Biochemistry and Medicinal Chemistry
UCAS Code: CFR1
Bachelor of Science (with Honours) - BSc (Hons)
Entry requirements
A level
To include A level Chemistry at grade B.
Access to HE Diploma
122 UCAS Tariff points including a minimum of 30 Level 3 credits at Distinction. To include sufficient units in Chemistry. Please contact us for advice.
GCSE/National 4/National 5
GCSE English Language at grade C (or 4) and Maths at grade C (or 4).
International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme
To include Higher Level Chemistry at 6.
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)
You must have taken sufficient Chemistry units, please contact us for advice.
UCAS Tariff
We've calculated how many Ucas points you'll need for this course.
About this course
This course has alternative study modes. Contact the university to find out how the information below might vary.
At Keele University, we’re different. Nestled in 600 acres of countryside in the heart of the UK, we have a big campus but a small and cosmopolitan community. We’re proud to be ‘University of the Year for Student Experience’ in The Times and The Sunday Times Good University Guide 2017, in addition to having been ranked No.1 in the National Student Survey 2014-2016. This is because it’s more than green and lovely, it’s a place of research and academic excellence too. At Keele, studying a combined honours degree will include some modules from both of the single honours degrees. In this case, your programme will be made up of a combination of modules from both Biochemistry and Medicinal Chemistry.
This course combines two complementary subjects that explore the science of human life and the chemistry that supports drug development to fight disease. This combination opens up a diverse range of opportunities both in Life Sciences and wider scientific areas. In Biochemistry you’ll study life at the molecular level, investigating the most exciting areas of contemporary life science and medical research. You might explore the secrets of the human genome, or the individually tailored molecular therapies of the future. Particular emphasis is placed on human and mammalian biochemistry, especially relating to health
and disease.
The goal of Medicinal Chemistry is to support the search for new drugs to treat conditions such as heart disease and cancer, thus making it an ideal combination with Biochemistry. You’ll work in well-equipped laboratories, and learn to conduct effective independent research. You’ll develop essential skills for employment, such as problem solving, presentation and communication.
When you graduate, the broad and detailed understanding of biochemistry and medicinal chemistry, you will have developed at Keele, will open up a world of appealing career options. You could choose to work in a directly related field, perhaps as a clinical biochemist, forensic scientist, research scientist, toxicologist or science teacher. Or you might branch out a little further, and become a health and safety inspector, training standards officer, science writer or technical author.
Tuition fees
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Keele University
Keele (Central)
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See your living costsWhat 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.
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.
Molecular biology, biophysics and biochemistry
Teaching and learning
Assessment and feedback
Resources and organisation
Student voice
Who studies this subject and how do they get on?
Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)
Chemistry
Teaching and learning
Assessment and feedback
Resources and organisation
Student voice
Who studies this subject and how do they get on?
Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)
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.
Molecular biology, biophysics and biochemistry
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.
Top job areas of graduates
What do graduate employment figures really tell you?Around 2,500 graduates got degrees in this demanding but valuable subject last year. Graduates who want a career in research usually take postgraduate qualifications - over a third of graduates in the subject took this option - but those who want to start work when they graduate have a lot to choose from. Laboratory work and other jobs in the biosciences are popular, as well as in education, but many biochemistry graduates find their way into the finance industry and as a consequence, graduates from these disciplines are particularly likely to get jobs in London and the South East.
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.
Top job areas of graduates
What do graduate employment figures really tell you?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.
Sorry, no information to show
This is usually because there were too few respondents in the data we receive to be able to provide results about the subject at this university.
Medicinal 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.
£24k
£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.
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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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