• Question: What skills and work experience are useful and essential when applying for chemistry based courses at university?

    Asked by Emily and Sophie to Angela, Claire, Ian, Robert, Sarah on 12 Nov 2014.
    • Photo: Ian Cade

      Ian Cade answered on 12 Nov 2014:

      A-levels (or whatever you kids are doing nowerdays) in Chemistry Physics and Maths.

      … maybe unexpectedly, an ability to draw in 3D is also helpful (to draw molecules accurately)

      Beyond that… a keen interest in Chemistry is sometimes useful/motivational.

    • Photo: Angela Stokes

      Angela Stokes answered on 12 Nov 2014:

      Hi Emily and Sophie
      To do chemistry at university I would advise that you do science at A level, at least chemistry and biology and possibly physics or mathematics too. Another option is a foreign language to go with your sciences at A level, especially if you are considering working abroad.

      You need to want to do chemistry of course!

      For work experience, anything is useful, I worked at a photographers processing photographs with chemicals by hand for six weeks. This gave me an understanding of handling chemicals. One of my friends worked for a few weeks in a garden centre and learned about handling fertilizers which are essentially chemicals. Any work experience whether chemistry based or not is valuable, but don’t be put off if you can’t get any, it is not essential.

    • Photo: Sarah Harris

      Sarah Harris answered on 20 Nov 2014:

      Hi Emily and Sophie,

      Chemistry degree courses will usually require A levels in two sciences (including Chemistry). Maths is a very useful A-level to take, and physics ties in with a lot of the theoretical chemistry (I didn’t take physics A level and was really surprised by the amount of physics in my course – so it’s a handy one to do) . Biology is also a popular option if you’re interested in biochemical reactions.

      In terms of skills, showing you are analytical or a problem solver is always a good one, but mostly you’ll need a keen interest in Chemistry! When I applied for my Chemistry degree I hadn’t really done any relevant work experience – I’d worked in a cafe and at a stables though, which meant I’d developed professional skills as well as academic ones. If you can get a summer placement in a lab then that would be useful before university, but not essential. The website I work on, Future Morph, has a page on chemistry work experience you might find helpful: http://www.futuremorph.org/14-16/next-steps/follow-your-favourite-subject/careers-from-chemistry/work-experience-in-chemistry/

      Good luck!

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