- UCAS course code
- F100
- UCAS institution code
- M20
Course description
Choosing to study chemistry can open the door to an exciting range of career options. From practical scientist through research technologist to academic specialist, all can be reached, in part, through this contemporary, multi-disciplinary degree programme. Our innovative skills-based curriculum will give you the tools to succeed in your degree and our award-winning careers service will assist you in making choices for your future.
Our courses will equip you with an armoury of skills to take into the world of work, including the ability to analyse problems, to work collaboratively as part of a team, and to develop laboratory, numeracy and communication skills. You will gain an appreciation for a subject which links so many scientific disciplines through applications and examples as well as practical work and learning through research. In lectures the topics and examples you discuss will be taken from the latest research, much of which is carried out right here by the Department's academics.
BSc Chemistry offers you a three-year degree programme. The first two years follow a core structure, which allows greater flexibility in the third and final year.
Special features
You can extend your degree by a year to undertake an integrated master's or gain industrial experience/study abroad.
It's possible to broaden your degree by taking units from the University College and the Business and Management for all Programmes in exchange for a few units from your degree.
Foundation Year available
You can prepare for the full degree course if you do not have the appropriate qualifications for direct entry by undertaking our foundation course first.
Flexibility to transfer between courses
It is generally possible to transfer between the various chemistry degrees we offer in years 1-3. This is subject to satisfactory academic performance and completion of the required pre-requisite modules.
Additional course information
Our student community
ChemSoc is a student-run society with the aim of giving chemistry students the complete experience whilst at The University of Manchester. The year begins with the infamous lab coat pub crawl and concludes with a fantastic annual ball! In between ChemSoc hosts socials alongside other societies, allowing your inner passion for your subject to come out and show everyone that chemistry is the best subject.
The society has two successful sports teams, football and netball, with the football team winning the league last year! Teams comprise of first years right through to PhD students, so you will be able to meet lots of new faces!
Besides the social side the society has reinvented its academic aspects; ChemSoc hosts research talks accessible to all students featuring our high level of research from Manchester. Finally, the society encourages students to think about their employability, and have worked closely with the Careers Service to run events throughout the year, such as a LinkedIn workshop.
Our blog
You can read about our students' experience in studying chemistry, work placement and study abroad diaries, as well as alumni profiles in our department blog .
Teaching and learning
- Lectures
- Small group tutorials
- Laboratory classes
- Group work
- Individual research projects
- Computer-based tuition - A range of ancillary mathematics, data handling, presentation and IT skills, and computer based chemistry are taught on the dedicated computer cluster.
- Workshops
- PASS session - student-led peer-assisted study sessions where second and third year students help you to develop learning strategies and techniques.
Personalised learning support
Chemistry at Manchester offers a high level of learning support. You'll have weekly tutorials in small groups of no more than 6.
You'll have three Academic Tutors, one each for Organic, Inorganic and Physical chemistry. You'll also be allocated a Personal Tutor to oversee your personal welfare - reflect on your academic and personal development, discuss future goals and agree action plans.
PASS (Peer Assisted Study Sessions) and Peer Mentoring
We're proud of our innovative PASS (Peer Assisted Study Sessions) and Peer Mentoring scheme. The PASS scheme provides additional support in the area of the current week's tutorial. It's entirely voluntary and second, third and fourth-year students help first years to tackle problems defined by the content of the current tutorial. The emphasis is on showing students how to think about the problems, how to develop problem-solving skills and how to get the most from the educational resources available.
Additional maths support
We offer additional Maths support to all our students. In Year 1 this is by means of a programme of online, self-directed study with weekly support clinics if you need additional support or advice.
Practical chemistry
Practical chemistry is important in all areas of the subject, and is a key part of all our programmes. Throughout your degree you'll carry out practical work in our modern well-equipped undergraduate laboratories, built to a high specification. Our practical courses are designed to provide experience of the wide range of chemical techniques for measurement and synthesis necessary for the study of modern chemistry. As well as providing the opportunity to do interesting chemistry our practical courses train students to work safely and effectively in the laboratory.
Coursework and assessment
- Assessment is by a mixture of traditional examinations, coursework, laboratory practical and workshops.Assessment methods vary widely to suit the nature of the course unit and each level of study.
- Examinations take place in January and May each year, with around one third of the marks from continuous assessment.
- The first year is a simple pass/fail, but from then on a percentage of each year's assessment counts towards your final degree classification.
- Lectures are usually assessed by written exam (multiple choice or essay-based), which are held at the end of an academic semester.
- Practical units are usually assessed by experimental report and/or short written assignment and/or written exam
- The proportion of independent study assignments increases during each year of study.
Course content for year 1
First-year topics include:
- molecular orbital approaches to chemical bonding
- chemical reaction mechanisms
- molecular spectroscopy; coordination chemistry,
- thermodynamics
- kinetics
- quantum mechanics
You will also take course units that cover a range of presentational, mathematical and analytical and IT skills. Finally, you have the opportunity to study subjects from another Department - see the list of optional course units below.
Course units for year 1
The course unit details given below are subject to change, and are the latest example of the curriculum available on this course of study.
Title | Code | Credit rating | Mandatory/optional |
---|---|---|---|
Introductory Chemistry | CHEM10101 | 30 | Mandatory |
Energy and Change | CHEM10212 | 10 | Mandatory |
Coordination Chemistry | CHEM10312 | 10 | Mandatory |
Structure and Reactivity | CHEM10412 | 10 | Mandatory |
Practical Chemistry | CHEM10600 | 20 | Mandatory |
Fundamentals of Management | BMAN10011 | 10 | Optional |
Environmental Processes and Change: The Global System | GEOG10401 | 10 | Optional |
Mathematics 1Q1 | MATH19641 | 10 | Optional |
Entrepreneurial Skills | MCEL10011 | 10 | Optional |
Introduction to Astrophysics and Cosmology | PHYS10191 | 10 | Optional |
Course content for year 2
The second year continues developing the core and extends topics from your first year, introducing new areas such as:
- bonding and reactivity
- chromatography
- organometallic chemistry
- molecular symmetry
- metal-ligand bonding
- polymer chemistry
- advanced spectroscopy
- biological and heterocyclic chemistry
In addition to the core units you have the opportunity to study course units introducing some of the contemporary themes of modern chemistry, as well as green and environmental chemistry. Alternatively, you may choose to take a course unit from the University's College for Interdisciplinary Learning , including our innovative Leadership in Action course, which combines study with volunteering and personal development.
Course units for year 2
The course unit details given below are subject to change, and are the latest example of the curriculum available on this course of study.
Title | Code | Credit rating | Mandatory/optional |
---|---|---|---|
Core Physical Chemistry | CHEM20212 | 10 | Mandatory |
Group Theory: Fundamentals and Applications | CHEM20311 | 10 | Mandatory |
Inorganic Chemistry | CHEM20312 | 10 | Mandatory |
Organic Synthesis | CHEM20411 | 10 | Mandatory |
Structure and reactivity of organic molecules | CHEM20412 | 10 | Mandatory |
Chemists' Toolkit II | CHEM20500 | 10 | Mandatory |
Integrated Spectroscopy and Separations | CHEM20611 | 10 | Mandatory |
Practical Chemistry | CHEM22600 | 30 | Mandatory |
Contemporary Themes in Chemistry | CHEM20711 | 10 | Optional |
Environmental and Green Chemistry | CHEM20712 | 10 | Optional |
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Course content for year 3
In your final year you can choose from a wide range of course units made up of core and advanced chemistry units and also some units from outside chemistry.
These include advanced course units in computational chemistry, organic and inorganic synthetic methods, surface chemistry and catalysis, molecular structure determination and photochemistry, as well as topics that cut across the traditional subject areas (e.g. nuclear, environmental and biological chemistry).
You'll also take your practical chemistry and independent learning to a higher level with extended, advanced experimental and theoretical research projects.
Course units for year 3
The course unit details given below are subject to change, and are the latest example of the curriculum available on this course of study.
Title | Code | Credit rating | Mandatory/optional |
---|---|---|---|
Core Chemistry 3 | CHEM30211 | 10 | Mandatory |
Core Chemistry 2 | CHEM30311 | 10 | Mandatory |
Core Chemistry 4 | CHEM30312 | 10 | Mandatory |
Core Chemistry 1 | CHEM30411 | 10 | Mandatory |
Advanced Practical Training | CHEM30620 | 40 | Mandatory |
Personalised Learning Unit 1 | CHEM30111 | 10 | Optional |
Personalised Learning Unit 2 | CHEM30112 | 10 | Optional |
Materials Chemistry | CHEM30122 | 10 | Optional |
Bioorganic and Medicinal Chemistry | CHEM30432 | 10 | Optional |
Biosynthesis and Bioenergetics | CHEM30712 | 10 | Optional |
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Scholarships and bursaries
For information about scholarships/bursaries/sponsorship please see our undergraduate fees pages and go to Department and university scholarships
Facilities
Our modern teaching laboratories are equipped with a wide range of specialist facilities including:
- State-of-the-art synthetic labs for project work.
- Dedicated NMR spectrometer for exclusive use by undergraduates.
- A suite of dedicated analytical instrumentation.
- The undergraduate teaching labs also have 3 HPLC and one HPLC-MS instruments to help you learn the fundamentals and applications of measurement and of separation science.
- Ten spectrophotometers and a suite of infra-red spectrometers for measuring solids, liquids and gases.
You'll also have access to:
- Open access research laboratories for Separations, EPR, NMR and Mass Spectrometry.
- Cutting-edge X-ray diffractometers.
- Research Computing Facility to support teaching & learning in computational and theoretical science.