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Chemistry (International)

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About this course


Course option

4years

Full-time with time abroad | 2024

Subject

Chemistry

This is a four-year MChem degree accredited by the Royal Society of Chemistry. You will spend the first three years developing an understanding of a broad range of modern chemistry covering organic and inorganic synthesis, physical characterisation methods, and chemistry at the interfaces with biosciences, engineering and physics. You will also gain a broad range of practical skills in synthesis, physical measurement and data analysis. In your final year you will carry out an individual research project at one of our overseas partner universities addressing a novel area of contemporary chemistry, whilst following some chemistry at the research forefront.

Throughout the degree you will develop your chemical understanding, problem-solving, independence and practical skills. Graduates of this course are well-prepared for higher level study, work in the chemicals sector, and roles requiring problem-solving and numeracy skills.

Chemistry is a linear, quantitative subject containing a significant volume of factual material. It is an experimental science where practical work, and development of practical skills, is important. This four-year course is delivered through a mixture of "Core" and "add-on" modules using lectures, tutorials, problem classes and laboratory practical work, culminating in a major research project in the fourth year conducted on placement at a research laboratory outside the UK, normally at a university that we have an exchange scheme in place.

For the first three years of the course, you are expected to spend a minimum of one subsequent hour per hour of lecture contact on private study, reading and problem-solving using textbooks and other resources. Additional private study is directed at preparing for tutorials, workshops, writing reports of laboratory work and revision for examinations. In the four compulsory modules you will attend seven hours of lectures, two hours of tutorials or problem classes and six hours of laboratory work each week. Additionally, a third of the year’s credits are from elective modules which involve between two and six hours of lectures and laboratories each week. On this course at least half of the elective modules are in the study of an appropriate foreign language. Individual learning forms an important part of academic study.

In the second and third years, you will typically attend 12 hours of lectures or workshops per week and 10 hours of laboratory work. The laboratory work in the course moves from a defined set of practical's in the first year towards a more open-ended course, providing choice and some element of project work in Year 3.

The major element of the fourth year is an independent individual research project, carrying out novel chemistry research embedded within a research group in an overseas university, normally one that we have an exchange agreement with. Research is carried out under the supervision of a member of academic staff of that overseas university, and a member of Durham staff will maintain regular contact with you. You will typically work for 20 to 30 hours per week for at least 19 weeks and prepare a project report describing your findings which is assessed by Durham staff. The assessment also includes a poster and an oral presentation, training is provided in these skills. In addition, you will study for a sixth of your final year credits in a module of distance learning which is based on one of the lecture modules delivered in Durham and supported through our virtual learning environment. The independent learning skills you developed at earlier levels are enhanced by this mode of study.

Modules

Year 1
Core modules:
Core Chemistry 1 provides the foundation for your future studies and covers organic, inorganic and physical chemistry. The aim is to ensure all course participants reach a common level of knowledge regardless of their pre-university studies.

Practical Chemistry A and Practical Chemistry B are two modules of laboratory work. These will allow you to learn and practise the skills required to accurately and safely use chemical reactions to create target substances and concludes with project work.

The Mathematical and Experimental Tools Required in Chemistry (METRiC) module builds on your pre-university mathematical skills and ensures that all students understand the vocabulary of physics and biology that interfaces with chemistry.

Introduction to Materials Chemistry introduces the fundamentals of solid state and materials chemistry.

An appropriate language module in preparation for your overseas placement.

Finally, you will choose an optional module allowing you to tailor your learning in subjects such as mathematics, biology or the chemistry module Molecules in Action.

Year 2
Core modules:
Core Chemistry builds your knowledge of inorganic, physical and organic chemistry into more specialised concepts.

Chemistry of the Elements focuses the principles of bonding as well as the unique chemistry of the transition metals.

Structure and Reactivity of Organic Chemistry explores how the structure of molecules affects reactions.

Properties of Molecules advances your understanding of physical chemistry in the areas of magnetic resonance, surface chemistry and electrochemistry.

Practical Chemistry becomes more intensive with three modules, one each for Inorganic, Organic and Physical.

Once again, you can personalise your studies with one optional module, including Biological Chemistry, Computational Chemistry.

Year 3
Core modules:
Core Chemistry takes your knowledge up to degree standard.

You will also produce a research-led Chemistry Literature Perspective which will demonstrate your attained skills of literature review, data collection and critical analysis as well as literacy and presentation skills.

The remainder of the course can be personalised as you can choose modules from the following sets.

Examples of optional modules:
Inorganic Concepts and Applications
Advanced Organic Chemistry
Molecules and their Interactions
Materials Chemistry
Advanced Computational Chemistry
Computational Chemistry
Advanced Biological Chemistry
An appropriate language module.
Year 4
Core modules:
Core Chemistry D provides an advanced overview of more specialised areas of chemistry and chemical physics. This module is delivered by distance learning.

The External Research Project is undertaken at an overseas university into which you will impart your experimental, analytical, theoretical and problem-solving skills through a project including laboratory or computational work, or both, and the writing of a research report.

Placement
You may be able to take a work placement. Find out more.

The Uni


Course locations:

College allocation pending

Durham City

Department:

Chemistry

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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.

85%
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

81%
Staff make the subject interesting
96%
Staff are good at explaining things
92%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
77%
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

73%
Library resources
74%
IT resources
84%
Course specific equipment and facilities
69%
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?

89%
UK students
11%
International students
55%
Male students
45%
Female students
88%
2:1 or above
8%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

A*
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.

£25,000
high
Average annual salary
95%
med
Employed or in further education
80%
high
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

23%
Business, research and administrative professionals
20%
Natural and social science professionals
8%
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.

£26k

£26k

£33k

£33k

£38k

£38k

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.

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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?

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