Biochemistry is the chemistry of living things: how proteins fold and misfold, how enzymes catalyse reactions, how genetic information becomes functioning cells, and how drugs interfere with all of it. A BSc (Hons) Biochemistry degree sits underneath most of modern medicine and biotechnology, which is why it remains one of the most portable science qualifications you can hold.
It is a laboratory discipline. Expect to spend a substantial part of every week at a bench, and expect the practical work to be assessed as seriously as the exams.
What you study
Three years for the honours degree, four with a placement year in industry or a research institute, which we recommend where it is offered.
- Year one: organic and physical chemistry, cell biology, molecular genetics, biological chemistry, and laboratory technique.
- Year two: enzymology and metabolism, protein structure and function, molecular biology and recombinant DNA, immunology, and analytical and spectroscopic methods.
- Year three: options such as medical biochemistry, pharmacology and drug design, cancer biology, structural biology and bioinformatics, alongside an extended independent research project.
The final year research project is the piece that decides whether you can go on to a PhD, and it is also the strongest thing on a graduate CV.
Entry requirements from Nepal
The figures below are what most of our partner universities ask for. They are not fixed, and individual universities set their own thresholds each intake, so treat this as a guide and let us confirm the exact position for the courses you shortlist.
- Academic: +2, A-Levels or IB at roughly 60 per cent and above for direct entry into year one. An international foundation year is the usual route for students slightly below that. Chemistry in +2 is normally essential and biology is usually required alongside it. Mathematics is helpful.
- English: IELTS 6.0 overall with no band below 5.5 is the usual undergraduate requirement. Many of our partner universities also accept PTE Academic, Duolingo, or a Medium of Instruction letter from Tribhuvan, Pokhara or Kathmandu University. See our IELTS score comparison and the routes that do not require IELTS.
- Study gap: most universities accept a gap, commonly up to five years and sometimes up to ten, as long as you can account for the time.
- Finance: the student visa requires evidence of your first year tuition plus living costs, currently 1,529 pounds a month for London and 1,171 pounds a month elsewhere, held for nine months. Our page on UK university fees for international students sets out the detail.
Where the degree leads
- Pharmaceutical and biotechnology research and development
- Clinical and diagnostic laboratories
- Quality control and regulatory affairs in pharmaceuticals and food
- Academic research, usually via a PhD
- Scientific publishing, patent work and science communication
- Medical and dental study in some countries, though not as a direct UK route
Biochemistry graduates are also well placed for postgraduate conversion into bioinformatics and data-heavy roles, which is where a good deal of the growth in the sector currently is.
How it differs from biomedical and biological science
Students ask this constantly. Biomedical science is oriented towards clinical laboratory practice and human disease, and it is the degree that maps onto NHS laboratory careers. Biological science is the broadest of the three and keeps whole-organism and ecological options open. Biochemistry is the most molecular and the most chemistry heavy of the three, and it is the strongest preparation for pharmaceutical research.
If you are unsure, biochemistry is a safe middle choice, because you can specialise later without having closed off the molecular routes.
Where Real Dreams comes in
We have been placing students from Nepal in UK universities since 2003. Bring us your academic documents and we will be candid about your prospects for biochemistry rather than encouraging you towards whichever university pays the most commission. That includes telling you when a different course would serve you better.
Counselling is free and there is no obligation. Our offices are in Kathmandu, Chitwan, Pokhara, Butwal and Bhairahawa, with a further office in London. Get in touch when you are ready, start an application, or look through the full course list.
