Discover the elements of
success. Your introduction to Chemistry & Southampton
Application Process
‘Maureen through the round bottomed flask’
Eligible for offer
Find out more on a UCAS visit Day
Receive academic offer
A level: AAB including chemistry and preferably
one other science (minimum grade A GCSE maths)
IB: 34 pts (18HL) including 6 in chemistry (HL)
Your decision
The School of Chemistry.
The membership of our learning community
Our teaching framework
Monday Tuesday Wednesday
Thursday Friday
9.00 Chemistry lecture
Electives
10.00 Chemistry lecture
Chemistry lecture
Chemistry workshop
11.00 Chemistry lecture
Electives Maths (Chem)
workshop
Chemistry lecture
Chemistry workshop
12.00 Electives Maths (Chem)
workshop
Chemistry lecture
13.00
14.00 Chemistry practical
Chemistry practical
Electives
15.00 Chemistry practical
Chemistry practical
Electives
16.00 Chemistry practical
Chemistry practical
Electives
17.00 Chemistry practical
Chemistry practicalElective courses – typically involve 4 – 5 lecture and 2 tutorials (and
possibly a practical session)
Key
Chemistry Lecture
Chemistry workshop
Chemistry practical
(6 hrs within
this time)
Electives
An approximate timetable for Semester 1
A sense of the chemistry curriculum in Semester 1Inorganic
Structure and symmetry (inc VSEPR); NMR spectroscopy; Comparative main group chemistry - trends in chemistry of Groups 13, 14, 15; acid-base chemistry, Brønsted-Lowry systems, Lewis systems and donor-acceptor compounds
Organic Structure –of molecules: functional groups, isomerism including optical activity, nomenclature, infrared spectroscopy (functional groups); bonding (hybridisation and shape); conformational analysis; Reactivity – curly arrows, acidity (alcohols, phenols and carboxylic acids); basicity (BuLi, hydroxide, methoxide, Et3N); resonance; aromaticity; nucleophilic substitution at sp³ carbon (SN1 and SN2 mechanisms); nucleophilicity.
Physical Thermochemistry- A review of enthalpy and entropy; introduction of Gibbs free energy; equilibrium. Electrochemistry, Buffers and Kinetics – Electrochemcal cells and reactions, energy changes and equilibria; action of buffers and relevant calculations; introduction to kinetics
Laboratory courses in Year 1Six hours per week (2 x 3h) two three hour sessions in timetabled slots covering 8 hours.
Practical contained in a standalone module CHEM1017 (across two semesters)
Interactive, informative and ‘quizzing’ pre-labs help prepare for the practical work
Practical work most completed individually with a small amount of group work
Assessed on the basis of pre-lab work, practical outcomes (and their communication), and theory exercises.Jason and Montserrat contemplate the
process of evaporation under reduced pressure
Weekly maths workshops are provided throughout the year
Embedded in the practical module with a 25% assessment weighting
W/shops are taught by chemists and use chemistry based problems to provide a context for the development of your mathematical knowledge
There are several problem sets that need to be completed and passed by all students
Additional courses in maths at many levels are available from the School of Mathematics and may be taken as one of your electives
Meeting the mathematical challenge
Arlanda, Danielle and Anna tackle problems during a workshop session.
Curriculum delivery and assessment(Years 1 & 2)
Lectures Workshops Electronic resources (via
Blackboard) Laboratory work Peer group learning Academic tutoring
Written examinations In lecture tests (focussed
and synoptic) Laboratory reportsOur undergraduates’ learning is supported by
our postgraduate teaching assistants as well as academic staff
MChem
BSc
Single
Combined
Decision time at the end of the second year
Note that different conditions apply to transfers from/to the MChem with Placement
programmesThis is discussed later on.
Electives in chemistryCore chemistry Research project/ advanced practical
BSc Chemistry
2
3
3
BSc degree final year
These are the distributions of activity for our current 3rd year students.
MChem Chemistry (F103)
Year 4Year 3
Year 4Year 3
MChem Chemistry with Mathematics (F1GC)
Electives in chemistryCore chemistry Research project Electives in mathematics
MChem completed entirelyin Southampton These are the distributions of activity
for our current 3rd/4th year students.
MChem with one year placement (F102)
Year 3
Year 4
Electives in chemistryCore chemistry Research project External Placement
Placements for one calendar year starting between July and September after the end of the 2nd year
Placements will be in the UK
Project will be with a company in the chemical industry
Projects may be in any area of chemistry and must contain an opportunity for the student to demonstrate initiative and research skills
Assessments based mainly on the performance in the project work (75%) but also through some directed learning (25%) which is assessed by a mixture of coursework and exam.
50% tuition fee reduction for the year of the placement
Placements taken from July to December in the fourth year
Placements might be anywhere in the world (subject to considerations of personal safety)
Project might be hosted in industry or an academic laboratory (outside the UK only)
Projects may be in any area of chemistry and must contain an opportunity for the student to demonstrate initiative and research skills
Assessment entirely based on performance on placement and includes evaluation of your thesis, a viva, and a presentation (no directed learning)
A similar model is available for MChem Chemistry with Medicinal Science (F1BC)
Year 3
Year 4
MChem with six month placement (F101)
Electives in chemistryCore chemistry Research project External Placement
Over 80 collaborating organisations in 14 countries
Transferring between placement programmes You are encouraged to enrol on the
programme that you are most keen to study.
The possibility will exist to transfer between the two placement programmes during your first year of study.
Any transfers will require the approval of the MChem Placement Tutor.
It will not be possible to transfer between the two placement programmes after the end of Year 1.
Transfers from either placement programme to the MChem based in Southampton will be permitted up until the end of Year 2.
6 months
1 year
or
Agfa GaevertAkzoNobelAmershamAnionics Inc.AntisomaAstex TechnologyAstraZeneca CharnwoodATDBioAWEBAe SystemsBASF AktiengesellschaftBayer CropscienceBiocompatiblesBiofocus (Galapagos)BP Amoco ChemicalsBritish Nuclear Fuels LtdChemring Countermeasures City TechnologyCoopervisionCurtin University AUSCytec Engineered MaterialsDaresbury LaboratoriesDe La Rue International LtdDERADSTL
OptichemOSI Pharmaceuticals
PfizerProctor and Gamble
Protherics Molecular DesignQinetiq
Quest International Renishaw PLC
RhodiaRibotargets Ltd
Sharp Laboratories Shell Global SolutionsStrasbourg University
SunChemSyngenta
TintometerThe Paul Scherrer Institute
UCB PharmaUnilever
University of British ColumbiaUniversity of CaliforniaUniversity of MichiganUniversity of Montreal
University of OttawaUniversity of Pittsburgh
Eli LillyEvotec LtdFerring PharmaceuticalsForensic Science ServiceGlaxoSmithKline USAGlaxoSmithKline UKGlaxoSmithKline ItalyGuritHitachiHMS SultanHoechst MarionIlikaJames Cooke University AUSJohnson MattheyLaboratoires FournierMaybridgeMedisenseMerck FrosstMerck Sharp and DohmeMerck ChemicalsNanyang Technological UniversityNanotectureNational Physical LaboratoryNovartis UKNovartis Switzerland
Some organisations involved in recent years
4.8 out of 5.0 The level of satisfaction with our placement support (NSS 2009)
Laboratory reporting (Yr 1-4)
Description, discussion and debate (Yr 1-4)
Thesis preparation (Yr 3-4)
Scientific writing for publication (Yr 3-4)
Authoring a research proposal (Yr 4)
Poster presentation (Yr 3-4)
Skills development embedded in the core curriculumWritten communication
Verbal communication
One -to-one and group scientific discussions (Yr 1-4)
Verbal examination (viva) (Yr 3 and 4)
Interview skills (Yr 2-4)
Formal presentations (Yr 3 and 4)
Poster presentation (Yr 3-4)
Laboratory competency (Yr 1)
IT skills (Yr 1-4) Data acquisition and
analysis (Yr 1-4) Using the primary
scientific literature (Yr 1-4)
Understanding risk assessment (Yr 1-4)
Practical and theoretical problem solving (Yr 1-4)
Advanced technical skills (Yr 3-4)
… and many more
Scientific skills Personal skills
Independent study and research skills
Time management Scientific enquiry Self awareness and
evaluation in your personal development
Influencing others When to lead and
when to be led
… and many more
Extra-curricular skills development
A team building group in with their tutor
The Organic Chemistry Summer School
A first year ‘pipelines’ event
An outreach event with Key Stage 2 and 3 students
Team building events in Years 1 and 2.
Mentoring more junior undergraduate students (‘parenting’ and supporting academic development)
A month long summer school in practical chemistry sponsored and delivered with three industrial partners
Summer internships in our, or industrial, laboratories
In recent years, some of our students have undertaken summer internships to develop teaching resources (e.g. Prelabs, directed learning materials)
The chance to support and (later on) lead the teaching in our extensive outreach activities in local schools (not just for prospective teachers!)
It is possible to include some experience of teaching in a secondary school in one of our third year teaching modules
Raising awareness of the careers out there and how to get them
The returning alumni team (clockwise from top left): Rob (research chemist); Mike (electrochemist);
Joanna (medicinal chemist); Nick (teacher), Paul (IT consultant), Pushwinder (technology
specialist); Xameerah (scientific writer); Geoff (finance).
Annual Careers and Placement Day - using senior MChem students returning from placement and our graduate alumni to give first hand accounts of their experience of industry.
Seminars from industrialists on their sector of the chemical industry (and beyond) and careers available within it (also the possibility of a limited number of site visits) and the selection methods that they use to recruit staff.
Discussion sessions with academics and industrialists on the development of professional skills in readiness for independent research or full time employment (an evolving programme)
CV workshops and interview skills to develop the skills needed to stand out during a selection process
What others say about us
The School of Chemistry is in the top 10 universities in the UK in all the different university league tables
One of only 7 UK based Schools of Chemistry in the European premier league for research (called the Excellence group)
The Universities of Southampton and Cambridge as being up with Stanford (in the US) for successful commercialisation of research (a Library House survey)
What our students say about us
4.9…
…out of 5.0 for ‘overall quality of the course’ for students graduating in 2009.
Ranked 2nd in chemistry in the UK, and 1st among Russell Group Universities.
www.unistats.com
Some other highlights
www.unistats.com
4.5 out of 5.0 for ‘Teaching’
4.8 out of 5.0 for ‘The course is intellectually stimulating’
4.5 out of 5.0 for ‘Personal development’
4.8 out of 5.0 for ‘As a result of my course, I have improved my career prospects’
4.8 out of 5.0 for ‘Quality of learning resources provided by your School (e.g. equipment, software, labs)’ (SEQ)