King's College London

Teaching is led by the Chemistry Department though you will also be taught by chemists whose expertise is embedded within different faculties of King’s.

Typically, one credit equates to 10 hours of work, e.g. 150 hours work for a 15-credit module. These hours cover every aspect of the module: lectures, tutorials, laboratory sessions, independent study, coursework and preparation for examinations.

At King’s, all students are allocated a Personal Tutor who will play a key role in helping you to get the most out of your studies, providing support and encouragement for your time at university. Personal tutors provide you with the opportunity to periodically take stock of your learning, academic progress and general wellbeing as you progress through your studies, offering guidance on how to seek further support if you need it, and how to access the range of opportunities available to you as a King's student. 

In your first and second years you will develop your knowledge of organic, inorganic and physical chemistry, and take a specialised module on core mathematical skills for advanced physical and computational chemistry. Alongside theoretical grounding, our comprehensive integrated laboratory programme will teach you how to apply a large number of different, experimental techniques.

In your third year you can pursue a professional internship and get paid a salary to work for a company, including in the chemical and pharmaceutical industries, in finance, banking, management and law, and smaller organisations such as biotech companies. We help you secure these competitive year-long placements by providing support from King’s Career Services, a Chemistry academic Year in Industry lead and a dedicated Faculty Placement Coordinator.

In your fourth year in returning from industry, you can choose from a range of specialised modules exploring the application of chemistry in key global and industrial challenges. This includes areas like the chemistry of disease, drug design and delivery, molecular and chemical biology, green and sustainable chemistry, nanotechnology catalysis, polymer chemistry, and radio isotopes. You will also undertake two group research projects led by a supervisor.

The fourth year is completely different in that you will work independently on a six month, in-depth, research project in an area of your interest. Covering a range of real-world problems, you will join one of our Chemistry research groups, or work in a group in the Faculty of Life Sciences and Medicine, a King’s affiliated hospital or in the Francis Crick Institute - a King’s partner and global leader in biomedical research. Projects range from antibacterial and antiviral therapies, the origins of life, computational chemistry and AI, materials for net zero and green chemistry, radio chemistry and cancer therapies.

Through this project you’ll develop key workplace skills including project management, creative thinking, working as a team, and communication and presentation skills. You will be assessed via a literature review, a poster and your thesis, and a viva where you present your research to peers and senior academics and respond to questions.

We will use a delivery method that will ensure students have a rich, exciting experience from the start. Face-to-face teaching will be complemented and supported with innovative technology so that students also experience elements of digital learning and assessment.

The course is primarily taught at King’s College London Waterloo campus, with some teaching at Guy’s Campus, putting you in the heart of London with access to all its academic resources and within easy reach of the social and entertainment attractions of one of the world’s most cosmopolitan cities.

Courses are divided into modules. You will normally take modules totalling 600 credits.