Have you ever wondered how the latest life science discoveries - such as a novel stem cell therapy - can move from the lab into commercial scale production? Would you like to know whether it is possible to produce bio-polymers (plastics) and biofuels from municipal or agricultural waste? If you are thinking of a career in the pharma or biotech industries, the Biochemical Engineering MSc could be the right programme for you.
Our MSc programme focuses on the core biochemical engineering principles that enable the translation of advances in the life sciences into real processes or products. Students will develop advanced engineering skills (such as bioprocess design, bioreactor engineering, downstream processing), state-of-the-art life science techniques (such as molecular biology, vaccine development, microfluidics) and essential business and regulatory knowledge (such as management, quality control, commercialisation).
Three distinct pathways are offered tailored to graduate scientists, engineers, or biochemical engineers.
Students undertake modules to the value of 180 credits.
The programme offers three distinct pathways tailored to: graduate scientists ("Engineering Stream"); graduate engineers from other disciplines ("Science Stream"); or graduate biochemical engineers ("Biochemical Engineering Stream"). The programme for all three streams consists of a combination of core and optional taught modules (120 credits) and a research or design project (60 credits).
Core modules
Students are allocated to one of the three available streams based on their academic background (life science/science, other engineering disciplines, biochemical engineering). The programme for each stream is tailored to the background of students in that stream. Core modules may include the following (depending on stream allocation).
Please go to the "Degree Structure" tab on the departmental website for a full list of core modules.
Optional modules
Optional modules may include the following (details will vary depending on stream allocation).
Please go to the "Degree Structure" tab on the departmental website for a full list of optional modules
Research project/design project
Students allocated to the "Engineering" stream will have to complete a bioprocess design project as part of their MSc dissertation.
Students allocated to the "Science" and "Biochemical Engineering" streams will have to complete a research project as part of their MSc dissertation.
Teaching and learning
The programme is delivered through a combination of lectures, tutorials, and individual and group activities. Guest lectures delivered by industrialists provide a professional and social context. Assessment is through unseen written examinations, coursework, individual and group project reports, individual and group oral presentations, and the research or design project.
Further information on modules and degree structure is available on the department website: Biochemical Engineering MSc
The rapid advancements in biology and the life sciences create a need for highly trained, multidisciplinary graduates possessing technical skills and fundamental understanding of both the biological and engineering aspects relevant to modern industrial bioprocesses. Consequently, UCL biochemical engineers are in high demand, due to their breadth of expertise, numerical ability and problem-solving skills. The first destinations of those who graduate from the Master's programme in biochemical engineering reflect the highly relevant nature of the training delivered.
Approximately three-quarters of our graduates elect either to take up employment in the relevant biotechnology industries or study for a PhD or an EngD, while the remainder follow careers in the management, financial or engineering design sectors.
Recent career destinations for this degree
Employability
The department places great emphasis on its ability to assist its graduates in taking up exciting careers in the sector. UCL alumni, together with the department’s links with industrial groups, provide an excellent source of leads for graduates. Over 1,000 students have graduated from UCL with graduate qualifications in biochemical engineering at Master’s or doctoral levels. Many have gone on to distinguished and senior positions in the international bioindustry. Others have followed independent academic careers in universities around the world.
Careers data is taken from the ‘Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education’ survey undertaken by HESA looking at the destinations of UK and EU students in the 2013–2015 graduating cohorts six months after graduation.
UCL was a founding laboratory of the discipline of biochemical engineering, established the first UK department and is the largest international centre for bioprocess teaching and research. Our internationally recognised MSc programme maintains close links with the research activities of the Advanced Centre for Biochemical Engineering which ensures that lecture and case study examples are built around the latest biological discoveries and bioprocessing technologies.
UCL Biochemical Engineering co-ordinates bioprocess research and training collaborations with more than a dozen UCL departments, a similar number of national and international university partners and over 40 international companies. MSc students directly benefit from our close ties with industry through their participation in the Department’s MBI® Training Programme.
The MBI® Training Programme is the largest leading international provider of innovative UCL-accredited short courses in bioprocessing designed primarily for industrialists. Courses are designed and delivered in collaboration with 70 industrial experts to support continued professional and technical development within the industry. Our MSc students have the unique opportunity to sit alongside industrial delegates, to gain deeper insights into the industrial application of taught material and to build a network of contacts to support their future careers.
Accreditation
Our MSc is accredited by the Institute of Chemical Engineers (IChemE).
The “Science” and “Biochemical Engineering” streams are accredited by the IChemE as meeting the further learning requirements, in full, for registration as a Chartered Engineer (CEng, MIChemE).
This MSc is designed for graduates from the physical sciences and relevant engineering disciplines who wish to develop skills in this new and exciting area. Nanotechnology is rapidly establishing itself as a key technology, in industries ranging from microelectronics to healthcare, with a consequent demand for appropriately trained graduates.
The programme introduces students to and provides training in the skills essential for almost all fields of nanotechnology research, including key laboratory skills and techniques in planning, building devices, analysis, and results comparison. The core lecture programme covers essential topics in physics, electrical and electronic engineering, and biology.
Students undertake modules to the value of 180 credits.
The programme consists of six core modules (75 credits), three optional modules (45 credits) and a research project (60 credits).
A Postgraduate Diploma (120 credits) is offered. The diploma consists of six core modules (75 credits) and three optional modules (45 credits).
Core modules
Optional modules
Dissertation/report
All students undertake an extensive research project on an experimental or theoretical topic which is assessed through an interim report, dissertation and oral examination.
Teaching and learning
The programme is delivered through a combination of lectures, laboratory classes, tutorials and seminars. Student performance is assessed through coursework, laboratory notebooks, case studies, written examination, a dissertation, and written and oral presentations.
Further information on modules and degree structure is available on the department website: Nanotechnology MSc
Recent graduates have gone on to work as engineers for companies including EDF Energy and Intel, as analysts and consultants for firms including Standard Bank PLC and DN Capital, or to undertake PhD study at the Universities of Oxford, Bath and Glasgow.
Recent career destinations for this degree
Employability
This MSc programme provides a broad and comprehensive coverage of the technological and scientific foundations of nanotechnology, from the basis of the fabrication of nanostructures for advanced device applications, to fundamental quantum information and molecular biophysics, from nanotechnology in life science to nanotechnology in healthcare, and from experimental technology to theoretical modelling. Nanotechnology MSc graduates are expertly equipped either to pursue PhD study or become consultants or engineers in a wide range of nanotechnology fields.
Careers data is taken from the ‘Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education’ survey undertaken by HESA looking at the destinations of UK and EU students in the 2013–2015 graduating cohorts six months after graduation.
The London Centre for Nanotechnology (LCN) is a new UK-based multidisciplinary enterprise operating at the forefront of science and technology.
Forming a bridge between the physical and biomedical sciences, it brings together two of the world's leading institutions in nanotechnology, UCL (University College London) and Imperial College London.
The centre aims to provide leading-edge training in nanotechnology and students on this programme benefit from excellent new facilities, including a £14 million research building furnished with state-of-the art equipment, and a £1 million teaching facility in UCL Electronic & Electrical Engineering.
Accreditation
Accredited by the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) on behalf of the Engineering Council as meeting the requirements for Further Learning for registration as a Chartered Engineer. Candidates must hold a CEng accredited BEng/BSc (Hons) undergraduate first degree to comply with full CEng registration requirements.
The Research Excellence Framework, or REF, is the system for assessing the quality of research in UK higher education institutions. The 2014 REF was carried out by the UK's higher education funding bodies, and the results used to allocate research funding from 2015/16.
The following REF score was awarded to the department: Electronic & Electrical Engineering
97% rated 4* (‘world-leading’) or 3* (‘internationally excellent’)
Learn more about the scope of UCL's research, and browse case studies, on our Research Impact website.
Chemistry research at Swansea University is vibrant and covers a wide range of research areas and interests, and will be growing at a fast pace over the next 2-3 years. It is focused on 4 themes: Energy, Health, New and Advanced Molecules and Materials, and Water and the Environment. These research initiatives transcend the traditional discipline boundaries, integrate the core areas of inorganic, organic, physical and analytical chemistries and intersect with other scientific disciplines, engineering and medicine.
The new Department of Chemistry has excellent, purpose-built modern laboratories and has access to a diverse type of laboratories research infrastructures to develop its research. For example, high-quality, high-impact chemistry research is already taking place in World Class Centres based in Swansea such as The Centre for NanoHealth, The Institute of Mass Spectrometry, The Institute of Life Sciences, The Energy Safety Research Institute, Multidisciplinary Nanotechnology Centre, The Centre for Water Advanced Technologies and Environmental Research and The Materials Research Centre. The integration of the new Chemistry Department with Engineering, the Medical School and other departments in the College of Science provides an environment of research excellence and allows our chemistry students and research staff to invent, innovate and develop products in a way that is best suited to research in the 21st century and the need to generate disruptive, step-change advances with impact on current global challenges.
Energy: One of the key areas where advances in chemistry will be needed is in providing solutions to the global energy challenge. Chemistry research in Swansea University is participating in fundamental and applied research initiatives focused on:
Health: Chemistry research provides new routes to more effective, cheaper and less toxic therapies and to non-invasive disease detection and diagnosis tools – a requirement to transform the entire landscape of drug discovery, development and healthcare, which is unaffordable and needs to benefit more patients. The chemistry research laboratories for this theme are adjacent to Swansea Medical School – which ranked 1st in the UK for research environment, and 2nd for overall research quality in the REF 2014.
Current chemistry research includes:
New and Advanced Molecules and Materials: There is major interest in synthesing, designing and controllling molecular and macromolecular assemblies at multiple length scales. In Swansea this research involves use of:
Water and the Environment: Chemistry at Swansea university has a strong profile in the development of analytical tools for measuring environmental impact, environmental impact assessment of polymer-based materials through their lifetime (including the effects of recycling and biopolymers), technologies for the efficient removal of environmentally harmful materials (and thus reduced emissions per output of discharge), membrane technologies and new methodologies for desalination, and for dewatering and killing pathogens for sanitation applications and the use of new molecules and materials for photocatalytic water splitting and development of self-propelled micro and nanomotor systems for environmental remediation. In collaboration with the Biocontrol and Natural Products (BANP) group in the Department of Biosciences, there is also growing research interest around the characterisation and application of natural products, in particular those derived from fungi and microalgae, to provide therapeutics and nutraceuticals and to act as agents for biocontrol and bioremediation.
Our new state-of-the-art teaching laboratories are being built as part of a multi-million pound investment to create a chemistry hub for the high quality Chemical Sciences research being carried out across the Colleges of Science, Engineering and Medicine.
A chemistry qualification opens the door to a wide range of careers options, both in and out of the lab. There are endless interesting and rewarding science-based jobs available – these can be in research, outdoors or in other industries you might not have thought of. Please visit the Royal Society of Chemistry website for details.
Find out more about the huge range of jobs in chemistry by exploring the job profiles on the Royal Society of Chemistry website (eg Cancer Researcher, Flavourist & Innovation Director, Chief Chemist, Sustainability Manager, Fragrance Chemist, Household Goods Senior Scientist, Analytical Scientist, and many more).
Offered through the Department of Biomedical Engineering, the Master of Science in Biomedical Engineering is designed to prepare students to apply engineering principles to problems in medicine and biology; to understand and model attributes of living systems; and to synthesize biomedical systems and devices in order to improve human health.
The program is strongly interdisciplinary, as students choose from a large array of areas of study across the university, such as biology, public health and regulatory affairs. Course topics may also include: cancer therapy, cardiac electrophysiology, biosensors, microfluidics, medical imaging and image analysis, optogenetics, robotics and ultrasound applications in medicine.
With the university's central location in Washington, DC, students are able to take full advantage of opportunities available at nearby research and government institutions, including the GW Hospital, U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the National Institutes of Standards and Technology (NIST) and Children's National Medical Center.
This MSc programme provides students with structured training in Scalable Innovation and Laser enabled bioprinting in academic year 2018/19. This training is underpinned by advanced courses in Optical Design, Advanced Materials, and Tissue Engineering. The programme is particularly focused on digital additive and subtractive processes—targeting personalised medical devices and sensors— pivotal for addressing future key healthcare challenges. Students will gain hands on experience on state of the art manufacturing research platforms enabling them to demonstrate their research potential.
The programme is an ideal opportunity for launching a career in research for industry or academia; it is informed by the goals of three key Science Foundation Ireland Research Centres, CÚRAM Centre for Medical Devices, I-FORM Centre in Advanced Manufacturing and the IPIC Centre in Photonics Technologies.
Key Enabling Technologies are recognised by the European Union to be the building blocks for future product and process technologies.Europe’s future competitiveness depends on how its labour force will apply and master the fusion of two or more key enabling technologies on advanced manufacturing test-beds. This interdisciplinary programme prepares technologists for this societal challenge.
The six key enabling technologies are:
In September 2018/19, students will work on individual research projects aligned with a team-based challenge. All projects will converge towards the central theme encompassing the application of multiple key enabling technologies to create electrically, optically and thermally activated medical device concepts using an additive (inkjet & spray) and subtractive (laser) advanced manufacturing test bed.
SEAS is a rising world-class center for engineering research, learning, and innovation.
