Overview

Immerse yourself in the wonder of biological organisms and processes at the molecular level. Explore all aspects of life from molecules to cells, tissues and organisms, right up to populations and ecosystems. Learn from leading research scientists who are specialists in their fields of study.  This course is for you if you have a strong background in chemistry and are enthusiastic about applying this to the study of biological systems.  As a biochemist you’ll have the potential to make an impact on many areas of contemporary science, including health, nutrition, clean energy and tackling pollution. Biochemists are frequent winners of the Nobel Prize for Chemistry and Michael Houghton, an alumnus of the UEA School of Biological Sciences and Biochemistry PhD, won the Nobel prize for Physiology or Medicine in 2020.

About This Course

You’ll learn the fundamentals of biology and chemistry that underpin the study of biochemistry. Then you will choose from a broad range of modules across topics such as cell and molecular biology, medicinal chemistry, genetics, protein engineering and microbial biotechnology.  In your final year, you’ll have the chance to further develop your laboratory and technical skills with an independent research project in a unique area of science. You could even see your research published.  Our biochemistry degrees are taught jointly by the Schools of Biological Sciences and Chemistry. This dual approach means that in all elements of the course you benefit from subject-specific experts who inform our undergraduate teaching. Both Schools have research environments recognized to be internationally excellent and with researchers generating outputs of international standing. Our research makes use of a wide array of facilities such as multi-photon and laser scanning confocal microscopes for the study of cells and tissues at the molecular level, high-field nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometers and X-ray diffractometers for the study of molecular structure, mass spectrometers, liquid and gas chromatography systems and fluorescence and electron microscopes.  You’ll benefit from our enviable position as an integral partner of the Norwich Research Park, which is also home to the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital and independent, world-renowned research institutes such as the John Innes Centre (research in plant and microbial sciences), the Sainsbury Laboratory (plant-microbe interactions), the Earlham Institute (computational biosciences and biotechnology) and the Quadram Institute (gut health, microbiology and food science).