BSc Chemistry with a Year in Industry or Research

Program Overview

This BSc Chemistry program combines academic rigor with practical experience through a year-long industrial placement or research opportunity. Students are taught by experts using various methods and have the flexibility to tailor their studies by choosing optional modules. The program is accredited by the Royal Society of Chemistry and equips graduates for careers in various chemistry fields or further academic pursuits.

Program Outline

Degree Overview:

Study BSc Chemistry with a Year in Industry or Research and gain first-hand experience of the chemical or pharmaceutical industry. During the first two years, you will learn the core chemistry topics which all chemists need to know. Topics include trends in the periodic table, carbonyl group chemistry, and chemical kinetics. You will be taught by world-leading experts through a combination of lectures, lab classes, workshops, and tutorials. In the National Student Survey 2023, 98% of students in the Department of Chemistry said that their course challenged them to achieve their best work very often or fairly often. The work placement in your third year gives you the opportunity to gain industrial experience as well as the chance to apply your knowledge and skills to real-life situations. Recent host companies have included GSK, Unilever, and Procter & Gamble. In your final year, you will study more advanced topics influenced by the cutting-edge chemistry taking place around you. The Department's staff specializes in a number of areas including analytical chemistry, synthesis, polymers and advanced materials, surface science, and computational drug design, providing a wide range of options for your final year research project. If you are interested in teaching as a career, we offer a school-based project in your final year. You will spend one day a week for two terms working alongside both teachers and pupils on an individual project. This project gives you the necessary experience for teacher training applications and helps develop your professional skills for careers which involve working with people. All our chemistry courses are very flexible and, depending on your grades, you can transfer between them at the end of your first or second year. This course is accredited by the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC).

Outline:

Year 1

• Mathematics for Chemists
• Chemistry Practicals 1
• Fundamentals of Atomic Structure and the Periodic Table
• Shape, Structure, and Reactivity in Organic Chemistry
• Physical Processes and Molecular Organisation
• Contemporary Problems in Chemistry

Year 2

• Further Inorganic Chemistry
• Further Organic Chemistry
• Further Physical Chemistry
• Chemistry Practicals 2
• Optional modules:
• Pharmaceutical Chemistry 1
• Core Cosmetic Science 1

Year 3

• Industrial Placement or Research Year

Year 4

• Industrial Placement
• Chemistry Project 3
• Chemistry Core 1 (Inorganic and Organic)
• Chemistry Core 2 (Physical and Analytical)
• Optional modules:
• Further Cosmetic Science
• Further Pharmaceutical Chemistry
• Chemistry in the Natural World
• Polymers in Nature and Industry
• Further Analytical Techniques
• Solid State Chemistry

Teaching:

You will be taught by world-leading experts through a combination of lectures, lab classes, workshops, and tutorials.

Careers:

Graduates go into a range of professions, including becoming analytical scientists, chemical sales reps, organic synthetic chemists, peptide chemists, research chemists, and senior analysts, or pursue further academic study. Past students have found work in a range of companies and organizations, including Evotec, Pharmaterials, Intertek, Reed, Police Service, Pfizer, CEM Analytical Services, and Thames Water.

Other:

• The work placement in your third year gives you the opportunity to gain industrial experience as well as the chance to apply your knowledge and skills to real-life situations.
• All our chemistry courses are very flexible and, depending on your grades, you can transfer between them at the end of your first or second year.
• This course is accredited by the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC).

New UK/Republic of Ireland students:

£9,250

New international students:

£27,650