Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences - Health Science Stream

Program Overview

Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences – Health Science Stream

Program Overview & Highlights

• Honours 4-Year Program
• Thesis Available

This program provides a strong background in both biochemistry and biomedical sciences, fundamental to health and medicine. Students will be in a lab within the first two weeks of this program and get the chance to conduct undergraduate research with hands-on learning in courses like CURE. They will work alongside clinical researchers and medical professionals to learn about funding, project management, communication, and other issues of cancer and health research.

Admission Requirements

High School Student from Canada

• Course Requirements: Advanced Functions/MHF4U, Chemistry/SCH4U, Biology/SBI4U, English/ENG4U
• Strongly Recommended: Calculus & Vectors/MCN4U
• Recommended: Physics/SPH4U
• Minimum Average: 75% average of all attempted science and math courses required
• Mean Average: 88%

High School Student from Outside Canada and the United States (International)

• Course Requirements: Grade 12 Advanced Functions, Grade 12 Chemistry, Grade 12 Biology, Grade 12 English
• Recommended: Grade 12 Physics
• Minimum Average: 75% average of all attempted science and math courses required
• Mean Average: 88%

Career Tracks

• Professional school (medicine, pharmacy, dentistry)
• Industrial and government research and development
• Health and biomedical research in graduate studies
• Clinical researcher

Related Programs

• Biochemistry
• Biomedical Sciences
• Biological Sciences
• Chemistry

Plan Your Program

Term: Fall 2025

Important Notes

1. All students using this page should attend Head Start or make an appointment with an academic advisor in their program area.
2. Email or for direction to an appropriate academic advisor.
3. Open Choice means any course that fulfils the degree requirements. It can be one course from Arts, Languages or Social Sciences (FAHSS) or any area of study.

Required Course Notes

• BIOL 1101*
• CHEM 1100*
• MATH 1760 or MATH 17201
• PHYS 1400*
• Open choice2
• Course with lab

1 Students who have credit for MCV4U Calculus and Vectors should register in MATH-1720; those who do not have MCV4U should register in MATH 1760.

2 Health Stream students can take five open choice courses and four FAHSS courses for the duration of the program. They must take one in the first term of first year. Some recommended 1st year courses are PSYC-1150 (Social Science) or GART-1500 (Art/Language).

Required Courses

BIOL 1101: Cell Biology

Examination of the principles governing living systems, with emphasis on the molecular and cellular basis of life, molecular genetics, energetics, differentiation, and development. (Grade 12 “U” Biology or equivalent, or BIOM-1003 and BIOL-1013 are strongly recommended) (3 lecture, 3 laboratory hours a week.)

CHEM 1100: General Chemistry I

Introductory concepts in chemistry, including reactions of atoms, ions, and molecules, solution stoichiometry, thermochemistry, electronic structure of atoms, basic chemical bonding and molecular geometry, periodic properties of the elements, and the theory of gases. (Prerequisite: Grade 12“U” Chemistry or equivalent, or consent of the instructor.) (3 lecture, 3 laboratory/tutorial hours a week.)

MATH 1720: Differential Calculus

This course will cover trigonometric functions and identities, inverse trigonometric functions, limits and continuity, derivatives and applications, mean value theorem, indeterminate forms and l’Hôpital’s rule, antiderivatives and an introduction to definite integrals. This course is for students who have taken both Ontario Grade 12 Advanced Functions (MHF4U) and Ontario Grade 12 Calculus and Vectors (MCV4U). Students who do not have credit for MCV4U should take MATH-1760. (Prerequisites: Ontario Grade 12 Advanced Functions (MHF4U) and Ontario Grade 12 Calculus and Vectors (MCV4U) or MATH-1780.) (Antirequisite: MATH-1760.) (3 lecture hours, 1 tutorial hour per week.)

MATH 1760: Functions and Differential Calculus

This course will cover a review of functions, trigonometric functions and identities, transcendental functions, inverse trigonometric functions, introduction to limits, continuity, derivatives and applications, mean value theorem, indeterminate forms and l’Hôpital’s rule, antiderivatives and an introduction to definite integrals. This course is for students who have taken Ontario Grade 12 Advanced Functions (MHF4U), but have not taken Ontario Grade 12 Calculus and Vectors (MCV4U). Students who have credit for MCV4U should take MATH-1720. The course is equivalent to MATH-1720 for all prerequisite purposes. (Prerequisite: Ontario Grade 12Advanced Functions (MHF4U).) (Antirequisite: MATH-1720.) (4 lecture hours, 1 tutorial hour per week.)

PHYS 1400: Introductory Physics I

First semester in a four-semester sequence in calculus-based introductory physics with an emphasis on mechanics. (Prerequisites: Grade 12“U” Advanced Functions and Introductory Calculus or equivalent. Recommended co-requisite: MATH-1720.) (3 lecture hours per week, 3 laboratory hours per week.) Open to students in Engineering, Human Kinetics, Forensic Science, Bachelor of Arts and Science, and all programs within in the Faculty of Science; exceptions only with the permission of the Head or designate. (Antirequisites: PHYS-1300, PHYS-1305.)

Recommended Courses

PSYC 1150: Introduction to Psychology as a Behavioural Science

Introduction to selected areas in psychology including learning, perception, physiological psychology, emotion, and motivation.