About Biological And Chemical Sciences in University College Cork

Our Biological and Chemical Sciences degree programme is the largest and most flexible entry route for you in science, with eight degree streams available through it.

Our programme is carefully constructed to foster an interdisciplinary approach across a wide range of biological, biotechnology, medical, chemical and pharmaceutical research areas.

If you enjoy Biology and/or Chemistry as Leaving Certificate subjects, enjoy working in a laboratory environment and like the challenge and excitement of scientific research and development, then Biological and Chemical Sciences, with its broad range of opportunities, may be the CAO entry route for you.

A unique aspect of the Biological and Chemical Sciences programme is the large degree of flexibility available to you after you have entered the programme.

You will have ten different degree streams available to you and you can choose to be flexible regarding what course you want to study until the end of Year 1. Depending on what route you decide to pursue, your final decision on which area you wish to focus your studies will be made at either the end of Year 1 or the end of Year 2.

Skills and Careers Information

An extremely wide variety of career opportunities are available to graduates of the degree streams. For further information on career opportunities from each are of study, please see the information for the relevant degree programme.

Academic qualification equivalents

 1.    All India Senior School Certificate 

 2.    Higher Secondary Certificate / Standard 12 

 3.    Indian School Certificate (Year 12) 

Band 1 Programmes

Minimum average of 90% + in any of the recognised secondary school qualifications.

Band 2 Programmes

Minimum average of 80-89% in any of the recognised secondary school qualifications.

Band 3 Programmes

Minimum average of 75-79% in any of the recognised secondary school qualifications.

Additional Requirements

Where Maths is required for a specific degree programme, a minimum score of 85% in Maths is required.

Where a Lab Science subject is required for a specific degree programme, a minimum score of 85% is required in the appropriate Lab Science subject.

English language requirements (one of the below):

• IELTS: 6.5  Minimum individual sections 5.5
• TOEFL: TOEFL 90  Listening - 17; Reading - 18; Speaking - 20; Writing 17
• PTE: 63 Minimum individual sections 51

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