Chemistry
University of Birmingham
UCAS Code: F103 | Bachelor of Science (with Honours) - BSc (Hons)
Entry requirements
A level
To include Chemistry. Offer will depend on combination of subjects offered. General Studies, Critical Thinking are not accepted.
Access to Higher Education Diplomas in an appropriate subject: Typical offer: 60 credits with at least 45 credits at Level 3 to include at least 15 in Chemistry at distinction, 15 in Biology / Physics / Maths at distinction and the remaining Level 3 credits at merit.
Accepted in place of A levels with the following grade equivalencies: D2 = A*; D3 = A; M2 = B. Combinations of A levels and Principle subjects are accepted. NB required subjects must be offered (see A level Section)
International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme
32 overall with HL 5,5,5 – 5,5,4 to include Chemistry. Offer will depend on combination of subjects offered.
BTEC considered on a case-by-case basis.
Accepted in place of a non-required A level with the equivalent grade.
UCAS Tariff
We've calculated how many Ucas points you'll need for this course.
About this course
This Chemistry with Foundation Year is a one-year course designed for students whose qualifications are not appropriate for direct entry on to one of our Honours degree programmes. This programme may also be attractive to mature students who may need a period of retraining before embarking on a degree.
The Chemistry with Foundation Year is an integrated foundation degree, giving you access to our highly ranked chemistry undergraduate courses. Once you’ve completed it successfully and have met the subject-specific progression criteria, you can elect to join your chosen first-year course.
At Birmingham you’ll learn first-hand from world-renowned researchers who are pushing the boundaries of knowledge in areas from nanoscale chemistry and chemical biology to green polymers and chemical imaging. The Chemistry with Foundation Year is multidisciplinary and offers a broad programme of study, providing a solid level of knowledge across science, engineering and mathematics. You will also take modules in physics, engineering and computer science. As well as leading to specific degree courses, these modules will help you develop many transferable skills including teamwork, confidence-building in technology and numeracy, computer literacy and presentation skills.
We’ve been at the forefront of chemistry teaching and research for more than 100 years, producing several Nobel Prize-winners along the way, and we have some of the best facilities and equipment in the country. No wonder our students regularly place us among the top chemistry departments in UK for student satisfaction.
Modules
Visit https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/undergraduate/courses/fd/chemistry-foundation.aspx and scroll to the modules section.
Tuition fees
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The Uni
University of Birmingham
School of Chemistry
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.
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
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.
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
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.
£25k
£28k
£33k
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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Lower entry requirements
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Course location and department:
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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?
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