Biochemistry and Pharmacology

Biochemistry and pharmacology are closely allied sciences that together address some of the most urgent questions in medicine and human health. Biochemistry examines life at the molecular level, tracing the chemical reactions, proteins, genes and metabolic pathways that sustain living cells and organisms. Pharmacology builds on that foundation to ask how drugs interact with biological systems: how a molecule binds to a receptor, how the body processes a medicine, and how understanding those mechanisms leads to the development of safer and more effective treatments.

Studied together, the two disciplines give you a uniquely integrated picture of how life works and how it can go wrong.

This four-year degree at the University of Strathclyde is studied full-time and includes a year abroad, offering you the chance to gain international research or academic experience and to see the sciences you are studying in a different institutional context. Throughout the programme you will develop laboratory skills alongside theoretical knowledge, working with techniques in molecular biology, cell culture, analytical chemistry and pharmacological assay. You will learn to design experiments, interpret data critically and communicate scientific findings clearly.

The programme addresses the molecular basis of disease as a thread that connects biochemistry and pharmacology across the four years, giving coherence to a wide range of specialist topics.

Graduates are well qualified for careers in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, medical research, clinical science, regulatory affairs and healthcare. Roles in drug discovery, preclinical research, quality control and clinical trials are all realistic destinations. Many graduates continue to postgraduate study, including PhD research programmes in biochemistry, pharmacology or the biomedical sciences, as well as professional training routes in medicine, pharmacy and clinical science.