Biochemical Engineering with Integrated Foundation Year

Biochemical engineering is the discipline that applies the principles of chemical engineering to biological systems, asking how the processes through which living cells produce useful substances, including pharmaceuticals, fuels, food ingredients, and industrial chemicals, can be scaled up, optimised, and operated reliably. It combines biology, chemistry, and engineering in a way that is essential to the biotechnology and biopharmaceutical industries, where the production of biological medicines and other bio-derived products at commercial scale requires deep understanding of both the biology of the producing organism and the engineering of the vessel and process in which it operates.

At UCL this four-year full-time programme includes an integrated foundation year, designed for students who do not yet meet the standard entry requirements for UCL's undergraduate engineering programmes but who demonstrate the potential and commitment to succeed. The foundation year develops confidence, academic skills, and subject-specific knowledge in mathematics, biology, and chemistry, preparing you for the engineering degree that follows. Across the main programme you will study the biological and chemical principles underlying bioprocesses alongside the engineering design, fluid mechanics, mass and heat transfer, and process control that allow those processes to be operated at scale.

UCL's location in London provides access to one of the world's most significant centres of life science research and industry.

Graduates in biochemical engineering find careers in the biopharmaceutical, food and drink, environmental, and energy industries, in roles spanning process development, manufacturing, quality assurance, regulatory affairs, and research and development. The growing demand for biological medicines, including monoclonal antibodies, cell and gene therapies, and vaccines, means that biochemical engineers are in sustained demand in the life sciences sector. Many graduates also pursue professional qualifications through the Institution of Chemical Engineers or continue to postgraduate study in bioprocess engineering, biotechnology, or related fields.