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Chemistry

Entry requirements


A level

A*,A*,A

Including Chemistry and Mathematics, with both A*s in science subjects and/or Maths. Excluding General Studies (if taken)

Access to HE Diploma

D:45

Some Access courses allow students to take one or two A-levels as part of the course. This option is strongly recommended for students who wish to apply to Oxford, especially for those courses which have specific subject requirements. If you would like to discuss the suitability of your Access course for entry to Oxford University, please contact the subject department that you’d like to apply to for further information. (Contact details are at ox.ac.uk/courses)

Cambridge International Pre-U Certificate - Principal

D2,D2,D3

Pre-U subject requirements are the same as those for A-levels.

International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme

40

with 7 in HL Chemistry and EITHER 6/7 in HL Mathematics OR 7 in SL Mathematics plus a second science with 7 at HL.

Leaving Certificate - Higher Level (Ireland) (first awarded in 2017)

H1,H1,H1,H1,H2,H2

Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)

D*D*D*-DDD

Conditional offers would usually be: Extended Diploma with D*D*D to DDD, depending on the course. Diploma with DD plus an A grade at A-level, possibly with one or two * grades, depending on the course. Subsidiary Diploma with D plus two A grades at A-level, possibly with one or two * grades, depending on the course.

Scottish Advanced Higher

A,A-A,A,B

Including Chemistry and Mathematics Conditional offers will usually be for AAB if a student is able to take three Advanced Highers; where this is not possible then a student would be expected to achieve AA in two Advanced Highers, as well as an A grade in an additional Higher course taken in Year 6.

Scottish Higher

A,A,A,A,B-A,A,A,A,A


Supplemented by two or more Advanced Highers.

UCAS Tariff

112-165

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About this course


Course option

4years

Full-time | 2024

Subject

Chemistry

Chemistry is a wide-ranging science concerned with matter at the atomic and molecular scale. Important aspects are synthesis, structure, reaction mechanisms, properties, analysis and transformations of all types of materials.

Chemists are a constant source of innovation: it is hard to imagine any product introduced in recent times that did not require the creative efforts of a chemist. Chemistry underpins the conceptual framework and methodology of biochemistry and molecular medicine and is at the heart of many major industries. For more information on this course please visit ox.ac.uk/ugchem.

The Uni


Course locations:

St Hilda's

St Catherine's

Trinity

St John's

Brasenose

St Edmund Hall

Magdalen

New College

Lady Margaret Hall

Open Application

Exeter

Worcester

Merton

Corpus Christi

Hertford

University

Jesus

Queen's

St Peter's

Pembroke

Lincoln

Somerville

Wadham

Keble

St Hugh's

St Anne's

Balliol

Christ Church

Oriel

Department:

Chemistry

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What students say


How do students rate their degree experience?

The stats below relate to the general subject area/s at this university, not this specific course. We show this where there isn’t enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

Chemistry

Sorry, no information to show

This is usually because there were too few respondents in the data we receive to be able to provide results about the subject at this university.


Who studies this subject and how do they get on?

79%
UK students
21%
International students
56%
Male students
44%
Female students
85%
2:1 or above
5%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

A*
A*
A*

After graduation


The stats in this section relate to the general subject area/s at this university – not this specific course. We show this where there isn't enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

Chemistry

What are graduates doing after six months?

This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.

£32,000
high
Average annual salary
97%
med
Employed or in further education
74%
med
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

21%
Business, finance and related associate professionals
12%
Business, research and administrative professionals
9%
Teaching and educational professionals

Chemistry graduates are in demand from a wide range of industries, from the food, oil, chemicals and pharmaceuticals to consultancy, technical analysis and teaching. They're also prized by business and finance employers for their research and data handling skills — anywhere there is research and data to be explained, you can find chemistry grads. If you want a career in research, you need a doctorate, so start planning now if you fancy one of these exciting and challenging jobs - but good students can usually get grants to take a doctorate, so don't worry about the financing if you think you have what it takes. The recession wasn’t too kind to chemists, particularly in the pharmaceutical industry (one of the key employers for chemists), but things are getting back to normal for this flexible group and it's one of the few degrees that is bucking the current trend and increasing graduate numbers.

What about your long term prospects?

Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.

Chemistry

The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.

£29k

£29k

£43k

£43k

£43k

£43k

Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.

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This is what the university has told Ucas about the criteria they expect applicants to satisfy; some may be compulsory, others may be preferable.

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This is the percentage of applicants to this course who received an offer last year, through Ucas.

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This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.

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Course location and department:

This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.

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Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF):

We've received this information from the Department for Education, via Ucas. This is how the university as a whole has been rated for its quality of teaching: gold silver or bronze. Note, not all universities have taken part in the TEF.

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This information comes from the National Student Survey, an annual student survey of final-year students. You can use this to see how satisfied students studying this subject area at this university, are (not the individual course).

This is the percentage of final-year students at this university who were "definitely" or "mostly" satisfied with their course. We've analysed this figure against other universities so you can see whether this is high, medium or low.

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This information is from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), for undergraduate students only.

You can use this to get an idea of who you might share a lecture with and how they progressed in this subject, here. It's also worth comparing typical A-level subjects and grades students achieved with the current course entry requirements; similarities or differences here could indicate how flexible (or not) a university might be.

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Post-six month graduation stats:

This is from the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education Survey, based on responses from graduates who studied the same subject area here.

It offers a snapshot of what grads went on to do six months later, what they were earning on average, and whether they felt their degree helped them obtain a 'graduate role'. We calculate a mean rating to indicate if this is high, medium or low compared to other universities.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

Graduate field commentary:

The Higher Education Careers Services Unit have provided some further context for all graduates in this subject area, including details that numbers alone might not show

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The Longitudinal Educational Outcomes dataset combines HRMC earnings data with student records from the Higher Education Statistics Agency.

While there are lots of factors at play when it comes to your future earnings, use this as a rough timeline of what graduates in this subject area were earning on average one, three and five years later. Can you see a steady increase in salary, or did grads need some experience under their belt before seeing a nice bump up in their pay packet?

Have a question about this info? Learn more here