chemistry or biochemistry?

x.k.z.x

I want to be a medicinal chemist. I’m not sure if choosing biochemistry or chemistry would be better to go down in this career. Which course would be better suited?

Reply 1

MindMax2000

Universities Forum Helper

Original post by x.k.z.x

I want to be a medicinal chemist. I’m not sure if choosing biochemistry or chemistry would be better to go down in this career. Which course would be better suited?

According to the following job profiles:
https://www.prospects.ac.uk/job-profiles/medicinal-chemist#qualifications
https://edu.rsc.org/job-profiles/medicinal-chemist/4013025.article
https://www.abpi.org.uk/careers/job-case-studies/medicinal-chemist/
...it's straight chemistry.

Reply 2

artful_lounger

Universities Forum Helper

If you want to be a chemist of whatever variety, you need to do a chemistry degree.

Be aware that in the UK a biochemistry degree is not a degree in biological chemistry, it's a bioscience degree in molecular biology. Very different. You usually only do some actual chemistry content in first year and then the rest of the degree (including most of first year) is broadly based in the biomolecular sciences (i.e. molecular biology, cell biology, biochemistry, metabolism, cell signalling, developmental biology etc).

Reply 3

x.k.z.x

Original post by MindMax2000

Thanks so much!

Reply 4

x.k.z.x

Original post by artful_lounger

If you want to be a chemist of whatever variety, you need to do a chemistry degree.
Be aware that in the UK a biochemistry degree is not a degree in biological chemistry, it's a bioscience degree in molecular biology. Very different. You usually only do some actual chemistry content in first year and then the rest of the degree (including most of first year) is broadly based in the biomolecular sciences (i.e. molecular biology, cell biology, biochemistry, metabolism, cell signalling, developmental biology etc).