How to Apply to Life Sciences Degrees at Birkbeck, University of London: Biochemistry, Biological Sciences, Biomedicine (Royal Society of Biology Accredited), Public Health and Natural Sciences, 104–112 UCAS Points (A-level BCC–BBC) for Three-Year Full-Time Entry Plus Foundation Years, for UK, International (Including Chinese) and Transfer Applicants

Birkbeck, University of London is in Bloomsbury, central London, and awards University of London degrees. It teaches mainly in the evening, with some daytime and online teaching, and most degrees can be studied full-time or part-time; many bioscience modules offer a choice of afternoon or evening classes. This guide summarises October 2027 entry from Birkbeck's course pages, application pages, international pages, China page, English language page and fees and scholarship pages, for UK, international (including Chinese) and transfer applicants.

1. Life sciences and medicine-related degrees

• The undergraduate course list includes the following (all start in October 2027 on the Bloomsbury campus; the School of Natural Sciences unless noted):
  BSc Biochemistry: three years full-time, UCAS C901; four years full-time with a foundation year, C902; four- and six-year part-time routes applied for directly. Modules cover molecular cell biology, physical biochemistry, metabolism, protein structure and function and enzymology; in Year 2 you can take a Micro-placement with Your Career Development, and in the final year a laboratory research project.
  BSc Biological Sciences: three years C903; with a foundation year C904; part-time four or six years. It covers molecular and cell biology, microbiology, plant and animal diversity and ecology, with a daytime field class in Year 2 and a week-long residential field class and an investigative project in the final year.
  BSc Biomedicine: three years C900; with a foundation year C190; part-time four or six years. There are two pathways, BSc Biomedicine and BSc Biomedicine and Public Health (by taking specified modules); Birkbeck says the BSc Biomedicine is accredited by the Royal Society of Biology. The final year is a specialist laboratory research project, and a daytime laboratory week comes before it.
  MSci Biomedicine with Advanced Pathways: four years full-time, UCAS C702 (the three-year BSc Biomedicine plus a year of master's-level study), with three advanced pathways in Year 4: Biochemical Analysis, Microbiology and Structural Molecular Biology. No part-time or foundation-year route.
  BSc Public Health: three years N124; with a foundation year N125; part-time four or six years. It is run jointly with the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, sits in the School of Social Sciences and is mainly taught in the daytime; graduating with a 2:1 or above gives a progression opportunity to the LSHTM MSc Public Health. In Year 2 you can take the Micro-placement and Your Career Development modules.
  BSc Natural Sciences: three years F602; with a foundation year F603; part-time four years. After entry you choose one of five pathways (Astronomy and Planetary Science + Bioscience, Astronomy and Planetary Science + Data Science, Bioscience + Data Science, Cognition and Neuroscience + Bioscience, Earth and Environment + Bioscience); the core includes laboratory work, data skills and two daytime field trips.
• Foundation years: for Biochemistry, Biological Sciences and Biomedicine the core modules are Biology 1–3, Chemistry 1–3 and Fundamentals of Study; for Public Health, Breaking Boundaries of Knowledge, Crossing Borders and Fundamentals of Study plus options; for Natural Sciences, Fundamentals of Study plus chosen biology or chemistry modules. On completion you advance to the main degree.
• Bridging course: the Certificate of Higher Education in Life Sciences for Subjects Allied to Medicine gives direct entry to Year 1 of the Biochemistry, Biological Sciences and Biomedicine BSc degrees. Its own entry conditions are not given on the pages used for this guide; check the website.
• Medicine, nursing and pharmacy: the undergraduate course list shows no medicine (MBBS), nursing, pharmacy or biomedical engineering degree, so this guide does not cover them; cognition and neuroscience appears as a Natural Sciences pathway, and psychology has its own courses.
• Placements and clinical arrangements: Biochemistry, Biological Sciences and Public Health offer a Micro-placement with Your Career Development option in Year 2. Clinical placements, and any restriction for international students, are not described on the course pages; check the website.
• Choosing a course: you apply directly to a specific degree; the Biomedicine / Public Health split comes in Year 3, and Natural Sciences students choose a pathway on entry.

2. Prerequisites and entry requirements for 2027

• BSc Biochemistry: 112 points (A-levels BBC) for three-year full-time entry, including at least a C in A-level chemistry, with A-level biology strongly preferred; 48 points with a foundation year, with some evidence of science-related study.
• BSc Biological Sciences: 104 points (A-levels BCC), including A-level biology; 48 points with a foundation year, with science-related study.
• BSc Biomedicine: 112 points (A-levels BBC) including biology, chemistry and/or mathematics; A-levels in general studies and critical thinking are not accepted; applicants with only two full A-levels are considered individually; 48 points with a foundation year. GCSEs (or equivalent) at C or 4 in English, mathematics and double science (or two single sciences).
• MSci Biomedicine with Advanced Pathways: 112 points (A-levels BBC) including biology, chemistry and/or mathematics or physics; general studies and critical thinking are not accepted; same GCSE requirement.
• BSc Public Health: 112 points (A-levels BBC); 48 points with a foundation year; normally GCSE grade C or 4 in mathematics.
• BSc Natural Sciences: 112 points (A-levels BBC, including two from chemistry, biology, physics, geography, geology and mathematics); 48 points with a foundation year.
• Part-time: the standard requirement is at least two A-levels or an equivalent international qualification.
• Alternative routes: BTEC Extended Diploma in Applied Science with Distinction or Merit (Biochemistry, Biological Sciences) or National Extended Diploma DMM (Biomedicine, MSci, Natural Sciences; the Public Health page lists no alternative qualifications); an Access to Higher Education Diploma with 15 credits at Merit or Distinction in science units (Biochemistry, Biological Sciences, Biomedicine).
• Tests and interviews: the course pages mention no written test or interview. IB and Scottish Highers requirements are not given on the course pages; check with the admissions team.
• University-wide, the usual undergraduate entry requirement is described as 96–128 UCAS points (A-levels CCC–ABB), with formal requirements waivable on academic potential; follow the course page.

3. UK applicants

• Route: full-time undergraduate degrees (BA/BSc/LLB, including the versions with a foundation year) are applied for through UCAS; Birkbeck's UCAS institution code is B24. The four-year and six-year part-time degrees are applied for directly to Birkbeck, not through UCAS.
• Qualifications: Birkbeck says it welcomes students from all educational backgrounds, makes offers on its own assessment of qualifications, knowledge and work experience, and may waive formal entry requirements. The UCAS tariff applies only to recent qualifications that have a tariff equivalent (A-levels, IB, BTEC and similar); a Level 3 qualification taken more than three years ago is not scored by tariff. Access to Higher Education Diplomas are welcome. Subject and grade requirements for each course are given below.
• Scottish Highers / Advanced Highers, and differences between England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland: not given on the pages used for this guide; check with the admissions team (applications@bbk.ac.uk).
• Partner institutions: applicants from partner institutions under an Institutional Partnership Agreement (IPA) are guaranteed an offer, according to the entry requirements page.
• Fees and loans: for 2027-28 the Home fee is £10,050 a year full-time and £7,530 a year part-time (course details in section 8). Eligible UK students do not pay tuition fees upfront because tuition fee loans are available; means-tested maintenance loans also exist. Student finance is not applied for through UCAS but separately through Student Finance England; Birkbeck advises doing this at the same time as, or immediately after, the UCAS application.
• Contextual offers: no contextual offer policy appears on the pages used for this guide; check with the admissions team.

4. International applicants (including Chinese applicants): English, qualifications and funding

• Route: international applicants apply for full-time undergraduate courses through UCAS. Birkbeck states that international students who need a Student visa should apply for full-time courses (these qualify for Student visa sponsorship) and for on-campus routes only, because online and flexible study options may affect visa conditions; students on a Student visa cannot enrol on part-time courses (except some modules).
• Qualification equivalence: Birkbeck points to its country and region information pages for equivalences. If you do not know how your qualification compares, you can still apply and include as much information as possible, and the university will assess eligibility.
• English: the course pages say that applicants whose first language is not English, or who have not previously studied in English, normally need IELTS Academic 6.5 overall with no less than 6.0 in each sub-test; other tests are accepted. Options on the English language page include: IELTS Academic (no more than two years old; IELTS Academic Online and IELTS Indicator are not accepted); TOEFL iBT (no more than two years old; new scoring from January 2026: total 4.5, with 4 in reading, listening and speaking and 4.5 in writing; old scoring: total 79 with 18, 19, 19 and 23; Home Edition not accepted); PTE Academic 62 with 60 in each sub-test (online version not accepted); LanguageCert Academic 70 with 65 in each; Cambridge C1 Advanced / C2 Proficiency 176 with 169 in each; Trinity ISE II 96 with 90 in each skill; the stated IB English A or B grades; and some approved pathway-provider English tests. Qualifications generally must be no more than three years old at the course start unless otherwise stated. Nationals of the English-speaking countries Birkbeck lists, and people who completed a degree in the listed countries within the past three years, meet the requirement. Check the full list on the website.
• Deadlines for international applicants: the international page lists deadlines for the January 2027 intake (nationalities that need not submit financial documents before the CAS: application deadline 9 November 2026; nationalities that must submit financial documents and attend a credibility interview before the CAS: application deadline 26 October 2026). The pages used for this guide do not give October 2027 deadlines by nationality, and do not say which group Chinese nationals fall into; check the international applicants page or ask the International Office.
• Visa and funds: Birkbeck says international students need at least £12,000–£13,000 for living costs for one calendar year on top of tuition fees (accommodation, food, local travel and a modest social life). A Student visa is applied for with a Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) from the university; the UK government's exact financial evidence rules are not covered here, so check the UK government website and Birkbeck's visa pages.
• Agents: from 24 April 2025, agents applying for international students must use Birkbeck's agent portal (StudyLink).
• Paying fees: Birkbeck lists Convera, TransferMate, Flywire and bank transfer; the Convera and TransferMate descriptions mention Alipay and UnionPay among local payment options. Students with a UK bank account that allows direct debit can pay monthly; those without one can pay in full or in three termly instalments by card or electronic transfer.

5. Applicants from China

Birkbeck has a dedicated China country page. The undergraduate points are below (the page describes the university's undergraduate entry as a whole; it does not give gaokao scores course by course, so for any particular course follow that course page, and anything it does not say is not given on the website):

• Direct entry to Year 1 of a three-year bachelor's degree: the page says applicants must have one of the following: the gaokao with an average minimum score of 75%; a two- or three-year diploma (Zhuanke / Da Zhuan) with a final grade of at least 80% or equivalent; at the department's discretion, a vocational diploma (Gaozhi) with at least 80% or equivalent; or the first year of a bachelor's degree (Xueshi) completed with an average of at least 80% (students from higher-tiered universities may be accepted at 75%). How the 75% is calculated (percentage of the full mark, provincial lines, and so on) is not given; ask the International Office.
• Applicants with only a senior secondary certificate: the same page says applicants from China who have only completed senior secondary school will normally need to apply as foundation year students, and another passage says Chinese students applying directly from high school must complete a foundation course first. These statements sit beside the "gaokao average 75% for direct entry to Year 1" statement and the page does not explain how they fit together; confirm with Birkbeck which applies to you.
• Two foundation routes: (1) applicants who already have IELTS 6.5 can apply for the four-year integrated bachelor's degree with foundation year, with one CAS covering all four years; (2) applicants who do not meet the English requirement should apply for a foundation year or international Year 1 at the partner provider OnCampus London, which the page says guarantees progression to Birkbeck bachelor's programmes. International students who complete an OnCampus foundation programme and progress to a full-time Birkbeck degree get a £2,000 reduction on first-year tuition under the Birkbeck-OnCampus Progression Scholarship (details for 2026/27 to be advertised).
• A-levels and IB: applicants with the IB Diploma or A-levels are considered for direct entry; the page says IB requirements range from 28 to 33 depending on the course. The IB score for individual courses is not given on the course pages.
• Transcripts and GPA: if your transcript is in GPA format rather than percentages, the page asks you to contact the International Office, with a guide for most institutions: 80% is equivalent to 4/5 or 3.3/4, and 75% to 3.5/5 or 2.7/4.
• Interviews, and Chinese senior-secondary examination (huikao) records: not mentioned on the China page; not given on the website.
• Contact: the page lists WeChat (BBK_International), an official Weibo account and a WeChat official account.

6. Route and timeline for October 2027 entry

• Full-time (UCAS): UCAS courses are published around May each year and you can apply from then. For 2027 entry Birkbeck says the first UCAS deadline is 13 January 2027, by which most applications are made, but it welcomes applications after that date depending on places. UCAS Extra runs from February to early July; 30 June is the final UCAS deadline and applications after it enter Clearing automatically; late applications are also taken through Clearing in August. You can make five choices; the page gives the UCAS fee as £28.95 for the 2026 cycle (up to five choices), so check the 2027-entry fee on the UCAS website. Check deadlines on the UCAS website.
• Decisions: applications submitted before the January deadline receive a decision by early May at the latest; later ones count as late applications and are decided by July at the latest. Offer holders are invited to an Offer Day in March at the Bloomsbury campus.
• Part-time (direct application): applications open around September for courses starting the following autumn. Birkbeck advises applying at least six weeks before the start of term and says it gives equal consideration to applications received before the end of May for autumn-start courses. You click Apply now on the course page, create a My Birkbeck account and complete the personal details, qualifications, work experience, funding, personal statement and referee sections (up to six documents can be uploaded; some courses require a reference). Decisions typically take three to four weeks; if there is an interview, you should hear one to two weeks afterwards.
• Enrolment: after you accept an offer, the school sends enrolment instructions; for October-start courses enrolment opens in late June.

7. How Birkbeck assesses applications

• Birkbeck teaches mainly in the evening, with some daytime and online teaching, and looks at how applicants plan to study as well as at their qualifications. For part-time applications it suggests explaining in the personal statement why you chose evening study (for example, work during the day).
• The personal statement should show academic ability and commitment to the course, and can draw on work experience. For a full-time UCAS application do not name a particular university in the statement, because the same statement goes to all your choices.
• Applications are reviewed by academic staff; offers are subject to a final eligibility check by Registry Services and, for unusual qualifications, to approval by the College Admissions Panel.
• The life sciences course pages mention no interview or entrance test. For anything not given on the website, check with the admissions team.

8. Fees and scholarships

• International (2027-28): £19,320 a year for the three-year full-time Biochemistry, Biological Sciences, Biomedicine, Public Health and Natural Sciences degrees; the course pages give £19,320 a year for the four-year full-time routes with a foundation year; £14,490 a year for the four-year part-time routes and £9,660 a year for the six-year part-time routes (Public Health six-year route with a foundation year: £9,660 in Years 1–2, then £14,490); students who need a Student visa cannot use part-time routes. MSci Biomedicine with Advanced Pathways: £19,320 a year in Years 1–3 and £14,520 in Year 4.
• Home (2027-28): £10,050 a year full-time, £7,530 a year for four-year part-time and £5,025 for six-year part-time; for full-time routes with a foundation year, £10,050 on the Biochemistry, Biological Sciences, Biomedicine and Natural Sciences pages and £5,760 on the Public Health page; MSci £10,050 in Years 1–3 and £8,760 in Year 4.
• Fees are charged every year and may rise with inflation for continuing students (see the Fees Policy). The funding page also lists school-level funds for earth and planetary sciences students (such as the Earth and Planetary Sciences Enabling Fund); whether they are open to international students is not given.

Scholarships: the international funding page lists the Birkbeck International Excellence Scholarship for undergraduate and postgraduate students (full-time, international fee status, holding an unconditional offer, self-funded; a discount on first-year tuition of £1,000–£5,000; apply with a statement of up to 2,000 words and show how the rest of the fees will be paid; mainland China is on the list of eligible countries and territories). However, only the autumn 2026 version is published (rounds closing 17 May, 21 June, 19 July and 16 August 2026); the rounds for 2027 entry are not given, so watch that page. The award is made only after an unconditional offer and is received once you enrol. The Birkbeck-OnCampus Progression Scholarship is described in the China section. The course pages also mention a "Global Future Scholarship", but its own page describes a first-year fee discount for full-time master's courses, to Home fee level; whether it applies to undergraduates is not given. Whether any university scholarship is awarded automatically is not stated.

9. Transfer and second-year entry

• Transferring in from another institution: Birkbeck calls this Accreditation of Prior Learning (APL): earlier university credits can exempt you from overlapping modules or count towards entry requirements. Birkbeck modules are worth 15, 30 or 60 credits and an undergraduate degree needs 360 credits (Level 4 is equivalent to the first year, Level 5 the second, Level 6 the third). The usual maximum of APL credits from another institution towards an honours degree (BA/BSc/LLB) is 240 credits, and credit can only be given for study at the same or a lower level.
• Full-time applicants submit a new UCAS application and indicate year 2 entry. Other applicants (part-time) apply through the online form on the course page, say they wish to apply for APL credits, and upload their transcript. The outcome is decided with an academic member of staff or, where appropriate, the relevant Awards Committee.
• Changing course within Birkbeck: submit a change of programme request through My Birkbeck, approved by the programme leaders of both courses. This can affect tuition fees, student support and visas; international students on a Student visa must also speak to the International Student Administration team, and Birkbeck advises talking to the Student Advice team first.
• GPA thresholds and required courses for transfers are not given on the website pages used here; they depend on the APL policy and the course director's judgement. Contact applications@bbk.ac.uk.

Checklist

• Choose the degree and UCAS code: Biochemistry C901, Biological Sciences C903, Biomedicine C900, MSci Biomedicine C702, Public Health N124, Natural Sciences F602;
• International applicants: apply through UCAS with 104–112 points, check the subject conditions (chemistry at C, biology, or chemistry/mathematics as the course states), 48 points for a foundation year, and IELTS 6.5 (6.0 in each part);
• Chinese applicants: check the basis of the 75% gaokao figure, or use the integrated foundation route with IELTS 6.5 or the OnCampus foundation route;
• Confirm the international deadline for October 2027, the UCAS fee and scholarship rounds;
• Funds: £19,320 tuition a year plus £12,000–£13,000 for a year of living costs.

Sources: Birkbeck, University of London, Undergraduate study; Entry requirements; How to apply; Transfer and credit; International applicants; China country page; English language requirements; International fees and payment; International funding; International Excellence Scholarship; Biochemistry; Biological Sciences; Biomedicine; MSci Biomedicine; Public Health; Natural Sciences. Check the website again before you apply; dates, fees and entry requirements can change.