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Chemistry with an Industrial Placement Year

Entry requirements


A level

A,A,B

including A in Chemistry

Access to HE Diploma

D:36,M:9,P:0

Award of Access to HE Diploma in a relevant subject covering sufficient Chemistry units, with 45 credits at Level 3, including 36 at Distinction and 9 at Merit. Applicants are considered individually and must provide a course syllabus

GCSE/National 4/National 5

GCSE Maths grade 6/B

International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme

34

with 6 in Higher Level Chemistry

Leaving Certificate - Higher Level (Ireland) (first awarded in 2017)

H2,H2,H2,H2,H2,H3

including H2 in Chemistry

Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)

DD

in Applied Science + A in A Level Chemistry

Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)

DDD

in Applied Science including specific Chemistry units (BTEC required units include Applications of Inorganic Chemistry, Applications of Organic Chemistry, Industrial Chemical Reactions and Practical Chemical Analysis)

Scottish Advanced Higher

A

in Chemistry + AAABB in Scottish Highers

Welsh Baccalaureate - Advanced Skills Challenge Certificate (first teaching September 2015)

B

+ AA at A Level including Chemistry

UCAS Tariff

56-136

We've calculated how many Ucas points you'll need for this course.

About this course


Course option

4years

Full-time with year in industry | 2024

Subject

Chemistry

The MChem Chemistry with an Industrial Placement Year course gives you a great opportunity to build experience and confidence in applying your chemistry skills in a commercial laboratory environment.

You will spend your third year working at a leading organisation in the chemical industry, paying reduced fees for the year you are on placement. Most students earn salaries during their placements and many are offered a graduate level job at the end. Previous students have worked in labs at businesses such as GSK, Unilever, and even companies overseas.

When you return to Sheffield in your fourth year, you will further develop your research skills through advanced lecture topics, and in a research project where you will join a team that is working to make new discoveries in chemistry. The course is accredited by the Royal Society of Chemistry, which means that you can acquire a range of skills and knowledge that employers look for as you work independently, in teams and on a range of projects.

We cover a wide range of topics based on the latest concepts and findings in chemistry, and the skills and expertise that chemistry graduates can offer industry and society. These include:

environmental and sustainable chemistry
biological and medicinal chemistry
advanced materials and nanotechnology
astrochemistry
computational chemistry
Your lectures in first and second year are supported by small group tutorials, where you can delve deeper into complex topics. These small group teaching sessions are led by your personal tutor in first year, and specialist experts in later years. In addition, your personal tutor will also help you work out which skills you need to develop and support you as you build up your experience in time for graduation.

If you want to study chemistry, but don’t meet the entry requirements to go straight into the first year of this course, you may be able to apply for our Chemistry with a Foundation Year course. Finish the year-long foundation programme with an average mark of 60 or above, and you’re guaranteed entry onto the first year of your chosen chemistry degree at the University of Sheffield.

Accredited by the Royal Society of Chemistry for fully meeting the academic criteria for Chartered Chemist (CChem)

Accredited by the Royal Society of Chemistry for fully meeting the academic criteria for Chartered Chemist (CChem)

Tuition fees

Select where you currently live to see what you'll pay:

England
£9,250
per year
International
£29,110
per year
Northern Ireland
£9,250
per year
Scotland
£9,250
per year
Wales
£9,250
per year

The Uni


Course location:

University of Sheffield

Department:

Chemistry

Read full university profile

What students say


We've crunched the numbers to see if overall student satisfaction here is high, medium or low compared to students studying this subject(s) at other universities.

76%
Chemistry

How do students rate their degree experience?

The stats below relate to the general subject area/s at this university, not this specific course. We show this where there isn’t enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

Chemistry

Teaching and learning

83%
Staff make the subject interesting
93%
Staff are good at explaining things
74%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
81%
Opportunities to apply what I've learned

Assessment and feedback

Feedback on work has been timely
Feedback on work has been helpful
Staff are contactable when needed
Good advice available when making study choices

Resources and organisation

86%
Library resources
81%
IT resources
95%
Course specific equipment and facilities
50%
Course is well organised and has run smoothly

Student voice

Staff value students' opinions
Feel part of a community on my course

Who studies this subject and how do they get on?

84%
UK students
16%
International students
53%
Male students
47%
Female students
83%
2:1 or above
12%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

B
A
A

After graduation


The stats in this section relate to the general subject area/s at this university – not this specific course. We show this where there isn't enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

Chemistry

What are graduates doing after six months?

This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.

£21,000
med
Average annual salary
96%
med
Employed or in further education
63%
med
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

17%
Science, engineering and production technicians
16%
Natural and social science professionals
12%
Business, finance and related associate professionals

Chemistry graduates are in demand from a wide range of industries, from the food, oil, chemicals and pharmaceuticals to consultancy, technical analysis and teaching. They're also prized by business and finance employers for their research and data handling skills — anywhere there is research and data to be explained, you can find chemistry grads. If you want a career in research, you need a doctorate, so start planning now if you fancy one of these exciting and challenging jobs - but good students can usually get grants to take a doctorate, so don't worry about the financing if you think you have what it takes. The recession wasn’t too kind to chemists, particularly in the pharmaceutical industry (one of the key employers for chemists), but things are getting back to normal for this flexible group and it's one of the few degrees that is bucking the current trend and increasing graduate numbers.

What about your long term prospects?

Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.

Chemistry

The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.

£22k

£22k

£28k

£28k

£30k

£30k

Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.

Explore these similar courses...

Higher entry requirements
University of Southampton | Southampton
Chemistry
MChem (H) 4 Years Full-time with year in industry 2024
UCAS Points: 136-144
Lower entry requirements
University of Sheffield | Sheffield
Chemistry
MChem (H) 4 Years Full-time with year in industry 2024
UCAS Points: 48-136
Nearby University
University of Lincoln | Lincoln
Chemistry for Drug Discovery and Development
MChem (H) 4 Years Full-time with year in industry 2024
UCAS Points: 128
Same University
University of Sheffield | Sheffield
Chemistry with Biological and Medicinal Chemistry
MChem (H) 4 Years Full-time with year in industry 2024
UCAS Points: 48-136

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This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.

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Course location and department:

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Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF):

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This information comes from the National Student Survey, an annual student survey of final-year students. You can use this to see how satisfied students studying this subject area at this university, are (not the individual course).

This is the percentage of final-year students at this university who were "definitely" or "mostly" satisfied with their course. We've analysed this figure against other universities so you can see whether this is high, medium or low.

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This information is from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), for undergraduate students only.

You can use this to get an idea of who you might share a lecture with and how they progressed in this subject, here. It's also worth comparing typical A-level subjects and grades students achieved with the current course entry requirements; similarities or differences here could indicate how flexible (or not) a university might be.

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Post-six month graduation stats:

This is from the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education Survey, based on responses from graduates who studied the same subject area here.

It offers a snapshot of what grads went on to do six months later, what they were earning on average, and whether they felt their degree helped them obtain a 'graduate role'. We calculate a mean rating to indicate if this is high, medium or low compared to other universities.

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Graduate field commentary:

The Higher Education Careers Services Unit have provided some further context for all graduates in this subject area, including details that numbers alone might not show

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The Longitudinal Educational Outcomes dataset combines HRMC earnings data with student records from the Higher Education Statistics Agency.

While there are lots of factors at play when it comes to your future earnings, use this as a rough timeline of what graduates in this subject area were earning on average one, three and five years later. Can you see a steady increase in salary, or did grads need some experience under their belt before seeing a nice bump up in their pay packet?

Have a question about this info? Learn more here