Chemistry - MChem

Course structure

Duration: 4 years full-time

The course structure below gives a flavour of the modules and provides details of the content of this programme. This listing is based on the current curriculum and may change year to year in response to new curriculum developments and innovation.

• Stage 1
• Stage 2
• Stage 3
• Stage 4

Teaching and assessment

The degree is made of a combination of lectures, laboratory classes, project work and problem solving seminars.

Assessment is by a combination of written examinations, continuous assessment and other assignments. You must pass the Stage 1 examinations in order to go on to Stage 2.

Coursework assessments include practical laboratory skills, presentation skills as well as essay and report writing.

Please note that there are degree thresholds at stages 2 and 3 that you will be required to pass in order to continue onto the next stages.

Contact hours

For a student studying full time, each academic year of the programme will comprise 1200 learning hours which include both direct contact hours and private study hours.  The precise breakdown of hours will be subject dependent and will vary according to modules.  Please refer to the individual module details under Course Structure.

Methods of assessment will vary according to subject specialism and individual modules.  Please refer to the individual module details under Course Structure.

Programme aims

The programme aims to:

• Instil a sense of enthusiasm for chemistry, an appreciation of its application in different contexts and involve students in an intellectually stimulating and satisfying experience of learning and studying.
• Provide a broad, balanced foundation of chemical knowledge and practical skills.
• Extend this knowledge and practical ability to an advanced level in a selected specialist area and develop a critical awareness of advances in chemical science.
• Provide access to as wide a range of students as practicable.
• Develop the ability to apply knowledge and skills to the solution of chemical science problems.
• The ability to apply chemical knowledge and skills to the solution of theoretical and practical problems.
• Develop a wide range of practical skills, including a knowledge, understanding and ability to assess safety in the laboratory environment.
• Impart a range of appropriate skills, of value in chemical and non-chemical employment.
• Provide a stimulating, research-active environment in which students are supported and motivated to achieve their academic and personal potential.
• Enable students to graduate with an understanding of scientific methodology, the ability to use this in the solution of problems in and outside of a laboratory environment, and the ability to undertake and report on an experimental investigation using such methodology.
• To further use and adapt this methodology to the solution of unfamiliar problems and in the pursuit of advanced experimental investigations.
• Establish an appreciation of the importance and sustainability of the chemical sciences in an industrial, academic, economic, environmental and social context.
• Provide the knowledge and skills to proceed to graduate employment or continue with further studies.
• To further prepare you for a professional role in chemical sciences (employment or doctoral studies).

Learning outcomes

Knowledge and understanding

You gain knowledge and understanding of:

• Core and foundation scientific physical, biological, and chemical concepts, terminology, theory, units, conventions, and laboratory practise and methods in relation to the chemical sciences.
• Advanced theory, concepts, and practice in the chemical sciences.
• Areas of chemistry including properties of chemical elements, states of matter, organic functional groups, physiochemical principles, organic and inorganic materials, synthetic pathways, analytical chemistry, medicinal chemistry, biochemistry, fires and explosions.
• Developments at the forefront of some areas of chemical sciences.
• A critical awareness of a substantial area of chemistry including contemporary materials chemistry.

Intellectual skills

You gain the following intellectual abilities:

• Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of essential facts, concepts, principles and theories relating to the subject and to apply such knowledge and understanding to the solution of qualitative and quantitative problems.
• Recognise and analyse problems and plan strategies for their solution by the evaluation, interpretation and synthesis of scientific information and data.
• Adapt and apply methodology above to solve advanced and unfamiliar problems.
• Use computational methods for the practical application of theory and to use information technology and data-processing skills to search for, assess and interpret chemical information and data.
• Essay writing and presenting scientific material and arguments clearly and correctly, in writing and orally, to a range of audiences and the ability to communicate complex scientific argument to a lay audience.

Subject-specific skills

You gain subject-specific skills in the following:

• The safe handling of chemical materials, taking into account their physical and chemical properties, including any specific hazards associated with their use and risk assessment of such hazards.
• The ability to carry out out documented standard laboratory procedures involved in synthetic and analytical work in relation to organic and inorganic systems. Skills in observational and instrumental monitoring of physiochemical events and changes and the systematic and reliable documentation of the above. Operation of standard analytical instruments employed in the chemical sciences.
• The ability to select appropriate techniques and procedures for the above.
• Collate, interpret and explain the significance and underlying theory of experimental data, including an assessment of limits of accuracy.
• Use an understanding of the limits of accuracy of experimental data to inform future work.
• Implement research projects, including competence in the design and execution of experiments.
• Research, project planning and implementation, including competence in the planning, design and execution of experiments, and the ability to work independently and be self-critical in the evaluation of risks, procedures and results.

Transferable skills

You gain transferable skills in the following:

• Communication, covering written and oral communication.
• The ability to undertake further training of a professional nature.
• Problem-solving skills, relating to qualitative and quantitative information, extending to situations where evaluations have to be made on the basis of limited information.
• Demonstration of self-direction and originality.
• Numeracy and computational skills, including such aspects as error analysis, order-of-magnitude estimations, correct use of units and modes of data presentation.
• Information-retrieval skills, in relation to primary and secondary information sources, including through online computer searches.
• Word-processing and spreadsheet use, data-logging and storage, and internet communication.
• Interpersonal skills and the ability to interact with other people and to engage in team working within a professional environment.
• The ability to communicate and interact with professionals from other disciplines.
• Time-management and organisational skills, as evidenced by the ability to plan and implement efficient and effective modes of working. Self-management and organisational skills with the capacity to support life-long learning.
• Effective research costing and planning.
• Study skills required for continuing professional development and professional employment.
• The skills relevant to a career in the chemical sciences.
• The ability to exercise initiative and personal responsibility and make decisions in complex and unpredictable situations.
• Independent learning ability required for continuing professional development.

Careers

Your Future

You graduate with an excellent grounding in scientific knowledge and extensive laboratory experience. In addition, you also develop the key transferable skills sought by employers, such as:

• excellent communication skills
• work independently or as part of a team
• the ability to solve problems and think analytically
• time management.

This means that our graduates are well equipped for careers across a range of fields and have gone on to work for companies such as SG Technologies Ltd., Reckitt, Concept Life Sciences, and GSK. You can read their stories, and find out about the range of support and extra opportunities available to further your career potential here.