A young male university student in a lab coat examining a 3D printed prosthetic hand while comparing it to CAD designs on screen, with a 3D printer and anatomical model visible, representing the medical device design focus of Biomedical Engineering degrees

DEGREE GUIDE

Biomedical Engineering

What do Biomedical Engineering degrees involve?

Biomedical Engineering degrees teach you how to develop medical technologies that improve healthcare and enhance lives. You will explore key areas such as medical device design, biomechanics, biomaterials, imaging technologies, and tissue engineering. These courses help you build problem-solving and analytical skills while understanding how engineering and medicine come together to create innovative healthcare solutions. You will also learn how to work with cutting-edge medical technologies, from prosthetics to MRI scanners, and apply engineering principles to real-world medical challenges. Through lab-based research, industry placements, and hands-on projects, you’ll gain the expertise needed for careers in medical technology, rehabilitation engineering, and healthcare innovation.

Example
Modules

Human Anatomy and Physiology: Learn how the body works by studying major systems such as the cardiovascular, muscular and nervous systems.

Mathematical Modelling: Apply maths to real-life problems by developing models to simulate physiological processes and support biomedical system design.

Medical Instrumentation: Explore how sensors, monitors and diagnostic tools are designed to measure signals from the human body safely and accurately.

Common Degree Names

💼 Many courses offer placement years in medical tech companies, hospitals, or engineering consultancies.
🌍 Study abroad is available at some universities.

BEng (Hons) Biomedical Engineering
BSc (Hons) Biomedical Engineering
MEng Biomedical Engineering
BEng (Hons) Medical Engineering
BEng (Hons) Biomedical Engineering with Electrical Engineering

BEng is the most common format, with MEng as a four-year integrated Master’s for students pursuing Chartered Engineer status. BSc versions are more science-focused.

3D printed joint and bone components alongside CAD software showing hip implant design, an anatomical knee model, precision tools and a biomechanics textbook, illustrating the medical device engineering skills developed in Biomedical Engineering degrees

Level 3 (A-level / IB Diploma (HL) / Scottish Highers)

Biomedical Engineering applies engineering principles to healthcare – from prosthetics to medical imaging. Requirements vary depending on whether the course is more engineering-focused or biology-focused.

You'll need:

Maths – essential for nearly all courses

Plus, typically one of:

Physics – often required for engineering-heavy programmes
Biology – useful for courses with a medical or anatomical focus
Chemistry or Further Maths – sometimes accepted as alternatives

✨ Maths and Physics is the most widely accepted combination. For bio-focused courses, Biology plus Maths may also work.

Universities may also accept:

BTEC Extended Diplomas in Engineering or Applied Science (being phased out), often alongside A-level Maths and a science subject
BTEC National Extended Certificates or National Diplomas alongside A-levels that meet the subject requirements above
T-Level in Engineering and Manufacturing (Design and Development or Manufacturing, Processing and Control pathways) or Science. May require A-Level Maths and/or Physics alongside
IB Career-related Programme (IBCP) with Maths and ideally Physics (or another science) at Higher Level among your IB subjects (minimum two, ideally three), alongside your Career-Related Study; an Engineering pathway would be directly relevant

Requirements can vary; some courses focus more on medical applications, while others lean towards electronics and design. Always check the university’s website to make sure your subjects are suitable.

Level 2 Qualifications (GCSE / MYP / National 5)

Most universities expect:

GCSE Maths and English at grade 4/C or above, or National 5 passes or MYP equivalents
Science – typically Combined Science or separate subjects, at grade 4/C or above

📘 Higher grades in Maths (e.g. 6/B or above) may be preferred, especially for courses with a strong engineering focus.

💬 Interviews

Interviews are not usually required, but some universities interview as part of the selection process. These are typically a chance to discuss your interest in the subject and how you approach problems, rather than a test of what you already know.

🔍 Work Experience

Not required, but any hands-on experience in engineering, science, or healthcare settings can help demonstrate your interest. This might include building projects, robotics clubs, coding, volunteering in a hospital or care setting, or work experience in a lab. What matters is showing curiosity about how engineering can solve medical problems.

✨ Personal Statement Tips

What excites you about engineering solutions for healthcare? Maybe it's prosthetics, medical imaging, wearable technology, or drug delivery systems - whatever it is, be specific. Admissions tutors want to see you've thought about what biomedical engineers actually do, not just that you enjoy biology and physics. If you've built anything, taken apart a device to understand how it works, or explored how technology is used in hospitals, reflect on what you discovered and what problems you'd want to solve. This is engineering with a human purpose - show that's what motivates you.

If your qualifications don't match the usual entry requirements, there are some other possibilities.

🌱 Foundation Year in Engineering or Science

Many universities offer an engineering foundation year if you don't have the required Maths and Physics grades. This adds an extra year but leads directly into the full degree.

🎓 Access to HE Diploma (Engineering or Science)

Accepted by many universities. Make sure your course includes strong maths, physics and biology content, and aim for Distinctions in your graded units — engineering courses typically expect high results.

💼 Level 3 Apprenticeships

Apprenticeships such as Engineering Technician or Healthcare Science Assistant carry UCAS tariff points from 2026 and can support a university application, particularly when combined with a foundation year.

Is this degree right for you?

Members can explore whether this degree fits who they are:

Skills you'd develop and whether they match your strengths
How this aligns with your interests, motivators and values
Career paths and where graduates end up

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Skills you would develop in X degree

Skill Name

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Is this a good fit for you?

Use the tabs to explore the kind of person that this would be a good fit for. Do you share the Interests, Motivations, Values, Work identity and skills that people who thrive in this course tend to have?

Not sure what these things are? Explore your Identity Tree with us first.

Interests that connect well with a Biomedical Engineering degree

Students who enjoy this degree often share these interests. You don't need to feel strongly about all of them, and interests develop over time. If one or two catch your curiosity, or sound like something you'd like to know more about, that's a good sign.

Machines, Structures & How Things Are Engineered: Engineering principles sit at the core of Biomedical Engineering. You'll study mechanics, electronics, materials and design, applied continuously to building the medical technologies that keep people alive and well: prosthetics, implants, imaging equipment, and the full range of medical devices.

The Human Body & How It Works: Anatomy and physiology are foundational to the degree from year one. You'll study how the body's systems work so that you can engineer solutions that fit with them, from understanding how bones move at a joint to how the heart's electrical signals can be monitored safely.

Health, Illness & How People Are Cared For: Healthcare is the context everything you design will eventually serve, and the degree engages with medical ethics, clinical trials, regulations, and how devices are used in hospitals. The focus is on the engineering behind medical care, rather than the hands-on care and recovery work that suits nursing or physiotherapy degrees.

Mathematics, Patterns & Data: Mathematics runs throughout the degree. You'll use calculus, differential equations and modelling tools to describe how physiological systems work and how medical devices measure or affect them. If you enjoy using maths to understand how real things work, that's the kind of maths you'll meet throughout the degree.

Students who thrive in a Biomedical Engineering degree are often motivated by

Precision and Thoroughness

You feel satisfied when work is done accurately and completely. Whether it's getting calculations exactly right, spotting errors others miss, or making sure every detail is correct, the pursuit of precision gives you a sense of accomplishment. Sloppy or "good enough" work frustrates you, and you take pride in getting things right first time.

Practical Problem-Solving

You're energised by finding fixes to real-life issues, whether they're mechanical, technological, or social. You're motivated by problems you can see, touch, or experience directly, and you get satisfaction from solutions that work in practice, not just in theory. You'd rather build a prototype than write a report about one.

Analysing and Investigating

You're energised by making sense of information, looking for evidence, spotting patterns, and piecing together how things connect. Whether it's pulling apart data, questioning assumptions, or tracing a problem back to its source, you find energy in the process of understanding what's really going on. You'd rather dig into the details than accept things at face value.

Creativity and Innovation

You're energised by the act of creating something new or finding a fresh way to approach a problem. Whether it's designing, writing, building, or experimenting, you feel most alive when you're generating original ideas rather than following established methods. The possibility that something has never been done before excites rather than intimidates you.

Intellectual Challenge

You're energised by pushing your mind to its limits, tackling difficult questions, and wrestling with problems that don't have easy answers. You're drawn to work that requires deep concentration and rigorous thinking. The harder the problem, the more satisfying it feels to work through it, and you'd rather be stretched than comfortable. Easy work bores you rather than relaxing you.

What makes Biomedical Engineering click for the students who love it?

They're drawn to treating the human body as an engineering problem: how a joint moves under load, what it takes to design something the body won't reject. The modelling, signals and biomechanics behind device design suit them, as does the technical creativity of building something nobody has made quite this way before. Because what they design ends up inside or on someone's body, there's almost no room to get it wrong, so every detail has to hold. And the prototype that finally works is the moment that lifts them.

These are the skills that students who love this degree tend to enjoy using. You don't need to be great at them already, but if they sound like you, that's a good sign.

Skill Name

Skills that suit this degree

You don't need to be great at these already — but if you enjoy using them or want to get better at them, that's a good sign.

Do you enjoy figuring out how to solve practical problems — not just understanding them, but actually building or designing something that fixes them?
Do you like the idea of inventing or improving things that could genuinely make a difference to someone's health or quality of life?
Do you enjoy the hands-on side of things — making prototypes, testing how something works, and tweaking it until it's right?
Do you find yourself comfortable with maths and physics — using them as tools to work things out, not just as subjects to study?

Careers a Biomedical Engineering degree could lead you to

Biomedical Engineering

What do Biomedical Engineering degrees involve?

Example Modules

Common Degree Names

Is this degree right for you?

Skills you would develop in X degree

Skill Name

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Is this a good fit for you?

Careers a Biomedical Engineering degree could lead you to

Example
Modules