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Chem engineering without maths and physics

Is possible if I can still do chemical engineering without maths and physics
I have chosen bio,chem and psych for my A levels as i wanted to do medicine first but now I have changed my mind and want to do chemical engineering.
However, it is too late to drop my subjects.
Would a foundation year be worth it, as I am looking into chem engineering with foundation year at unis like Manchester, Birmingham, Sheffield, Notingham, Loughborouh.
Also would I be taught all the maths/phsyics I havent learnt at A levels in the foundation year?

Reply 1

You would be taught everything you need to know in your foundation year to do chemical engineering. Doing a foundation year would be a viable option too but doing maths and physics may benefit you more.

Reply 2

Original post by lebronin2017
Is possible if I can still do chemical engineering without maths and physics
I have chosen bio,chem and psych for my A levels as i wanted to do medicine first but now I have changed my mind and want to do chemical engineering.
However, it is too late to drop my subjects.
Would a foundation year be worth it, as I am looking into chem engineering with foundation year at unis like Manchester, Birmingham, Sheffield, Notingham, Loughborouh.
Also would I be taught all the maths/phsyics I havent learnt at A levels in the foundation year?

Engineering at university is essentially maths and physics (which itself is essentially maths), so if you don't have an A-level in maths (or equivalent) then you'll need to either take it, or do a foundation year I am afraid.

Reply 3

Original post by Smack
Engineering at university is essentially maths and physics (which itself is essentially maths), so if you don't have an A-level in maths (or equivalent) then you'll need to either take it, or do a foundation year I am afraid.


I am happy to do a foundation year
But would they teach me all the stuff I missed out (such as the maths and physics) within that foundation year?
And do you think I will be at a major disadvantage for not taking maths or physics?
Original post by lebronin2017
Is possible if I can still do chemical engineering without maths and physics
I have chosen bio,chem and psych for my A levels as i wanted to do medicine first but now I have changed my mind and want to do chemical engineering.
However, it is too late to drop my subjects.
Would a foundation year be worth it, as I am looking into chem engineering with foundation year at unis like Manchester, Birmingham, Sheffield, Notingham, Loughborouh.
Also would I be taught all the maths/phsyics I havent learnt at A levels in the foundation year?

Yes you could do that with the foundation year route and yes the foundation year will cover (most of) the maths and physics of A-level (plus probably some other relevant topics not covered at A-level, perhaps at the expense of some A-level topics of less relevance; you might also do some FM content).

Worth bearing in mind that chemical engineering is about 70% maths, 20% physics, and at most 10% chemistry. It is not "applied chemistry", it's a degree in engineering where the things being "engineered upon" happen to be chemicals.

So be mindful of that going into things. If you didn't take maths and physics because you don't like them or struggle with them, a chemical engineering degree would be a very bad idea.
(edited 1 year ago)

Reply 5

Would it also be helpful to learn a bit of coding for chemical engineering
E.g Python
As I have seen online that their is a bit of coding within the course
Would it also be beneficial to take a free coding course online to put on my personal statement?

Reply 6

Original post by lebronin2017
Is possible if I can still do chemical engineering without maths and physics
I have chosen bio,chem and psych for my A levels as i wanted to do medicine first but now I have changed my mind and want to do chemical engineering.
However, it is too late to drop my subjects.
Would a foundation year be worth it, as I am looking into chem engineering with foundation year at unis like Manchester, Birmingham, Sheffield, Notingham, Loughborouh.
Also would I be taught all the maths/phsyics I havent learnt at A levels in the foundation year?

Yes it is possible for you to do chemical engineering at some Unis via a foundation year, but why do you want to do chemical engineering, when it is predominantly maths and physics, which are subjects that you are not doing. I hope it is not simply because you have read somewhere that that chemical engineering graduates get paid well, as those reports are very misleading.

Reply 7

Original post by lalexm
Yes it is possible for you to do chemical engineering at some Unis via a foundation year, but why do you want to do chemical engineering, when it is predominantly maths and physics, which are subjects that you are not doing. I hope it is not simply because you have read somewhere that that chemical engineering graduates get paid well, as those reports are very misleading.


I want to do this course as after reading many articles it seemed interesting
Also how is it misleading that they dont get paid
I enjoy maths and kinda physics at GCSE but I didnt pick them at A level as my main aim was to medicine however after doing some work experience at like Dec i hated it
so it ws either pharmacy or chemical engineering
pharamcy ws kinda crap aswel
and chemical engineering seemed more interesting
would you still recommed I take it tho?

Reply 8

Original post by lebronin2017
I want to do this course as after reading many articles it seemed interesting
Also how is it misleading that they dont get paid
I enjoy maths and kinda physics at GCSE but I didnt pick them at A level as my main aim was to medicine however after doing some work experience at like Dec i hated it
so it ws either pharmacy or chemical engineering
pharamcy ws kinda crap aswel
and chemical engineering seemed more interesting
would you still recommed I take it tho?

Yes chemical engineering graduates on average get paid well, but it's misleading as not that many unis offer offer chemical engineering, so figures are skewed by the top unis like Camb, Oxford, Imperial etc, where all their grads get paid well on average, particularly in STEM subjects. Also, as is often the case with such surveys on graduate outcomes, pay might be high because students on those courses will go for high paid jobs in all sorts of sectors, not just in the sector that is relevant to their degree, in this case chemical engineering.

Go for it is you have a developed a real passion for it. It will be hard work though, as I'd expect most of your class mates on the degree course will have Maths, Physics and even FM, so you will be competing with them to get a 1st or 2i.
(edited 1 year ago)

Reply 9

Original post by lalexm
Yes chemical engineering graduates on average get paid well, but it's misleading as not that many unis offer offer chemical engineering, so figures are skewed by the top unis like Camb, Oxford, Imperial etc, where all their grads get paid well on average, particularly in STEM subjects. Also, as is often the case with such surveys on graduate outcomes, pay might be high because students on those courses will go for high paid jobs in all sorts of sectors, not just in the sector that is relevant to their degree, in this case chemical engineering.

Go for it is you have a developed a real passion for it. It will be hard work though, as I'd expect most of your class mates on the degree course will have Maths, Physics and even FM, so you will be competing with them to get a 1st or 2i.


Wb unis like Manchester, Sheffield and Southampton??

Reply 10

Original post by lebronin2017
Wb unis like Manchester, Sheffield and Southampton??


Not sure what the question is. Chemical engineering at say Manchester requires maths, so if you get in via a foundation year, most of your classmates will still have maths A-level and some even FM, so you will be competing/comparing yourself to them, like I said.

Reply 11

Original post by lebronin2017
I am happy to do a foundation year
But would they teach me all the stuff I missed out (such as the maths and physics) within that foundation year?
And do you think I will be at a major disadvantage for not taking maths or physics?

I am a chem eng student at Nottingham. Your situation was actually identical to what I was going through during A levels except I was planning to do Dentistry. They teach you everything you need to begin the course during the foundation year so you don't need to do anything extra. I also didn't do maths and physics A level and have done pretty well so far.

I am happy to answer anymore questions you may have.

Reply 12

Original post by alwaysconfused5
I am a chem eng student at Nottingham. Your situation was actually identical to what I was going through during A levels except I was planning to do Dentistry. They teach you everything you need to begin the course during the foundation year so you don't need to do anything extra. I also didn't do maths and physics A level and have done pretty well so far.
I am happy to answer anymore questions you may have.

Hi, can you explain to me please what made you wanna switch to chemical engineering and leave dentistry? I cant tell if I have a true passion for medicine anymore (my a levels are bio , chem, psych , business )

Reply 13

Original post by alwaysconfused5
I am a chem eng student at Nottingham. Your situation was actually identical to what I was going through during A levels except I was planning to do Dentistry. They teach you everything you need to begin the course during the foundation year so you don't need to do anything extra. I also didn't do maths and physics A level and have done pretty well so far.
I am happy to answer anymore questions you may have.

How much physics would u say is in chemical engineering?

Reply 14

Original post by lebronin2017
I want to do this course as after reading many articles it seemed interesting
Also how is it misleading that they dont get paid
I enjoy maths and kinda physics at GCSE but I didnt pick them at A level as my main aim was to medicine however after doing some work experience at like Dec i hated it
so it ws either pharmacy or chemical engineering
pharamcy ws kinda crap aswel
and chemical engineering seemed more interesting
would you still recommed I take it tho?

hey lebron🤑 im literally in the same position u were rn but last year. Im doing bio chem DT at a level and thinking of doing either pharm of chemEng but i was originally going to pharm though chemical engineering looked very interesting to me. I wanna know what u ended up picking and how is it going for u? Im also planning to do foundation chemEng cus i didnt pick A level maths

Reply 15

Original post by alwaysconfused5
I am a chem eng student at Nottingham. Your situation was actually identical to what I was going through during A levels except I was planning to do Dentistry. They teach you everything you need to begin the course during the foundation year so you don't need to do anything extra. I also didn't do maths and physics A level and have done pretty well so far.
I am happy to answer anymore questions you may have.

im in y13 this year and planning to switch from pharm to Chem Eng. I suddenly had a strive to do maths again after not picking it for A levels though i did enjoy it at GCSE even if i got a 5... but is the foundation course good? im thinkin of applying to it.🙂
(edited 3 months ago)

Reply 16

Original post by An172
hey lebron🤑 im literally in the same position u were rn but last year. Im doing bio chem DT at a level and thinking of doing either pharm of chemEng but i was originally going to pharm though chemical engineering looked very interesting to me. I wanna know what u ended up picking and how is it going for u? Im also planning to do foundation chemEng cus i didnt pick A level maths

Hey An172 I’m in the same boat as you this year and I was wondering what you decided to do, as I was originally thinking of doing dentistry but last minute I realised it wasn’t for me so now I’ve applied for foundation years in engineering as I didn’t take maths or physics.

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