Chemistry

Chemistry is the central science, concerned with the composition, structure, properties and transformations of matter at the atomic and molecular level. Understanding chemistry is essential to understanding biology, medicine, materials science, environmental science and much of modern technology. Chemists develop new drugs, materials, fuels and processes that underpin agriculture, healthcare, manufacturing and clean energy, and they provide the fundamental understanding on which all experimental science depends.

At the University of York, which has an outstanding chemistry department with a strong emphasis on research-led teaching, this four-year programme develops you as an adaptable chemist through research-led practical and classroom sessions, preparing you to work across a range of sectors that thrive on innovation, as York's own description puts it. The programme includes a sandwich year and work placements, giving you the opportunity to spend time in an industrial chemistry or research environment before your final year of study, and a year abroad is also available, providing the opportunity to study chemistry in a different academic and international context. You will study organic, inorganic and physical chemistry, spectroscopy, computational chemistry, analytical methods and the practical laboratory skills that are central to chemical research and development.

York's research culture means you will engage with live chemical questions and the frontier of current knowledge, not only settled textbook material. Project work and laboratory research are central to the degree, developing your independence and your ability to plan and execute experimental work.

Graduates go on to careers in the pharmaceutical, chemical, materials, environmental, food and consumer goods industries, as well as in analytical chemistry, research, teaching and science communication. Further study at masters or doctoral level in chemistry or a related field is a well-established route for those interested in research careers or specialist industrial roles.