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BSc Chemistry with Foundation

  • UCAS code
    F101
  • Typical offer
    See entry requirements
  • Year of entry
    2023/24
  • Course duration
    Full Time:  4 Years
  • Year of entry
    2023/24
  • Course duration
    Full Time:  4 Years

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 See entry requirements

Select Reading as your firm choice on UCAS and we'll guarantee you a place even if you don't quite meet your offer. For details, see our firm choice scheme.

Typical offer

BBB - for applicants without Chemistry

CCC - for applicants with Chemistry

International Baccalaureate

30 - for applicants without Chemistry

24 - for applicants with 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

  • Foundation year
  • Year 1
  • Year 2
  • Year 3

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*

New international students: £24,500

* UK/Republic of Ireland fee changes

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

EU student fees

With effect from 1 August 2021, new EU students will pay international tuition fees. For exceptions, please read the UK government's guidance for EU students.

Additional costs

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 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

Contextual offers


We make contextual offers for all our courses.

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  • Chemistry
  • Foundation programmes

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