Chemistry with Foundation BSc (Hons)

University of Reading

BSc Chemistry with Foundation is a four-year course offering you a broad education in chemistry and providing you with the skills to succeed in a range of professions.Are you keen to take our BSc Chemistry course but haven’t taken the necessary A level subjects? Our BSc Chemistry with Foundation is a four-year programme that includes a year of foundational study and leads directly into the three-year course.Following the foundation year, you will spend the next two years learning the core subjects that all chemists need to know. Topics include trends in the periodic table, carbonyl group chemistry and chemical kinetics. You will be taught by internationally leading experts through a combination of lectures, lab classes, workshops and tutorials.In your final year you will study more advanced topics influenced by the cutting-edge chemistry taking place around you. The Department's staff specialise in a number of areas including nanotechnology, synthesis, polymers and advanced materials, surface science and forensic analysis, providing a wide range of options for your final year research project.Additionally, if you are interested in teaching as a career, we offer a school-based project in your final year. Students spend one day a week for two terms working alongside both teachers and pupils on an individual project. This project gives you the necessary experience for teacher training applications and helps develop your professional skills for careers which involve working with people.All our chemistry courses are very flexible and, depending on your grades, you can transfer between them at the end of your first or second year.**Placement**We have a dedicated placements officer who is able to advise on career options, CVs and letters of application, as well as to help you find a placement.We have previously sent students to companies such as Coty (Rimmel), Dow Corning and GSK. Students have also been placed at foreign research institutions such as the University of Zaragoza, Aarhus University, the University of South Australia and NASA.**Careers**We incorporate skills development into each year of the degree, giving you a better chance of securing work when you leave university. Upon graduation you will have a range of skills which are essential for chemists but also make you highly desirable in all areas of employment. These include skills such as planning and organisation, handling information, communication, scientific and practical skills, ICT, problem solving, critical analysis, time management and business awareness. The Department also holds a careers fair at which University alumni discuss their careers and advise you on the different options available.Some of our graduates continue into further studies, working towards an MSc, initial teacher training or a PhD. Other graduates go into a range of professions, across numerous sectors including science, the environment, health and safety, forensics, food technology, pharmaceuticals and water analysis.Past students have found work with organisations including Evotec, Pharmaterials, Intertek, Reed, the police, Pfizer, CEM Analytical Services and Thames Water.