BSc (Hons) Medicinal Chemistry and Physics

The goal of medicinal chemistry is to support the search for new drugs to treat conditions such as heart disease and cancer. You’ll work in well-equipped laboratories, and learn to conduct effective independent research, and explore complex chemical and biological processes involved in the design and manufacture of drugs and other therapies for treating disease. You’ll develop essential skills for employment, such as problem-solving, presentation, and communication. Taking Physics as part of a Combined Honours degree will allow you to explore the subject fundamentals, including quantum mechanics, relativity, and electromagnetism, and apply this knowledge to solve problems, plan investigations, analyze results and report and present your work.

Year 1

• Practical and Professional Chemistry Skills
• Chemical Structure and Reactivity
• Mechanics, Gravity, and Relativity
• Nature of matter
• Oscillations and Waves
• Electricity and Magnetism

Year 2

• Molecular Chemistry and Reactions
• Principles of Drug Design
• Spectroscopy and Molecular Structure
• Quantum Mechanics
• Optics and Thermodynamics
• Nuclear and Particle Physics
• Statistical Mechanics and Solid State Physics

Year 3

• Mechanisms of Drug Action
• Topics in Medicinal Chemistry
• Electromagnetism
• Physics Project – ISP

OPTIONAL MODULES

• Chemical Kinetics, Photochemistry and Inorganic Reaction Mechanisms
• Advanced Organic Chemistry
• Chemistry/Medicinal Chemistry Research Project
• Chemistry/Medicinal Chemistry Dissertation
• Binary Stars and Extrasolar Planets
• Data Analysis and Model Testing
• Particle Physics and Accelerators
• Cosmology
• Life in the Universe
• Quantum Mechanics II
• General Relativity, Black Holes, and Gravitational Waves

Employability

Our Medicinal Chemistry graduates have excellent employment prospects, whether at the cutting edge of drug discovery or in a wide range of related fields. You might go to work for a pharmaceutical company, either as a research scientist or in a more business-related role. Alternatively, you might work in a different organization as a development chemist, a research assistant, or a site chemist.

Previous employers

• Vision Express
• Pharmaron UK Ltd
• Johnson Matthey
• GSQ
• Endeavour Speciality Chemicals Ltd
• NHS