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Chemistry

Entry requirements


A level

C,C,D

Including Chemistry For year 2 entry, BBC including Chemistry plus 1 science subject at GCSE level

International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme

24

including Chemistry For year 2, 28 points including Chemistry and 1 other science

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

H3,H3,H3,H4

Including Chemistry

Scottish Advanced Higher

C,C,D

For entry to Year 2, including Chemistry and 1 Science at National 5 Level

Scottish HNC

Pass

Entry to Year 1 with HNC Industrial Biotechnology Entry to Year 2 with HNC Chemistry or HNC Applied Science

Scottish HND

Pass

Entry to Year 3 with HND Applied Science or HND Applied Chemical Science.

Scottish Higher

B,C,C,C

Including Chemistry

T Level

M

UCAS Tariff

90

Including Chemistry

About this course


Course option

4years

Sandwich | 2024

Subject

Chemistry

**OVERVIEW**
The BSc (Hons) Chemistry provides you with the fundamental knowledge and practical skills you need for a career in the dynamic fields of drug research, environmental analysis and forensic science. With an emphasis on strong academic content and theoretical underpinnings, practical experience and modern chemical instrumentation, this degree focuses on analytical chemistry and health-related fields.

Our course includes practical aspects to develop your analytical, problem-solving and numeracy skills. Small-group workshops, tutorials and presentations will improve your communication and presentation skills, making you attractive for a successful career in chemical sciences.

**PRACTICAL FOCUS**
You will have access to high-quality laboratory environments and with links to active research groups, the range of subjects and practical opportunities available on this degreee are based on real-life examples from industry to prepare you for the workplace.

You will study the general aspects of chemistry including organic, inorganic and physical chemistry throughout the programme up to an advanced level with additional learning including topics such as enzymes and pharmaceutical production and safety, environmental chemistry, spectroscopy and photochemistry.

In addition, there is the option to undertake a paid 12 month industrial placement between years 3 and 4 within an environment relevant to your specialism. Placements are designed to help cement your learning and can make you more attractive to recruiters upon graduation. In the past, students have undertaken placement/work-based learning with organisation such as Ferring Pharmaceuticals, Doosan Babcock and Taytech Environmental Solutions. Please note that placements are competitive in nature and not guaranteed.

**PROFESSIONAL RECOGNITION**
Our course is accredited by the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC).The RSC is the UK’s professional body for chemical scientists with a worldwide community. The BSc will prepare for Associate Membership (AMRSC) and will help you as you build your professional experience.

**CAREER PROSPECTS**
UWS’s BSc (Hons) Chemistry is recognised by employers for its impressive analytical and applications focus.

**Jobs**
Many of our graduates move into careers in the oil, chemical or pharmaceutical industries, in production, sales and marketing or research and development roles. Graduates from this degree have gone on to secure the following roles: Process chemist, Laboratory supervisor, Medicinal chemist.

Chemistry graduates are also sought by non-scientific employers such as stockbrokers thanks to their numerical and problem-solving skills.

**Further Study**
Some graduates choose further study when they complete their studies and we have had graduates progress to MSc, PhD and teaching qualifications.

Modules

In your first year, you will study general aspects of chemistry including organic, inorganic and physical chemistry along with two other science subjects.

In Year 2, you will further develop your studies in organic, inorganic, analytical and physical chemistry and practical skills are developed in all four areas. Optional studies in subjects such as forensic science may be studied.

Year 3 further build upon your knowledge from years 1 and 2 but adds to it with studies in enzymes and pharmaceutical production and safety, and environmental chemistry.

Your final year of studies include a varied range of advanced topics such as spectroscopy, photochemistry and advanced analytical techniques. You will also undertake an individual research project, usually on a topic of your choice.

Assessment methods

You will be taught through a combination of lectures, tutorials, practical workshops and guided laboratory work.

There will also be group work, literature reports and research projects in order to ensure our degrees provide a strong set of additional skills, such as presentational and communicative skills.

Our Chemistry degrees use a variety of assessment methods. The below list provides a guide to the types of assessment methods you can expect:

Written examinations / Oral presentation / Written reports / Coursework / Academic posters

Tuition fees

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

England
£9,250
per year
International
£16,000
per year
Northern Ireland
£9,250
per year
Wales
£9,250
per year

Extra funding

Visit www.uws.ac.uk/scholarships

The Uni


Course location:

Paisley Campus

Department:

Computing, Engineering and Physical Sciences

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.

100%
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

82%
Staff make the subject interesting
100%
Staff are good at explaining things
100%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
82%
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

100%
Library resources
100%
IT resources
91%
Course specific equipment and facilities
91%
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?

90%
UK students
10%
International students
54%
Male students
46%
Female students
75%
2:1 or above
21%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

C
D
B

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.

£17,200
low
Average annual salary
92%
low
Employed or in further education

Top job areas of graduates

22%
Sales assistants and retail cashiers
19%
Science, engineering and production technicians
12%
Engineering 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.

£23k

£23k

£29k

£29k

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...

Nearby University
University of Glasgow | Glasgow
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UCAS Points: -
Higher entry requirements
University of the West of Scotland | Paisley
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BSc (Hons) 4 Years Sandwich 2024
UCAS Points: 108-136

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Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF):

We've received this information from the Department for Education, via Ucas. This is how the university as a whole has been rated for its quality of teaching: gold silver or bronze. Note, not all universities have taken part in the 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