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Study pharmaceutical chemistry to develop skills that will open doors to rewarding opportunities in a range of industries. You’ll learn how AI accelerates the drug discovery process, search for ways to combat diseases and viruses, and be at the forefront of medical research.
With a strong emphasis on gaining practical laboratory experience and employability skills, our programme offers a comprehensive view of this exciting field.
Pharmacology, biochemistry, cancer chemotherapy, inorganic chemistry, spectroscopy – these are just a few of the areas you’ll examine. You’ll learn about pharmacology, biochemistry and cancer chemotherapy too.
Learn how drugs are designed and optimised from lead compounds, their modes of action and pharmacology. We will also teach you how they are developed through trials and into manufacture.
All our modules are taught through a mixture of lectures, tutorials, augmented reality and lab simulation work, reflecting the challenges you’ll face as a pharmaceutical chemist.
In your final year, you’ll conduct your own supervised research project, either laboratory or literature-based.
This programme is accredited by the Royal Society of Chemistry, giving graduates Associate Member status.
You can complete your Pharmaceutical Chemistry degree in three, four or five years. If you are a BSc student and choose to do a year in industry or study abroad, this will take place in Year 3, and the Year 3 modules will instead be studied in Year 4.
Foundation
Semester 1
Compulsory
Year-long modules
Please note that all modules are subject to change.
Apply for this degree with any of the following options. Take care to use the correct UCAS code - it may not be possible to change your selection later.
Want to pick up some solid work experience while practising your skills in a real-world laboratory? Apply for our Pharmaceutical Chemistry BSc with a Year in Industry/Research. Some of our students have been awarded highly prestigious work placements with UK and international pharmaceutical companies. During your second year you will identify and apply for a placement opportunity, with one on one support provided by your adviser. If successful, you'll spend your third year working in the pharmaceutical industry or carrying out an extended research project.
Please note that placements are highly competitive and awarded based on your application, academic track record and performance at interview. Should you not succeed in securing a placement, you'll transfer onto our BSc programme and complete your third year at Queen Mary.
Go global and study abroad as part of your degree – apply for our Pharmaceutical Chemistry BSc with a Year Abroad. Queen Mary has links with universities in Europe, North America, Asia and Australia (partnerships vary for each degree programme).
Find out more about study abroad opportunities at Queen Mary and what the progression requirements are.
You can do either a year in industry or a year abroad - you cannot combine these options.
I really enjoy working in the lab, I like being in a very practical environment. We get 100 hours of practical work a year, which is quite considerable. The facilities, the useful equipment and the independence you get here when working on your own in the labs is great.
We use a mixture of teaching styles – lectures, tutorials, classroom activities and laboratory work.
Outside of classes, you’ll need to spend 18 to 20 hours per week preparing, writing up and reading.
Each module is assessed through theory examinations and coursework.
The School offers excellent on-campus resources to aid your studies, including:
View tour of Joseph Priestley Building
A tour of the Jospeh Priestley lab where our undergraduates are taught.
Alternative offers may be made to applicants taking the Extended Project Qualification.
For further information please visit: qmul.ac.uk/undergraduate/entry/epq
Our standard contextual offer: BBC including B in Chemistry at A-Level.
Our enhanced contextual offer: BCC including B in Chemistry at A-Level.
More information on our contextual offer criteria can be found on our contextualised admissions page.
Please note that General Studies and Critical Thinking are excluded from any A-Level offer and cannot be considered.
Our standard contextual offer: BBB including Chemistry at A-Level.
Our enhanced contextual offer: BBC including B in Chemistry at A-Level.
We accept a wide range of European and international qualifications in addition to A-levels, the International Baccalaureate and BTEC qualifications. Please visit International Admissions for full details.
Find out more about our English language entry requirements, including the types of test we accept and the scores needed for entry to the programme.
You may also be able to meet the English language requirement for your programme by joining a summer pre-sessional programme before starting your degree.
See our general undergraduate entry requirements.
UK students accepted onto this course are eligible to apply for tuition fee and maintenance loans from Student Finance England or other government bodies.
Queen Mary offers a generous package of scholarships and bursaries, which currently benefits around 50 per cent of our undergraduates.
Scholarships are available for home, EU and international students. Specific funding is also available for students from the local area. International students may be eligible for a fee reduction. We offer means-tested funding, as well as subject-specific funding for many degrees.
Find out what scholarships and bursaries are available to you.
We offer specialist support on all financial and welfare issues through our Advice and Counselling Service, which you can access as soon as you have applied for a place at Queen Mary.
Take a look at our Student Advice Guides which cover ways to finance your degree, including:
As well as being well equipped for a career in the pharmaceutical and chemical industries – which are among the UK’s largest – graduates are highly valued by business and finance employers for their data-handling and analytical skills.
93 per cent of our graduates are in work or further study within six months of graduation (HESA GOS 2017/18).
Recent Pharmaceutical Chemistry graduates have been hired by:
The School of Physical and Chemical Sciences has a careers consultant, who can offer specialist advice and organise subject-specific events. We also have a dedicated internships coordinator.
The Queen Mary careers team can also offer:
Learn more about career support and development at Queen Mary.
Pharmaceutical Chemistry - BSc (Hons)
Chemical Sciences with Foundation - BSc (Hons)
Pharmaceutical Chemistry with Year in Industry/Research - BSc (Hons)
Pharmaceutical Chemistry with Year Abroad - BSc (Hons)
The Discover Uni dataset (formerly Unistats)
The School of Physical and Chemical Sciences (SPCS) at Queen Mary combines the academic rigour of a Russell Group institution with a friendly and supportive atmosphere.
The Department of Physics and Astronomy’s teaching academics work on high-profile international collaborations, including experiments at CERN. Our researchers are searching for new planets around distant stars, developing and applying quantum technologies and theoretical concepts. Our PsiStar Physics and Astronomy Society is extremely active with around 200 members. Our academics use cutting edge experimental and theoretical techniques, alongside modern data science, to push the boundaries of their research areas.
The Department is proud to have played a role in some of the most exciting discoveries of the past 100 years, including the discovery of the W, Z, and Higgs bosons, the discovery of the closest Earth-like exoplanet to us, Proxima B, and the first ‘superstring revolution’.
We have recently recruited new staff in key areas such as particle physics, quantum technology, and space weather. We have state of the art laboratories, computing facilities, and a rooftop observatory, offering high-quality support for Physics and Astronomy teaching and research.
The Department of Chemistry enjoys an outstanding research and teaching quality reputation. We are a vibrant department, carrying out internationally leading research in fields such as Functional Materials and Nano Science, Synthesis, Catalysis, and Physical and Computational Chemistry. In the most recent Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2021, Chemistry ranked 8th in the United Kingdom for Research Impact and 9th in the UK for Research Output.
We have recently recruited new staff in key areas such as Carbon Nanotechnology, Organic Electronics, and Catalysis. The £5.2m refurbishment and modernisation of our Chemistry Lab facilities have secured the highest quality standard for Chemistry teaching and research.