Where you will study

Our facilities

You will have access to:

research laboratories
the University's libraries
computer facilities

All teaching and labs are based at the King's Buildings campus with 1st year Chemistry labs taking place in the Nucleus building.

Find out more about the Nucleus Building

https://www.ed.ac.uk/science-engineering/about/nucleus

The King's Buildings campus is around 15 minutes from central Edinburgh by bus.

Take a virtual tour

You can take a closer look at the School of Chemistry and explore our facilities and campus on the University's Virtual Visit site.

Take a virtual tour of the School of Chemistry

https://virtualvisits.ed.ac.uk/ug/explore-for-yourself/ug-chemistry_undergraduate

Placements

You can include a full year paid placement in industry or take a research project with one of our partner universities around the world as part of your MChem programme.

Your placement will form the final year of your programme and be mostly research project work.
Placements may be in the UK or overseas and include research institutes or companies such as:

Unilever
Akzo Nobel
Procter and Gamble

Each year, many MChemPhys students carry out one of these industrial or year abroad placements.

If you do not take one of these options, you will complete a full academic year long research project in one of our cutting-edge research groups.

Study abroad

You can include a year-long placement with one of our partner chemistry departments at a range of universities overseas.

Year abroad destinations include:

USA
Singapore
Hong Kong
Taiwan
South Korea
many European countries

What are my options for going abroad?

https://edin.ac/abroad-funding

Learning and assessment

How will I learn?

You will be taught through a combination of:

lectures
laboratory classes
problem-solving workshops
tutorials with high staff-to-student ratios

How long should I study?

In your first two years, you will have around 20 hours per week of timetabled study.

You should also dedicate about 15 hours to prepare for:

tutorials
writing lab reports
private study

In later years, you will experience more practical learning and research project work.

What skills will I gain?

All our programmes include:

training, practice, and feedback in communication skills
teamwork and collaboration
exposure to the latest technology of scientific information retrieval and organisation

In addition to the lecture topics you will develop skills in:

written communication
report writing
IT
oral presentation skills from formal presentations

You will also develop practical skills and an awareness of the safety aspects of laboratory work and risk-assessment throughout the programme.

You will build on these skills through a research project in the final year, conducted either in an academic or industrial context.

How will I be assessed?

You will be assessed through a combination of:

coursework
reports on laboratory practicals
presentations
exams
assessment of your final year research project

Career opportunities

Chemical Physics graduates find careers in a range of technology sectors and industries like:

petrochemical
pharmaceutical
nuclear

They also use their numerical, problem-solving and analytical skills in sectors such as:

IT
finance
marketing
advertising

Many of our graduates progress to a higher degree, typically a PhD.