles such as laboratory technician, laboratory analyst, laboratory supervisor or laboratory manager.
A minimum of CC at A Level, or a BTEC Extended Diploma at MPP, or equivalent, preferably including a science subject, in addition to Level 2 English and Maths at grade C (level 4 under the new GCSE grading system) or above. We also encourage applications from students with a relevant, scienced-based Access to Higher Education Diploma.
