Biomedical Engineering with a Foundation Year

Biomedical engineering applies the principles of engineering to the study and treatment of the human body, sitting at the frontier between medicine and technology. It is a discipline motivated by the recognition that some of the most important challenges in healthcare are fundamentally engineering problems: how to image the body without harm, how to design implants that integrate safely with living tissue, how to build monitoring devices that track physiological signals reliably, and how to develop prosthetics that restore function. As healthcare technology becomes more sophisticated, the skills of biomedical engineers are increasingly central to what medicine can achieve.

At Swansea University this four-year full-time programme includes a foundation year, providing the scientific and mathematical preparation needed to engage with degree-level engineering content from a broader range of starting points. Combining engineering principles with the instrumentation of modern medicine, the programme promises to equip you with the skills to work in the development of healthcare technologies that touch and extend human lives. You will study anatomy and physiology alongside engineering science, biomechanics, medical imaging, signal processing, materials, and medical device design.

The typical entry tariff of 72 points reflects the accessible entry that the foundation year creates.

You will develop the ability to think across engineering and biology, design medical devices, analyse physiological data, and work with the regulatory and ethical frameworks that govern medical technology.

Graduates work in medical device companies, hospital clinical engineering departments, pharmaceutical organisations, and research institutions. Many pursue further professional qualifications or postgraduate study in biomedical engineering, medical physics, or healthcare technology management.