Program Overview

---

BSc Genetics with Entrepreneurship

Overview

Our BSc Genetics with Entrepreneurship course will enable you to combine science with business skills - a key driver of employability.

You will study a discipline of fundamental importance to all branches of modern biology, from evolutionary biology to medicine, extending into practical areas such as biotechnology and agriculture.

You will discover the principles of heredity and evolution and learn how we can map genes, and understand their function. You will also consider how the development of multi-cellular organisms can progress from a single cell through regulated courses of gene expression, and learn the details mechanisms by which genes can be switched on and off.

The entrepreneurship units will be offered via the Masood Enterprise Centre (MEC) of the Alliance Manchester Business School at the University, exposing you to key learning in business innovation. The course also includes a year in industry on a research or business placement.

Entry Requirements

A-level

AAA - AAB, including two of Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Mathematics (the Core Sciences). You must have a minimum of grades AB in at least two Core Sciences.

Applicants predicted/who have achieved AAB in their A levels will receive an offer of AAB, while those predicted/who have achieved AAA or higher will be eligible for an offer of AAA.

If you are taking only one of the above Core Science subjects, we can consider you for an AAA offer if you are also sitting an A level in at least one of Geography, Psychology, Environmental Studies or Physical Education in place of the second Core Science. If your predicted grades are one grade below our minimum entry requirements we may still make you an aspirational offer if you meet our contextual criteria.

Subjects with overlapping content are not normally considered as separate A-levels. For example, Further Mathematics is not considered alongside Mathematics and Human Biology is not considered alongside Biology. If you are concerned there is too much overlap in your A level subjects, please contact us for advice before applying.

Practical skills are a crucial part of science education and therefore will be a requirement to pass the practical element of any science A Level taken. Where applicants are applying for science and related degrees, this is likely to be made explicit in the offer you will receive.

Applicants taking A Levels are normally expected to offer three full A Levels. If you’re taking more than three A Levels, these won’t be included in your offer. We will only make offers consisting of three A Levels.

Please check for specific GCSE/IGCSE subject entry requirements below.

A-level Contextual Offer

AAB - ABC including specific subjects.

Practical skills are a crucial part of science education and therefore will be a requirement to pass the practical element of any science A Level taken. Where applicants are applying for science and related degrees, this is likely to be made explicit in the offer you will receive.

Applicants taking A Levels are normally expected to offer three full A Levels. If you’re taking more than three A Levels, these won’t be included in your offer. We will only make offers consisting of three A Levels.

Please check for specific GCSE/IGCSE subject entry requirements below.

Contextual offers are available for applicants who:

• live in the UK and will be under the age of 21 on 1 September of the year they will start their course; and
• live in an area of disadvantage or with low progression into higher education; and
• have attended a UK school or college for their GCSEs or A-levels (or equivalent qualifications) that has performed below the national average over multiple years.

See our contextual admissions page for full details and to check your eligibility.

UK Refugee/Care-Experienced Offer

ABB - ABC including specific subjects.

Applicants who have been in local authority care for more than three months or have refugee status may be eligible for an offer two grades below the standard requirements.

Please check for specific GCSE/IGCSE subject entry requirements below.

UK refugee/care-experienced offers are available for applicants who:

• have been looked after in care for more than three months; or
• have been granted refugee status by the UK government or have been issued a UK visa under one of the Ukrainian schemes (Homes for Ukraine, Ukraine Family Scheme or Ukraine Extension Scheme).

See our contextual admissions page for full details and to check your eligibility.

International Baccalaureate

35 - 36 points overall. 6, 6, 5 to 6,6,6 in Higher Level subjects, including two science subjects, normally Biology and Chemistry.

Applicants studying the International Baccalaureate Career Related Programme (IBCP) should contact the admissions team prior to applying so that their academic profile can be considered.

GCSE/IGCSE

Applicants must demonstrate a broad general education including acceptable levels of Literacy and Numeracy, equivalent to at least Grade 4 or C in GCSE/IGCSE English Language and Mathematics. GCSE/IGCSE English Literature will not be accepted in lieu of GCSE/IGCSE English Language.

Please note that if you hold English as a second language IGCSE qualification, we may also require you to offer one of our acceptable equivalent English Language qualifications or achieve a higher grade in your IGCSE than the one stated above. Please contact the admissions team in your academic School/Department for clarification.

Fees and Funding

Fees

Fees for entry in 2026 have not yet been set. For entry in 2025 the tuition fees were £9,535 per annum for home students, and are expected to increase slightly for 2026 entry.

Tuition fees are considerably lower for your placement year. Please see the fees page for full details.

Policy on Additional Costs

All students should normally be able to complete their programme of study without incurring additional study costs over and above the tuition fee for that programme. Any unavoidable additional compulsory costs totalling more than 1% of the annual home undergraduate fee per annum, regardless of whether the programme in question is undergraduate or postgraduate taught, will be made clear to you at the point of application. Further information can be found in the University's Policy on additional costs incurred by students on undergraduate and postgraduate taught programmes (PDF document, 91KB).

Course Details

Course Description

Our BSc Genetics with Entrepreneurship course will enable you to combine science with business skills - a key driver of employability.

You will study a discipline of fundamental importance to all branches of modern biology, from evolutionary biology to medicine, extending into practical areas such as biotechnology and agriculture.

You will discover the principles of heredity and evolution and learn how we can map genes, and understand their function. You will also consider how the development of multi-cellular organisms can progress from a single cell through regulated courses of gene expression, and learn the details mechanisms by which genes can be switched on and off.

The entrepreneurship units will be offered via the Masood Enterprise Centre (MEC) of the Alliance Manchester Business School at the University, exposing you to key learning in business innovation. The course also includes a year in industry on a research or business placement.

Special Features

• Learn alongside other entrepreneurship students
• Connect with other science students with an interest in business innovation.
• Learn alongside other students taking a variety of degrees at the University, giving you the opportunity to practice your skills with your fellow students and make new friends.
• Study abroad
• Industry placements are available at home and abroad where you can use your entrepreneurship and/or anatomical skills in a range of ways including innovation work, biotech and marketing.
• Foundation Year available
• You can prepare for the full degree course if you do not have the appropriate qualifications for direct entry by undertaking our foundation course first.
• Flexibility to transfer between courses
• You can transfer between most of our bioscience degree courses at the end of your first year or, in some cases, later. You can only transfer onto this course if you have completed the required entrepreneurship units in Year 1.

Teaching and Learning

The course consists of two-thirds of biological sciences learning and one-third entrepreneurship learning. You will learn your entrepreneurship alongside other students taking a variety of degrees at the University.

You will benefit from a wide range of teaching and learning methods that suit the content and aims of each course unit.

These range from lectures and tutorials to practicals and research projects, including the final year project.

Find out more about how you will learn and see a typical Year 1 timetable on our teaching and learning page.

Coursework and Assessment

Assessment methods vary widely to suit the nature of the course unit and each level of study.

• Lecture units are usually assessed by written exam (multiple choice or essay-based), which are held at the end of an academic semester in either January or May/June.
• Practical units are usually assessed by experimental report and/or short written assignment and/or written exam.
• The proportion of independent study assignments increases during each year of study.

Year 1 contributes 10% to your overall degree mark.

Year 2 contributes 30% to your overall degree mark.

Placement year

• You will write a scientific placement report, which is submitted and assessed when you return to University in your final year. The mark for the report, and the associated viva voce oral examination, contribute approximately 10% towards your overall degree mark.

Final year

• Lecture units are usually assessed by essay-based exam. You will also take two 'honours' papers and examinations comprising essays and data-handling problems.
• A significant part of the year (accounting for one-quarter of the overall degree mark) is the project, which is assessed through a presentation and a written report.

The final year contributes 60% to your overall degree mark.

Course Unit Details

This course is modular. You will study compulsory course units and choose some optional units.

Most science units are assigned 10 credits and you will take 120 credits each year.

You will need to acquire 20 entrepreneurship credits per year, and there is some choice in which units you choose after Year 1.

Careers

Career Opportunities

Graduates with skills in business and innovation are extremely desirable to employers who require significant relevant work experience.

In the growing field of bioscience research collaborations, graduates with entrepreneurship skills are at a distinct advantage.

Our graduates go into a wide range of sectors. Many secure jobs as researchers and business leaders in academia and industry, while others go into lab-based careers that do not involve research.

Others choose careers in the healthcare sector such as pharmaceuticals and medicine, most of which require further study, while some take up positions in other sectors entirely, eg education.

Find out more about how we help our students prepare for the workplace and the careers our graduates go into within and outside the lab.

Global Careers

Studying a bioscience course is a great way to explore your interests and prepare for an exciting array of careers.

Our graduates progress into roles across the globe. Here are a few examples of the range of careers our bioscience students have progressed into:

• Zoology graduate Anish is the founder of Think Wildlife Foundation (Biodiversity Conservation) in India.
• Pharmacology graduate John is a business-focused marketer working in New York.
• Biology graduate Mark is Vice President at Pfizer Vaccines R&D in New York.
• Medical Biochemistry graduate Laura Ann is a communications consultant in Singapore.
• Zoology graduate Rosie is a Creative and Content Marketing Manager in Valencia, Spain.

Discover more about bioscience careers.

Accrediting Organisations

This course has Advanced Accreditation from the Royal Society of Biology.

Advanced Accreditation recognises academic excellence in the biosciences, highlighting degrees that contain a significant research element and educate the future leaders of research and development.

The criteria require evidence that graduates meet defined sets of learning outcomes, including gaining substantial research experience.

In recognition of this, a graduate of an advanced accredited course can apply for membership of the Royal Society of Biology at Member (MRSB) level after just two years of practice, rather than the usual three.

These graduates can attain the qualifications of Chartered Biologist or Chartered Scientist one year sooner than graduates from other courses.