Chemistry with year-long industry experience

Gain a career advantage by spending a year in industry as part of your chemistry degree.

On your 12-month placement you’ll work on a research project in an industrial setting. Host organisations range from small high-tech enterprises and national research facilities, to global companies such as Johnson Matthey, Merck, Pfizer, AstraZeneca, and Proctor & Gamble. Many industry placements are paid.

Your placement takes place in year four, when you’ll have completed three years of chemistry training and an independent research project. This will give you a competitive edge when securing your placement, and the confidence to get the most out of the experience.

It’s an excellent opportunity to put your chemistry knowledge into practice in a commercial setting, gain invaluable professional skills and show future employers what you can do – indeed, some of our students are recruited by their host company.

At Southampton you’ll study in recently refurbished labs at a Russell Group university where trailblazing research feeds into your degree. Our commitment to your education is demonstrated in the Guardian University Guide 2024; Chemistry at Southampton placed 4th in the UK.

Supporting your studies
You’ll be part of a supportive Chemistry community, with a personal academic tutor to provide any extra help you need, both academically and personally. During the first two years we limit small group tutorials to a maximum of five students, so you’ll have plenty of time and attention from your tutors.

Between classes, the Chemistry department will be your ‘home’ on campus – a place to grab a coffee in the common room, catch up with friends and talk to staff.

CV and interview skills workshops will help you secure your placement, and you’ll have regular catch-ups with a dedicated supervisor during your placement year.

Outstanding undergraduate laboratories
Take advantage of our recently refurbished labs, which opened in 2019 as part of a £12m investment in Chemistry’s facilities. You’ll study in bright and spacious modern laboratories using new research-grade equipment such as NMR and IR spectrometers and X-ray diffractometers. There are also laptops for each student to record their lab work.

With full support and training, you’ll learn to make and analyse your own samples, using the same equipment that you’ll find in industry labs and the latest ‘green’ chemistry practices – all excellent preparation for your placement and future career.

Learn about research as it happens
Chemistry at Southampton, being part of the Russell Group, means you’ll learn from staff who are involved in making new discoveries.

Our academics are advancing battery technology for cleaner energy, designing drugs for hard-to-treat cancers, and using digital modelling in the fight against COVID-19, to name just a few examples. They will share their passion for their specialist areas with you, bringing the most up-to-date knowledge to your seminars and lectures.

Core modules in the first and second year are shared across most of our chemistry degrees. This makes it easy to transfer if you decide you’d like to join our MChem Chemistry or MChem with six-month placement degree. Depending on your optional module choices or level of maths study, there’s also the possibility of moving to one of our specialist MChem courses.

In years one and two you’ll gain a solid chemistry foundation for more in-depth study in your third and fourth year. You’ll learn the fundamentals of organic, inorganic and physical chemistry, as well as practical lab techniques. In year one you’ll also take a mathematics module tailored to your previous maths experience.

You’ll be able to select optional modules in years two, three and four. These cover a wide range of topics, such as:

• environmental chemistry
• chemical biology
• programming
• medicinal chemistry
• artificial intelligence and machine learning in chemistry
• synthetic methods in organic chemistry
• energy applications in chemistry
• sustainable chemistry
• quantum mechanics in chemistry and spectroscopy

You can also choose modules from other disciplines such as oceanography, biology, physics or a language.

Alongside optional modules, core modules in year three will deepen your understanding of key areas of chemistry, and you will do an independent research project.

You’ll spend year four working on an assessed external research project at your placement company.

For a full list of modules, please visit: https://www.southampton.ac.uk/courses/chemistry-with-yearlong-industry-experience-degree-mchem#modules.

To assist your learning the academic staff will provide an extensive programme of lectures, tutorials, problem workshops, and laboratory classes. They will provide learning support material and also informal assistance to guide your private study.

Your placement project will be supervised by a line-manager or academic supervisor employed by the organisation where you take up your placement and supported by ana member of staff from Southampton acting as an advisor. Additional assistance will be provided by our placements tutor.

You will be guided during the completion of your Southampton-based research project by a member of staff, with whom you will meet regularly to discuss the context, design, execution, interpretation, and presentation of your project work. Additional lectures that support your research training in aspects such as the assessment of risks and hazards, production of written reports, and oral presentations will be provided. Completion of the project will enable you to demonstrate your academic independence.

Professionally accredited courses provide industry-wide recognition of the quality of your qualification.

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