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BSc CHEMISTRY WITH FOUNDATION

  • UCAS code
    F101
  • Typical offer
    BBB-CCD
  • Year of entry
    2021
  • Course duration
     4 years
  • Year of entry
    2021
  • Course duration
     4 years
View all

BSc Chemistry with Foundation is a four-year course offering you a broad education in chemistry and providing you with the skills to succeed in a range of professions.

Are you keen to take our BSc Chemistry course but haven’t taken the necessary A level subjects? Our BSc Chemistry with Foundation is a four-year programme that includes a year of foundational study and leads directly into the three-year course.

Following the foundation year, you will spend the next two years learning the core subjects that all chemists need to know. Topics include trends in the periodic table, carbonyl group chemistry and chemical kinetics. You will be taught by internationally leading experts through a combination of lectures, lab classes, workshops and tutorials.

In your final year you will study more advanced topics influenced by the cutting-edge chemistry taking place around you. The Department's staff specialise in a number of areas including nanotechnology, synthesis, polymers and advanced materials, surface science and forensic analysis, providing a wide range of options for your final year research project.

Additionally, if you are interested in teaching as a career, we offer a school-based project in your final year. Students 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.

Placement

We have a dedicated placements officer who is able to advise on career options, CVs and letters of application, as well as to help you find a placement.We have previously sent students to companies such as Coty (Rimmel), Dow Corning and GSK. Students have also been placed at foreign research institutions such as the University of Zaragoza, Aarhus University, the University of South Australia and NASA.

Overview

BSc Chemistry with Foundation is a four-year course offering you a broad education in chemistry and providing you with the skills to succeed in a range of professions.

Are you keen to take our BSc Chemistry course but haven’t taken the necessary A level subjects? Our BSc Chemistry with Foundation is a four-year programme that includes a year of foundational study and leads directly into the three-year course.

Following the foundation year, you will spend the next two years learning the core subjects that all chemists need to know. Topics include trends in the periodic table, carbonyl group chemistry and chemical kinetics. You will be taught by internationally leading experts through a combination of lectures, lab classes, workshops and tutorials.

In your final year you will study more advanced topics influenced by the cutting-edge chemistry taking place around you. The Department's staff specialise in a number of areas including nanotechnology, synthesis, polymers and advanced materials, surface science and forensic analysis, providing a wide range of options for your final year research project.

Additionally, if you are interested in teaching as a career, we offer a school-based project in your final year. Students 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.

Placement

We have a dedicated placements officer who is able to advise on career options, CVs and letters of application, as well as to help you find a placement.We have previously sent students to companies such as Coty (Rimmel), Dow Corning and GSK. Students have also been placed at foreign research institutions such as the University of Zaragoza, Aarhus University, the University of South Australia and NASA.

Entry requirements A Level BBB-CCD | IB 30-24

Typical offer

BBB-CCD including Chemistry

International Baccalaureate

30-24 points overall including Chemistry

If you would like to receive personalised advice on your eligibility for our Foundation courses, please ask us a question.

BTEC

DMM

Extended Project Qualification

In recognition of the excellent preparation that the Extended Project Qualification (EPQ) provides to students for University study, we can now include achievement in the EPQ as part of a formal offer.

GCSE

GCSE At least grade C in English, Mathematics and Science

English language requirements

IELTS 6.5, with no component below 5.5

For information on other English language qualifications, please visit our international student pages.

Further requirements

If you are an international student planning to apply for one of our degree programmes, you may need to take a foundation course or pre-sessional course if you do not have qualifications that are equivalent to British A levels or if you need to improve your English language level.

  • Look at entry requirements by country.
  • Find out the English language requirements for our courses and our pre-sessional English programme.
  • Learn more about our international foundation programme.

Structure

  • Year 1
  • Year 2
  • Year 3
  • Year 4

Modules are dependent on which subject you choose, but may include:

  • Key skills for science research
  • Foundation: biology
  • Foundation: chemistry
  • Foundation: environment, ecology and sustainability
  • Foundation: mathematics

Please note that all modules are subject to change.

Core modules include:

  • Shape, structure and reactivity in organic chemistry
  • Chemical concepts and skills 1
  • Fundamentals of atomic structure and the periodic table
  • Laboratory skills for chemists
  • Physical processes and molecular organisation

Optional modules include:

  • Practising archaeology
  • World prehistory
  • The living cell
  • Physics
  • Earth history
  • Mammals
  • Environmental science
Please note that all modules are subject to change.

Core modules include:

  • Analytical chemistry
  • Chemical concepts and skills 2
  • Extended laboratory skills for chemists
  • Further inorganic chemistry
  • Further organic chemistry
  • Further physical chemistry

Optional modules include:

  • Environmental chemistry 
  • Forensic analysis 
  • Medicinal chemistry 
Please note that all modules are subject to change.


Core modules include:

  • Clusters, extended arrays and solid-state chemistry
  • Advanced analytical techniques for inorganic structure determination
  • Advanced organic chemistry - contemporary synthetic methodology
  • Advanced organic chemistry - synthesis of complex targets
  • Advanced topics in physical chemistry 1
  • Advanced topics in physical chemistry 2
  • X-ray techniques and databases in analytical chemistry
  • d and f block chemistry
  • BSc Chemistry project or education project
Please note that all modules are subject to change.

Fees

New UK/Republic of Ireland students: £9,250* per year

New international students: £19,815 per year

* UK and EU fee changes

UK undergraduate fees are regulated by the government. These fees are subject to parliamentary approval and any decision on raising the tuition fees cap for new UK and EU** students would require the formal approval of both Houses of Parliament before it becomes law.

From 2020, the UK government may link tuition fees to the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF).

**EU students

For more information on fees, loans and grants for EU students, see fees and funding for home/EU students.

Additional costs

These course fees cover the cost of your tuition. Some courses will require additional payments for field trips and extra resources. You will also need to budget for your accommodation and living costs. See our information on living costs for more details.

Financial support for your studies

You may be eligible for a scholarship or bursary to help pay for your study. Students from the UK and other EU countries may also be eligible for a student loan to help cover these costs. See our fees and funding information for more information on what's available.

* UK and EU Fee Changes

Subject to the Government passing legislation to raise the minimum fee cap, we will raise undergraduate tuition fees from £9,000 to £9,250 for new UK/EU students applying to start courses in the 2017/18 academic year. You will not be affected by this rise if you have deferred entry to the 2017/18 academic year. The Government will confirm future arrangements for EU students in due course.

The tuition fee will remain £9,000 per year for the full duration of this course if you start in the 2016/17 academic year or have accepted an offer but deferred your entry until the 2017/18 academic year. This is unlike other institutions who are planning to raise fees midway through courses.

For further information, please see our webpage on the Teaching Excellence Framework and future tuition fees.

Additional costs

These course fees cover the cost of your tuition. Some courses will require additional payments for field trips and extra resources. You will also need to budget for your accommodation and living costs. See our information on living costs for more details.

Financial support for your studies

You may be eligible for a scholarship or bursary to help pay for your study. Students from the UK and other EU countries may also be eligible for a student loan to help cover these costs. See our fees and funding information for more information on what's available.

Careers

We incorporate skills development into each year of the degree, giving you a better chance of securing work when you leave university. Upon graduation you will have a range of skills which are essential for chemists but also make you highly desirable in all areas of employment. These include skills such as planning and organisation, handling information, communication, scientific and practical skills, ICT, problem solving, critical analysis, time management and business awareness. The Department also holds a careers fair at which University alumni discuss their careers and advise you on the different options available.

Some of our graduates continue into further studies, working towards an MSc, initial teacher training or a PhD. Other graduates go into a range of professions, across numerous sectors including science, the environment, health and safety, forensics, food technology, pharmaceuticals and water analysis.

Past students have found work with organisations including Evotec, Pharmaterials, Intertek, Reed, the police, Pfizer, CEM Analytical Services and Thames Water.

The supportive nature of the Chemistry Department, excellent course structure and high-quality teaching have all enabled me to have a really enjoyable and successful time at university.

Becky Swanston

BSc Chemistry

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  • MPharm Pharmacy B230
    Full Time: 4 Years
  • BSc Biochemistry C700
    Full Time: 3 years, with the option to include a placement year
  • BSc Food Science D610
    Full Time: 3 Years
  • BSc Food Science with Industrial Training D615
    Full Time: 4 Years
  • BSc Food Science with Business D690
    Full Time: 3 Years
  • BSc Food Science with Business with Industrial Training D691
    Full Time: 4 Years
More
View all Chemistry degree courses at University of Reading courses

Contextual offers


We make contextual offers for all our courses.

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For more information, visit the Department of Chemistry's website.

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  • Ancient History
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  • Archaeology
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  • Architecture
  • Art
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  • Biomedical Engineering
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  • Chemistry
  • Classics and Classical Studies
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  • Ancient History
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  • Chemistry
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  • Computer Science
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  • Consumer Behaviour
  • Creative Enterprise

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  • Economics
  • Education
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  • English Language and Applied Linguistics
  • English Literature
  • Environmental Science
  • Film, Theatre and Television
  • Finance
  • Food and Nutritional Sciences
  • Geography and Environmental Science
  • Graphic Design

Subjects H-P

  • Healthcare
  • History
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  • International Development and Applied Economics
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