A student in a lab coat and gloves loading a 96-well microplate with a multichannel pipette, with rows of colourful immunoassay samples on the bench.

DEGREE GUIDE

Immunology

What do Immunology degrees involve?

Immunology degrees teach you how the immune system protects the body from infections, diseases, and autoimmune disorders, with applications in medicine, biotechnology, and public health. You will study key areas such as microbiology, immunotherapy, virology, vaccine development, and immune system disorders. These courses help you develop strong analytical, laboratory, and problem-solving skills while understanding how immune responses work and how they can be harnessed to treat diseases. As you progress, you may specialise in areas such as cancer immunology, allergy research, or infectious disease control. Many programmes include hands-on experience through laboratory research, clinical projects, and industry placements, providing you with practical skills for careers in biomedical research, pharmaceuticals, and healthcare innovation.

Example
Modules

Antigen Recognition and Processing: Explore how the immune system detects harmful invaders, including how antigens are recognised and presented to activate immune responses.

Cellular Immunology: Study the roles of T cells, B cells, macrophages and other immune cells, learning how they work together to fight infections and maintain defence.

Immunopathology: Investigate what happens when the immune system malfunctions, causing allergies, autoimmune diseases, or immune deficiencies.

Common Degree Names

💼 Placement years are available at several universities, often in medical research labs or biotech companies.
🌍 Study abroad is offered at some institutions.

BSc (Hons) Immunology
BSc (Hons) Immunology and Pharmacology
BSc (Hons) Immunology and Infection
MSci Immunology

MSci is a four-year integrated Master’s degree that combines undergraduate and Master’s level study in one course.

A home study desk with a printed immunofluorescence micrograph of glowing immune cells, an open immunology textbook and handwritten notes by a sunlit window.

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

Immunology explores how the body defends itself against disease – from vaccines and infection to autoimmune conditions and cancer treatments. Because you'll be working at the molecular level and conducting laboratory research, universities need to see strong science foundations.

You'll need:

Biology – essential for all Immunology courses
Chemistry – strongly preferred, often required as a second science

Subjects that can strengthen your application:

Maths – useful for data analysis and understanding research methods
Physics – develops analytical and quantitative skills
Psychology – sometimes accepted as a supporting science subject

✨ Biology plus Chemistry is the standard combination for Immunology. This keeps the widest range of courses open to you.

Universities may also accept:

BTEC Extended Diplomas in Applied Science (being phased out), with strong biology and chemistry content
BTEC National Extended Certificates or National Diplomas alongside A-levels that meet the subject requirements above
T-Levels in Science (Laboratory Sciences specialism), typically alongside A-Level Biology. Health may also be considered.
IB Career-related Programme (IBCP) with Biology and Chemistry at Higher Level among your IB subjects (minimum two, ideally three), alongside your Career-Related Study; an Applied Science pathway would be directly relevant

Exact subject requirements vary, so always check specific course requirements.

Level 2 Qualifications (GCSE / MYP / National 5)

Most courses ask for:

GCSE English Language, Maths, and Science at grade 4/C or above, or the equivalent such as National 5s or MYP

📘 Good grades in Science and Maths are important as Immunology courses build on these skills.

💬 Interviews
Formal interviews aren't usually part of the application process. However, some universities may invite you for a short conversation, either online or in person, to learn more about your interest in the subject.

🔍 Work Experience

You don't need work experience to apply for Immunology. If you have a school placement to fill, a laboratory, hospital, or pharmaceutical setting gives you useful context for how immunological science is applied in practice. Science competitions like the Biology Olympiad are also a good way to engage beyond the syllabus.

✨ Personal Statement Tips

What interests you about how the body defends itself? Immunology explores how the immune system works, why it sometimes fails, and how we can harness it to fight disease - from vaccines to cancer immunotherapy. If the science behind immune responses has caught your attention, whether through your studies, news about vaccine development, or reading about autoimmune conditions, think about what made you curious and what you'd want to understand better. Following research developments, listening to scientists explain their work, or exploring how immunology connects to current health challenges can show you've engaged seriously with the field.

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

🌱 Foundation Year in Biomedical Science or Life Sciences

Some universities offer a foundation year if you don't have the required science subjects or grades. This adds an extra year but leads directly into the full degree.

🎓 Access to HE Diploma (Science or Biomedical Science)

Accepted by many universities. Make sure your course includes strong biology and chemistry content, and aim for Distinctions in your science units.

💼 Level 3 Apprenticeships

Apprenticeships such as Laboratory 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 an Immunology 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.

The Human Body & How It Works: This is the core of the degree. You'll study how the immune system functions, from how individual cells recognise and fight pathogens to how the body's defences work together as a coordinated system.

Living Things & the Natural World: You'll study the microorganisms that challenge the immune system, including viruses, bacteria, fungi, and parasites, and learn how these organisms interact with their hosts.

Health, Illness & How People Are Cared For: A significant strand connects to disease and treatment. You'll explore what happens when the immune system goes wrong, from autoimmune conditions and allergies to how immunotherapy and vaccines are developed to treat and prevent illness.

Students who thrive in an Immunology 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.

Research and Discovery

You're excited by the idea of uncovering something genuinely new: being at the cutting edge, running experiments, and contributing knowledge that didn't exist before. You want to discover, not just learn what others have found. The prospect of adding something original to human understanding is what drives you, and you're willing to spend long periods on uncertain work for that possibility.

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.

Curiosity and Learning

You're energised by the activity of learning itself: diving into a subject you've never explored, watching documentaries, taking apart how something works, or constantly asking "why?" The process of learning gives you energy, not just the outcome. You don't just want the answer; you want to understand how things connect, why they matter, and what's underneath the surface explanation.

What makes Immunology click for the students who love it?

Why does one person barely notice a bug that puts someone else in bed for a week? Students who love Immunology have to know the answer, right down to how a single immune cell behaves. It is never enough for them that the body fights back; they want to see exactly how it does it. Pinning down how one cell reacts takes patient, precise work, and they are happy to give it. Plenty are pulled in by how close the science sits to treatments arriving in hospitals now.

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.

Are you fascinated by how the body defends itself — the idea that you have an entire system inside you designed to fight off disease?
Do you enjoy understanding complex systems, how different cells and signals work together to produce a response?
Do you like lab work where you're investigating something specific, running tests, analysing results, and building up a picture of what's happening?
Are you interested in how science can be used to develop vaccines, fight cancer, or treat conditions where the immune system goes wrong?

Careers an Immunology degree could lead you to

Immunology

What do Immunology 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 an Immunology degree could lead you to

Example
Modules