MChem Medicinal Chemistry with a Year in Industry
Course
options
Key Details
- Award
- Degree of Master of Chemistry
- UCAS Course Code
- F15N
- Typical Offer
- AAB (specific subject required)
- Contextual Offer
- BBB (specific subject required)
- Course Length
- 4 years
- Course Start Date
- September 2026
Why you should choose us
Course Overview
Following the central structure of our MChem Medicinal Chemistry programme, this course allows you to spend your third year in an industrial/medicinal chemistry laboratory. You'll gain first-hand experience of working in the industry, which is highly valued by employers.
Medicinal Chemistry has a tremendous impact on society, contributing significantly to improving our quality of life and increasing our healthy lifespan. This Medicinal Chemistry with a Year in Industry course will provide you with the academic training you’ll need to become a medicinal chemist, as well as real-world experience in a research-led environment.
At UEA, our cutting-edge research in chemical sciences is at the heart of all our teaching. This course will be delivered through lectures, workshops, small group tutorials and practicals – ensuring that your learning is at the forefront of scientific thought. Our scientists are world-class experts in their field, check out the latest cancer treatment breakthrough made at UEA.
Another key benefit to our MChem Medicinal Chemistry with a Year Abroad course is the emphasis we place on laboratory-based teaching, and the development of practical and problem-solving skills that are so valued by employers. UEA offers state-of-the-art facilities for medicinal chemistry teaching. These include superb laboratories in the new science building, equipped with the advanced instruments required for medicinal chemistry related training and research.
UEA is part of the Norwich Research Park that includes John Innes Centre, Quadrum institute, and the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital, making it a highly desirable place for Medicinal Chemistry teaching and future employment opportunities.
Graduates from UEA have the highest employability prospects amongst all UK chemistry programmes, benefiting from a tailored curriculum, state-of-the-art laboratories and instruments, and dedicated lecturers and tutors.
Year in Industry
On this course, you’ll spend your third year working in industry, gaining experience and skills that are highly valued by employers. The placement component of this course is compulsory and can be undertaken in the UK or overseas.
You’ll work with an experienced member of academic faculty, the placement coordinator, to seek your own work placement. In the first two weeks of your second year, you’ll be helped to write a CV and apply to a range of companies. Not only will this ensure that you work within your preferred field, but it’ll also provide you with the essential job-hunting skills that you’ll require after graduation. You'll, of course, receive guidance and support whilst you’re identifying and negotiating placement opportunities.
During this year, you’ll be supported by an industrial supervisor and a mentor from the university. You and your industrial supervisor will feedback during the placement to ensure that it’s progressing well, and your UEA mentor will visit you during the year.
Please note that we can’t guarantee any student a work placement as this decision rests with potential employers.
If you’re unable to secure a work placement by the end of your second year, you’ll have the option to transfer onto the equivalent degree programme without a year in industry.
Study and Modules
Structure
This degree programme will build on your existing knowledge and give you a detailed understanding of different aspects of medicinal chemistry across a broad range of specialisms.
Due to the subject’s strong practical component, we place great emphasis on laboratory skills training. This could take the form of the synthesis of new compounds, new biomolecules of potential therapeutic and diagnostic importance, the characterisation of these compounds and biomolecules using spectroscopic and biomolecular characterisation techniques, and the study of their properties.
In your first year, you’ll gain a broad understanding of all the major branches of chemistry (organic, inorganic, physical and analytical chemistry), and develop practical laboratory skills, including opportunities to learn about the synthesis of small molecule drugs and techniques important for their characterisation. You'll also study the core mathematics that will help you in your chemistry degree; this is especially beneficial in building confidence for those who did not study mathematics at A-level. Transfer between medicinal chemistry and other chemistry programmes is possible after the first year.
Compulsory Modules
Whilst the University will make every effort to offer the modules listed, changes may sometimes be made arising from the annual monitoring, review and update of modules. Where this activity leads to significant (but not minor) changes to programmes and their constituent modules, the University will endeavour to consult with students and others. It is also possible that the University may not be able to offer a module for reasons outside of its control, such as the illness of a member of staff. In some cases optional modules can have limited places available and so you may be asked to make additional module choices in the event you do not gain a place on your first choice. Where this is the case, the University will inform students.
Teaching and Learning
In your first year, teaching will incorporate a mixture of lectures, seminars, workshops, tutorials, and practical sessions, covering core areas of chemistry including Organic, Inorganic, Physical and Analytical Chemistry. Some of these sessions will engage you in active learning, working in small groups to tackle more substantial challenges and tasks. There will be an emphasis on practical work, and you'll develop important analytical and problem-solving skills that will prove invaluable throughout your chemistry degree and subsequent career.
You'll have plenty of opportunities for supported independent study throughout your chemistry degree as you complete a variety of assessment tasks and prepare for exams. Your final-year research project will be the pinnacle of your studies, allowing you to take ownership of a specific area of chemistry that truly interests you.
Assessment
Both formative (practice) and summative assessments will be undertaken across all modules in your first year. You'll have the opportunity to practice on each type of task, and this will include online quizzes and exam-like short answer questions. Tutorials guide you in approaching questions and problems, and in how to formulate clear answers with reasoning. You'll also be assessed on short write-ups that you produce for laboratory experiments.
Structure
Building on the fundamental understanding you'll have gained in your first year, the second year provides more advanced broad chemistry training that is complemented by in depth studies of: the chemistry associated with drug design and synthesis; biophysical properties and analytical tools used to characterise small molecule drugs and drug-target interactions; various key drug targets and their bio-molecular interactions; and discussion about the journey of drug molecules as they travel through the body.
During this year, you'll spend time selecting and applying for your placement position, which will commence in the summer after you’ve completed your second academic year.
Compulsory Modules
Whilst the University will make every effort to offer the modules listed, changes may sometimes be made arising from the annual monitoring, review and update of modules. Where this activity leads to significant (but not minor) changes to programmes and their constituent modules, the University will endeavour to consult with students and others. It is also possible that the University may not be able to offer a module for reasons outside of its control, such as the illness of a member of staff. In some cases optional modules can have limited places available and so you may be asked to make additional module choices in the event you do not gain a place on your first choice. Where this is the case, the University will inform students.
Teaching and Learning
In your second year, you’ll continue to learn core chemistry and advanced small molecule synthesis methods, while gaining knowledge of concepts in biophysical chemistry and medicinal chemistry.
Assessment
Formative and summative assessments will continue throughout your second year in a similar format to year one.
Structure
Your third year will be spent in an industrial research laboratory in the UK or overseas.
You’ll have regular contact with UEA throughout, and complete a distance-learning module, which will continue your academic development and prepare you for entry into your fourth year.
Compulsory Modules
Whilst the University will make every effort to offer the modules listed, changes may sometimes be made arising from the annual monitoring, review and update of modules. Where this activity leads to significant (but not minor) changes to programmes and their constituent modules, the University will endeavour to consult with students and others. It is also possible that the University may not be able to offer a module for reasons outside of its control, such as the illness of a member of staff. In some cases optional modules can have limited places available and so you may be asked to make additional module choices in the event you do not gain a place on your first choice. Where this is the case, the University will inform students.
Teaching and Learning
You'll spend your third year on placement in an industrial research laboratory in the UK or overseas. After an initial training period, you’ll become fully integrated into the organisation’s research team.
Typically, placements will entail individual project assignments, requiring you to generate a comprehensive placement report. This report, along with a presentation, will be evaluated upon your return to UEA.
Additionally, you'll be required to fulfill a distance-learning module aimed at sustaining your academic progress and readiness for your fourth-year studies.
Assessment
In your third year, you'll participate in a placement within an industrial research laboratory based in the UK or overseas. You’ll receive an initial training period to become fully integrated into the research team of the organisation.
These placements typically involve individual project work, including the creation of a detailed placement report. Upon your return to UEA, this report, along with a presentation, will be evaluated.
Furthermore, you'll be expected to complete a distance-learning module designed to continue your academic development and prepare you for your final year.
Structure
In your final year, you’ll study advanced topics in medicinal chemistry and have the option to learn about advanced analytical and biophysical techniques important for characterising biomolecules and biomolecular interaction. You'll undertake a major research project in medicinal chemistry, such as medicinal organic/inorganic synthesis (e.g. antibiotics/anti-cancer agents), candidate drug/diagnostic biological activity studies, and protein engineering. For this project, you’ll work in a research group alongside postgraduate students and postdoctoral researchers, which will be both an enjoyable and stimulating experience that will help to develop your research skills. Additionally, your project could lead to publication(s) in a scientific journal, allowing you to share your work with the global scientific community.
Throughout your four years, our modules will help you to develop transferable skills in the areas of communication, teamwork and problem solving. Such skills are vital to professional scientists and prized by employers.
Compulsory Modules
Optional A Modules
(Credits: 40)Whilst the University will make every effort to offer the modules listed, changes may sometimes be made arising from the annual monitoring, review and update of modules. Where this activity leads to significant (but not minor) changes to programmes and their constituent modules, the University will endeavour to consult with students and others. It is also possible that the University may not be able to offer a module for reasons outside of its control, such as the illness of a member of staff. In some cases optional modules can have limited places available and so you may be asked to make additional module choices in the event you do not gain a place on your first choice. Where this is the case, the University will inform students.
Teaching and Learning
In your final year, you’ll gain first-hand experience of working on challenging problems in medicinal chemistry in a research group alongside postgraduate students and postdoctoral researchers. You'll also study advanced topics.
Assessment
The emphasis on assessment will continue, balanced between examinations and coursework. The research project is a capstone assessment, giving you an opportunity to bring together all your assessment skills, combining practical work, dissertation writing and presentation.
Employability
After the Course
Medicinal chemistry graduates go on to careers in a wide range of areas, including within the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. Many also go on to further study, while some opt for careers outside of science, such as in finance, business or education.
Our medicinal chemistry degrees provide the skills that employers are looking for – high level subject knowledge combined with problem solving, IT, analytical skills, instrumentation, time management, organisation, and team and individual work.
At UEA, we have a great team to support graduates in securing excellent career starts through CareerCentral. In the School of Chemistry, Pharmacy and Pharmacology, our Director of Employability coordinates internal and external events and makes sure that all additional key skills training elements are present in our curriculum from year one, allowing you to present a highly competitive CV. Skills training is embedded within our modules, especially in years three and four, but in addition, you’ll benefit from chemistry careers drop-in sessions and one-to-one guidance, plus chemistry-specific employer events and fairs.
We also encourage you to participate in the UEA award, which is a university certificate that recognises a range of extracurricular activities that you can undertake to help you become highly employable. To complement your studies, we offer a wide range of internships during the summer break (6-12 weeks) supported by the University and different funders, in years two and three. These provide you with additional opportunities to experience work and develop key skills in one of the many diverse research areas being pursued in the School of Chemistry, Pharmacy and Pharmacology.
“During the internship I have been exposed to a range of techniques such as bacterial transformation, recombinant protein expression and SDS-PAGE, all of which I would only have read about or been briefly introduced to in my undergraduate studies. I strongly suggest that if you’re focused on research that you apply for as many experience opportunities as possible and refine your CV as best you can for that first interview.”- Jack Fendley, second year intern student, working on oligomerisation of the chlamydia protein TarP for cell invasion, with Dr Tharin Blumenschein over the summer funded by a Tim Pickup UEA Internship.
Careers
Examples of careers that you could enter include:
- Medicinal chemist or biochemist in the pharmaceutical industry
- Manufacturing and project management
- Synthetic organic chemist in a Contract Research Organisation
- Cosmetics scientist
- Process and sustainability chemist
- Analyst or forensic scientist
Discover more on our Careers webpages.
Entry Requirements
- This course is open to
UK and International fee-paying students. Choose UK or International above to see relevant information. The entry point is in September each year.
We welcome and value a wide range of qualifications, and we recognise that some students might take a mixture of different qualifications. We have listed typical examples that we accept for entry.
You should hold or be working towards the specified English and Mathematics requirements and one of the examples of typical entry qualifications listed below. If your qualifications aren’t listed, or if you are taking a combination of qualifications that isn’t specified, please contact Admissions.
- English and Mathematics
All applicants must hold or be working towards GCSEs in English Language and Mathematics at minimum grade C or grade 4.
We accept a wide range of English Language qualifications, please see our English Language equivalencies page.
- Contextual Offers
UEA are committed to ensuring that Higher Education is accessible to all, regardless of their background or experiences. One of the ways we do this is through our contextual admissions schemes.
- Typical UK Entry Requirements
A levels
AAB including Chemistry
Contextual offer: BBB including Chemistry
Where applicable, Science A Levels awarded by an English exam board require a pass in the practical element. Not accepted: Critical Thinking and General Studies.
BTEC
Level 3 Extended Diploma: DDD in Applied Science or Applied Science (Medical Science) including all modules listed below
Contextual offer: DDM in Applied Science or Applied Science (Medical Science) including all modules listed below
BTEC only accepted alongside A Level Chemistry grade B unless the following modules have been studied in the BTEC: Applications of Inorganic Chemistry, Applications of Organic Chemistry AND Practical Chemical Analysis.
Where applicable, Science A Levels awarded by an English exam board require a pass in the practical element. Not accepted: Critical Thinking and General Studies.
Access to HE Diploma
Not accepted.
T levels
Obtain an overall Distinction. Subjects accepted: Health, Healthcare Science or Science.
Foundation Year options:
If you do not meet the academic requirements for direct entry, you may be interested in one of our Foundation Year programmes such as - BSc Chemistry with a Foundation Year.
- Further Examples of Typical Entry Requirements
International Baccalaureate
33 points overall including HL 5 in Chemistry
Irish Leaving Certificate
4 subjects at H2, 2 subjects at H3 including Chemistry
Scottish Highers
AAAAA including Chemistry.
Scottish Advanced Highers
BBC including Chemistry. A combination of Advanced Highers and Highers may be acceptable
- Deferred Entry
We welcome applications from students who have already taken or intend to take a gap year. We believe that a year between school and university can be of substantial benefit. You are advised to indicate your reason for wishing to defer entry on your UCAS application.
- Admissions Policy
Our Admissions Policy applies to the admissions of all undergraduate applicants.
- Progression
Once enrolled onto a course at UEA, your progression and continuation (which may include eligibility for study abroad, overseas experience, placement, or year in industry opportunities) is contingent on meeting the assessment requirements which are relevant to the course on which you are enrolled.
- Recent Study
We would prefer you to be able to demonstrate evidence of recent academic study within 5 years of the start of the course. If your last qualification will have been completed more than 5 years ago by the time the course starts, please contact Admissions.
- This course is open to
UK and International fee-paying students. Choose UK or International above to see relevant information. The entry point is in September each year.
We welcome and value a wide range of qualifications, and we recognise that some students might take a mixture of different qualifications. We have listed typical examples that we accept for entry.
You should hold or be working towards the specified English and Mathematics requirements and one of the examples of typical entry qualifications listed below. If your qualifications aren’t listed, or if you are taking a combination of qualifications that isn’t specified, please contact Admissions.
- English and Mathematics
All applicants must hold or be working towards GCSEs in English Language and Mathematics at minimum grade C or grade 4.
We accept a wide range of English Language qualifications, please see our English Language equivalencies page.
- Typical International Entry Requirements
A levels
AAB including ChemistryWhere applicable ScienceA Levels awarded by an English Exam board require a pass in the practical element. Not accepted: Critical Thinking and General Studies.International Baccalaureate
33 points overall including HL 5 in Chemistry
We accept many international qualifications for entry to this course. For specific details about your country, view our information for International Students.
- UEA International Study Centre
If you do not meet the academic and/or English language requirements for direct entry our partner, UEA International Study Centre offers progression on to this undergraduate degree upon successful completion of a preparation programme. Depending on your interests, and your qualifications you can take a variety of routes to this degree.
- English Foreign Language
Applications from students whose first language is not English are welcome. We require evidence of proficiency in English (including writing, speaking, listening and reading):
-
IELTS: 6.0 overall (minimum 5.5 in all components)
We also accept a number of other English language tests. Review our English Language Equivalencies for a list of example qualifications that we may accept to meet this requirement.
Test dates should be within two years of the course start date.
If you do not yet meet the English language requirements for this course, English language at UEA International Study Centre offer a variety of English language programmes which are designed to help you develop the English skills necessary for successful undergraduate study.
-
- Deferred Entry
We welcome applications from students who have already taken or intend to take a gap year. We believe that a year between school and university can be of substantial benefit. You are advised to indicate your reason for wishing to defer entry on your UCAS application.
- Admissions Policy
Our Admissions Policy applies to the admissions of all undergraduate applicants.
- Progression
Once enrolled onto a course at UEA, your progression and continuation (which may include eligibility for study abroad, overseas experience, placement, or year in industry opportunities) is contingent on meeting the assessment requirements which are relevant to the course on which you are enrolled.
- Recent Study
We would prefer you to be able to demonstrate evidence of recent academic study within 5 years of the start of the course. If your last qualification will have been completed more than 5 years ago by the time the course starts, please contact Admissions.
Fees and Funding
Tuition Fees
View our information for Tuition Fees.
Scholarships and Bursaries
We are committed to ensuring that costs do not act as a barrier to those aspiring to come to a world leading university and have developed a funding package to reward those with excellent qualifications and assist those from lower income backgrounds. View our range of Scholarships for eligibility, details of how to apply and closing dates.
Course Related Costs
Please see Additional Course Fees for details of course-related costs.
How to Apply
UCAS Hub is a secure online application system that allows you to apply for full-time undergraduate courses at universities and colleges in the United Kingdom.
Your application does not have to be completed all at once. Register or sign in to UCAS to get started.
Once you submit your completed application, UCAS will process it and send it to your chosen universities and colleges.
The Institution code for the University of East Anglia is E14.
View our guide to applying through UCAS for useful tips, key dates and further information: