How to Apply to Biology at the University of East Anglia: Biological Sciences (C100, Royal Society of Biology Accredited) and Biochemistry (C700) Degrees Linked to Norwich Research Park, With Foundation, Placement and Year Abroad Versions, and Entry Requirements for UK, International (Including Chinese) and Transfer Applicants

The University of East Anglia (UEA) is in Norwich, and its biology courses are closely linked to Norwich Research Park: the course page says students learn from researchers at UEA and across the Research Park. This guide follows UEA’s course pages and application pages for 2027/28 entry and is for UK applicants, international applicants (including students at high schools in China) and students who want to transfer or join a later year.

1. The degrees and how you are admitted

• BSc (Hons) Biological Sciences: UCAS code C100, three years; also with a Foundation Year, a Placement Year or a Year Abroad, and as MSci Biological Sciences. The course page says the course is accredited by the Royal Society of Biology. The website says Year 1 builds a foundation across the core areas of biology, after which you tailor the degree with a wide choice of modules, with a research project in a laboratory in the final year; the page describes the choice as ranging from medicine and biotechnology to evolution and ecology.
• BSc (Hons) Biochemistry: UCAS code C700, three years; also with a Foundation Year (code 8C70, four years), a Placement Year or a Year Abroad, and as MSci Biochemistry and MSci Biochemistry with a Year Abroad. The course page used for this guide does not mention professional accreditation for Biochemistry.
• Other biology courses: the related-courses panel also lists BSc Ecology and Conservation and BSc Molecular Biology and Genetics; their UCAS codes, entry requirements and structure are not given on the pages used for this guide, so check UEA’s website. UEA also lists biomedical degrees (Biomedicine C930, Biomedical Science C520); Medicine (MBBS), pharmacy and nursing are outside this guide, so see the website.
• You apply to a specific course, each with its own UCAS code. Whether you can switch between Biological Sciences, Biochemistry and other courses after entry is not given on the pages used for this guide; ask admissions.
• Year 1: Biological Sciences has six compulsory modules — Diversity of Life; Molecular Biology and Genetics; Evolution, Behaviour and Ecology; Cell Biology and Physiology; Professional Skills for Biosciences; and Biological Chemistry — and the page says the first year also covers chemistry, maths and data science. Biochemistry Year 1 compulsory modules are Research Skills in Biochemistry; Physical and Analytical Methods in Biochemistry; Biochemistry and Cell Biology; Molecular Biology and Genetics; Chemistry of the Carbon-Based Compounds; and Bonding, Structure & Periodicity, and the page says it includes training in relevant mathematics and physics.
• Years 2 and 3: Biological Sciences Year 2 has one compulsory module, Further Professional Skills for Biosciences, with optional groups A and B (for example Human Physiology, Biochemistry, Field Ecology, Behavioural Ecology, Plant Biology, Genetics, Evolutionary Biology, Medical Microbiology, Molecular Biology, Data Science for Biologists) and, subject to approval, a course from another school or a language. Year 3 lists “Research Project” and “Ecology Research Project” as compulsory modules (the page does not explain how they relate), with options such as Microbial Biotechnology, Cancer Biology, Bioinformatics and Genomics and Biodiversity Conservation and Human Society. Biochemistry Year 2 compulsory modules are Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, Biophysical Chemistry and Medicinal Chemistry; Year 3 compulsory modules are Molecular Enzymology in Biology and Medicine, Protein Structure, Chemistry and Engineering, and the Research Project, with options including organic chemistry, cancer biology and science communication. Check the website for the modules actually offered.
• Teaching and assessment: the Biological Sciences page lists lectures, seminars, workshops, practical laboratory classes and fieldwork; assessment includes examinations, project reports, practical skills tests, scientific reports, presentations, essays, and multiple-choice and short-answer tests, and no module is assessed by examination alone.
• Foundation Year: the Biochemistry Foundation Year (8C70) is taught jointly by the Schools of Chemistry and Biology; about one third is chemistry and the remaining two thirds biology and/or mathematics depending on your previous qualifications. The pass mark for foundation modules is 40%, and passing them all makes you eligible to progress to the Biochemistry degree. The entry requirements for the Biological Sciences Foundation Year are not given on the pages used for this guide; check the website.

2. Prerequisites: A-Level, IB and other qualifications

These are the typical offers on the official course pages for 2027/28 entry; the pages say they are typical examples and applicants with other qualifications should contact admissions. All applicants must hold or be working towards GCSE English Language and Mathematics at grade 4/C or above.

• BTEC: for Biological Sciences, Level 3 Extended Diploma DDM in Applied Science (Medical Science/Biomedical Science), Forensic and Criminal Investigation or Countryside Management, or DDM plus a B in A-Level Biology or Human Biology; for Biochemistry, DDM in Applied Science (or Applied Science, Medical Science) including three listed chemistry modules, otherwise a B in A-Level Chemistry is required, or DDM plus a B in A-Level Chemistry; MMM for the Foundation Year. BTECs in Public Services, Uniformed Services and Business Administration are excluded.
• Access to HE: Biological Sciences accepts the science pathway with a Merit in 45 Level 3 credits including 12 Biology credits; Biochemistry says “not accepted”; the Foundation Year asks for a Pass with 45 Level 3 credits. T Levels: an overall Merit in the Science pathway only for Biological Sciences; an overall Merit in Health, Healthcare or Science for Biochemistry; an overall Pass for the Foundation Year.
• Other qualifications: Biological Sciences — Irish Leaving Certificate 2 subjects at H2 including Biology plus 4 at H3, Scottish Highers AABBB with an A in Biology, Advanced Highers CCC including Biology; Biochemistry — Irish 3 subjects at H2 and 3 at H3 including Chemistry, Scottish Highers AAABB with an A in Chemistry, Advanced Highers BCC including Chemistry.
• Admissions tests and interviews: the biology course pages used for this guide do not mention an admissions test or interview; UEA’s after-you-apply page says interviews, auditions and portfolios apply to some courses only, so ask admissions.
• Recent study: UEA would prefer evidence of academic study within 5 years of the start of the course; if your last qualification was completed more than 5 years earlier, contact admissions.
• English: IELTS 6.0 overall with at least 5.5 in every component, taken within two years of the course start; other English tests are accepted according to UEA’s English Language Equivalencies page.

How and when to apply

• Applications are through UCAS only: the website says all full-time undergraduate applications go through UCAS, whether from the UK or overseas; UEA’s UCAS institution code is E14. For 2027 entry the equal consideration date for all courses except Medicine (deadline 15 October 2026) is 13 January 2027; you can still apply afterwards, but UEA does not guarantee to consider later applications and some courses may be full.
• UCAS Extra: if you applied through UCAS before 13 January 2027 and have no offers or have changed your mind, Extra may be available between 25 February and 3 July (your UCAS account shows whether it is).
• After you apply: UEA acknowledges your application by email and may invite you to an interview, audition or portfolio submission (some courses only), ask for more information, or hold the application for a while; the page says there is no set timeline. Decisions appear on UCAS as conditional, unconditional, change-of-course offers or unsuccessful, and offer holders are invited to an Applicant Day.
• Accommodation: to guarantee campus accommodation you must have made UEA your firm choice and completed the Accommodation Preference form by 31 July; the international students page says UEA guarantees accommodation for international students (subject to terms and conditions; check the website).
• Deferred entry: UEA welcomes applicants planning a gap year and advises stating the reason on your UCAS application.
• Contextual offers: the 2027 schemes apply to applications received before 30 June 2027 and include nationwide contextual admissions, outreach participants and Access to HE students; residents of England are checked by postcode against the Index of Multiple Deprivation, and residents of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland continue without a postcode. They do not operate during Clearing.

UK applicants

• UEA accepts A-Levels, BTECs, Access to HE, T Levels, Scottish Highers and Advanced Highers, the Irish Leaving Certificate and the IB, as set out above, and the course pages give lower contextual offers.
• 2027/28 tuition fee for UK students: £10,050 a year (shown on the Biological Sciences, Biochemistry and Biochemistry Foundation pages). The international fees page says whether you pay the Home or the overseas fee depends on your fee status and advises checking it; differences between the four UK nations in fees and funding are not given on the pages used for this guide, so check the website and your home-nation student finance body.

International applicants

• Qualifications: the international A-Level and IB requirements match the UK ones (Biological Sciences A-Level BBB including Biology or Human Biology, IB 31 with Biology at HL 5; Biochemistry ABB including Chemistry, IB 32 with Chemistry at HL 5). For other countries’ qualifications the course pages only say many international qualifications are accepted and point to the country pages.
• Tuition fees (2027/28): £24,250 a year for Biological Sciences and £29,300 for Biochemistry. UEA estimates living expenses at £1,171 a month.
• International pathway (UEA International Study Centre): the course pages say that applicants who do not meet the academic or English requirements can progress to the degree through the preparation programmes of the partner UEA International Study Centre, which also offers English courses; the specific routes and entry conditions are not given on the pages used for this guide. The Biochemistry Foundation Year (8C70) page is for UK fee-paying students only.
• Deposit and CAS: overseas fee-paying applicants pay a deposit; for undergraduate courses applied for by 30 June the deadline is 31 July, with payment within 5 days of the place being confirmed on UCAS; the amount is not shown on the pages used for this guide. The deposit may be waived at the university’s sole discretion for full-tuition scholarship holders or INTO UEA students. A CAS is issued only after the deposit is received and all offer conditions are met, and never more than six months before the course starts; some deposits are non-refundable, as set out in the deposit refund policy.

Applicants from China

• The course pages only say that many international qualifications are accepted and point to the country page for details. How the Gaokao is used, and how Chinese high-school certificates or Huikao results map to the A-Level or IB requirements, is not given on the pages used for this guide; check UEA’s international country page or ask admissions.
• You can apply with A-Levels or the IB (requirements above); applicants who do not meet direct-entry or English requirements can look at the UEA International Study Centre’s preparation and English programmes.

Scholarships

• The course pages say funding is available to reward excellent qualifications and to help students from lower-income backgrounds, with eligibility, how to apply and closing dates on UEA’s scholarships finder (choose the entry year and filter by school and country or region). The names and amounts of undergraduate scholarships for international students are not given on the pages used for this guide; check UEA’s scholarships page.

Transfers and entry into Year 2

• The course pages do not give requirements, credit transfer rules or deadlines for transferring into a biology course or joining Year 2; this is not given on the pages used for this guide, so contact admissions.

Sources: University of East Anglia website — BSc Biological Sciences; BSc Biochemistry; BSc Biochemistry with a Foundation Year; Biological Sciences; Apply for undergraduate study; What happens after you apply; Contextual admissions 2027; International fees and scholarships; Scholarships. Everything above is for September 2027 entry; fees, deadlines and entry requirements change every year, so check the university website and the UCAS website before you apply and treat each course page as the final word.