Clinical Scientists carry out many of the complex and diverse investigations required in modern hospital pathology laboratories. They provide the scientific information required for effective diagnosis and treatment. To do this they require an in depth knowledge of the causes of disease and the practical ways in which they can be investigated. They may also be involved in clinical research, investigating causes of disease or potential new treatments. This combined honours programme aims to provide this knowledge together with a range of specialist options to suit your particular clinical interests. If you want to study Clinical Sciences but have not yet got the right entry qualifications, why not start with our Extended Degree programmes at UEL which can feed into the Clinical Sciences programme at Level 1.

• The programme at UEL is based around the study of the biology of disease.
• All specialist areas of Clinical Sciences are available as options in the programme, which enables selection to be broadly based or relatively specialist.
• Students can obtain paid clinical training in accredited hospital laboratories by taking an optional sandwich year.
• Students can obtain clinical training in accredited hospital laboratories by taking an optional sandwich year.
• Offers extensive laboratory training through all years of the programme

• Students follow a 4-year sandwich degree or a 3-year full-time programme. The programme can also be followed part-time.
• At Level 1, basic concepts are introduced in modules on Cellular Biology, Cellular Processes, Human Physiology and Microbiology. Skills for Biosciences and Human Health and Disease modules provide general background skills, statistics, chemistry, IT and laboratory skills. These modules also include a programme introducing the biology of disease processes.
• At Level 2, students continue to build on the options elected at level 1, choices include further study of biochemistry with modules of Metabolism and Molecular Biology. Modern molecular biology methods and their medical applications are introduced in Molecular Genetics, and Practical and Employability Skills investigates the major methods of laboratory investigation. The study of human physiology is continued in Physiological Function and Dysfunction, which also includes an introduction to the histology of normal and pathological tissues. The biology of disease causing micro-organisms is studied in Medical Microbiology.
• The third year of study can be spent away from the University in an agreed work placement. (see below).
• The final year (Level 3) contains modules of Medical Biochemistry, looking at the biochemical causes of disease, Infectious Disease Processes, which continues the study of medical microbiology and Immunology, which investigates the body's defence systems. In Cellular Pathology, Haematology and Serology the investigation of pathological tissue and of the blood is studied. In the final taught module the student can choose to continue the study of Medical Microbiology by taking Infectious Disease Control or of Immunology by taking Applied Immunology.
• In the final Level 3 module you do an individual research project involving original self directed work. This may be laboratory based, or it may involve a library investigation.

Learning is encouraged through participation in a wide variety of activities including lectures, seminars, workshops, laboratory-based practicals, external visits, distance learning, web-based learning etc. You study 3 modules per semester. Each module has 5 to 6 hours contact per week, and may need up to 10 hours further individual study per week. Success at university depends on developing your ability to study independently using library resources, CAL, handouts and web-based study activities. The first year has a Skills module each semester. These help you make the major shift to independent learning needed at university, compared to schools and FE colleges, and also help to develop those transferable skills so important in working life.

Students are assessed in practical work and theory. In most modules 50% of the module mark is derived from coursework during the semester (this can take a variety of forms including laboratory work, data analysis, essays, oral presentations etc.) and 50% from unseen written theory examination at the end of the semester.

• Level 1 (Year 1) modules introduce you to the standards and types of assessment used at university. Some have theory exams staged at intervals through the semester. Although they do not contribute to your final Honours grade, you are expected to achieve at least 40% in all Level 1 modules.
• Your final Honours grade uses marks from Level 2 and Level 3 modules only. Your Level 1 modules prepare you to do your best in these later years.
• If a module is not passed at the first opportunity, marks from later opportunities are not capped.

• The third year of the programme can be spent in a Sandwich Placement. This is optional but it is strongly recommended for students on this programme, for whom it will provide significant advantages in obtaining State Registration.
• Placements are arranged in accredited hospital pathology laboratories and students can complete a proportion of the practical requirement for State Registration during their placement year. It is unlikely that all the State Registration requirements will be completed within the year, but students are encouraged to return to the placement laboratory at the end of their programme to complete the clinical requirements. In this way students can currently become State Registered within 3 - 6 months of graduation. Placements in the East London area are paid by the local NHS Workforce Development Corporation, who also pay a bursary to former placement students in their final year at university. Placements in other areas of the country have similar funding arrangements.

Currently student placements in the North East London NHS area include: Barts and The London NHS Trust, Homerton Hospital, Whipps Cross Hospital, Newham General Hospital Barking and Havering NHS Trust. Similar opportunities are available in NHS trusts across the UK. Placements can be in any of the specialist areas of Biomedical Sciences (Clinical Biochemistry, Medical Microbiology, Haematology, Cellular Pathology or Immunology).

Visits to hospital laboratories will be arranged in the second year of the programme so that students know what is involved in each of the specialist areas, and both the university and its clinical partners will work to ensure that each student is accommodated in the specialism they choose.

• Project work is an essential component of an Honours degree programme and one that most students enjoy. Small projects and group work exercises feature throughout the programme.
• Your final year includes an individual research project module in the final semester.
• Project work encourages students to show initiative in their individual work under supervision in a laboratory, using appropriate techniques to generate and interpret new data.
• Most projects continue investigating areas of clinical interest such as cancer therapy, vaccine development and the development of clinical tests.
• Projects may be library or laboratory based.

• Extensive personal support throughout the programme.
• Sound practical as well as academic training.
• Excellent job prospects for all students at the end of the programme both in the NHS and elsewhere.
• Effective careers advice and support available.

• Extensive personal support throughout the programme
• Sound practical as well as academic training
• Excellent job prospects for all students at the end of the programme both in the NHS and elsewhere
• Effective careers advice and support available

• Reading or hearing about research and/ or medicine (do you already enjoy TV documentaries like Horizon or Equinox, radio science programmes, New Scientist articles?).
• The challenge of increasing not just your knowledge of facts, but also your understanding of how science contributes to the search for new solutions to problems.
• Doing scientific procedures and experiments in laboratories and IT labs with precision.
• Working in laboratories using standard and novel techniques to solve problems.
• Being able to study quietly and individually away from formal staff-led sessions.

• To focus eventually on one specific area of biomedical science, but still keep your career options open.
• The chance of reviewing your degree programme at the end of the first year and possibly changing to Biochemistry, Pharmacology, Toxicology, or a more general Biosciences degree.
• The option of a year's work experience in a laboratory away from the University.

Many students go on to research degrees and to jobs in research institutes, hospitals, industrial and pharmaceutical laboratories and in pharmaceutical sales. Because the degree is broad-based it is also an excellent qualification for a teaching career.

The School of Health and Bioscience provides immediate contact with University support systems.

• In your first year, you are allocated a Personal Tutor (a member of staff familiar with your degree). You will see your Tutor at regular intervals to discuss progress and life in general.
• Module leaders and programme leaders also give support on academic matters, and advice about other specialist help available through the University
• The School also has a Help Desk to provide administrative assistance and advise how to get the right help.
• Internet homepages are used by many staff to support their teaching and your learning.
• Lecture and practical files, quizzes, mark summaries and much more is now available for several modules via UEL UELPlus Online Programme links.

Throughout the programme you will find a number of scheduled support activities devoted to specific aspects e.g. how to write your project report, or more general aspects such as careers.

Support for students on a University level includes:

• Libraries and Learning Resource Centres
• Childcare for students with children aged 21/2 years to 5 years.
• Careers advice and information
• Counselling and Advice for practical problems
• Health Centre with a nurse regularly on duty.
• Language tuition
• Dyslexia support
• Accommodation

• A School of Biosciences with staff and facilities to match to the wide interests and backgrounds of students.
• Sports facilities at the Atherton Centre, which is just a few minutes walk away.
• Multiplex cinema, theatre, supermarkets, high street shops, restaurants, cafes and pubs a few minutes walk away in Stratford - a major site of new development in East London.
• Central London only 20 minutes away by underground and extensive transport links with all parts of London.