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Chemistry

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Chemistry is the science that shapes the world we will live in tomorrow.

Chemistry is the science that has the most direct and dramatic impact on our lives. Chemists design, synthesise, analyse and study molecules, the building blocks of everything from materials to medicines. Central to modern chemistry is the quest to make new molecules as efficiently and conveniently as possible, with minimum impact on the environment.

Study at the University of Reading, ranked 21st in the UK for Chemistry (Guardian University Guide, 2019) and you will benefit from our £4.5-million, purpose-built Chemical Analysis Facility, our newly renovated undergraduate laboratories, and unrivalled support from our award-winning and nationally recognised staff, which includes a National Teaching Fellow.

You will be taught through a combination of lectures, lab practical classes, workshops and small-group tutorials. If you would like to spend a year gaining work experience, our Year in Industry courses are the perfect solution and give you the opportunity to spend 12 months working in the chemical or pharmaceutical industry, in the UK or abroad.

In your final year, you will have the opportunity to work alongside staff members and undertake research in an area of your choice. Our research covers a wide range of areas, so you’ll have a variety of fascinating projects to choose from – a number of students have even been authors on published research papers.

We have excellent relationships with companies such as AstraZeneca, BP, Cytec, DuPont, GSK, Henkel, Johnson Matthey, Pfizer, Procter & Gamble, Syngenta and Unilever. Overall, 94% of our Chemistry graduates were in work or further study 15 months after the end of their course [1], and we are ranked 4th in England for graduate earning power in the Physical, Material and Forensic Sciences subject area.*

Our chemistry degrees are accredited by the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) and you will receive free RSC membership in your first year.

The Department of Chemistry offers a number of scholarships of £1,000 to talented students gaining AAA or above, with an A in Chemistry, at A level or equivalent.

*Based on the BBC's analysis of a report published by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (The Relative Labour Market Returns to Different Degrees, June 2018). The University's ranking is based on male graduate data only as there was not sufficient data for female graduates for all compared degrees.

[1] Graduate Outcomes Survey 2017/18; First Degree responders from Chemistry.

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