We go to great efforts to make sure you'll enjoy your time and succeed in your studies.

Before you arrive, you'll have the chance to talk via social media to others who'll be starting with you and students already on the course.

Once here, you'll be welcomed by our legendary Chem Crew student mentors, who'll help with everything from studying to social life. You'll also be assigned a personal tutor who'll guide you throughout the course.

"Your peer mentor will have gone through all this before you. They'll support you to revise for your exams and to find more social events to go to." Suruthi Gnanenthiran, BSc (Hons) Chemistry

Our courses are highly practical by design, so you'll be able to spend many hours in our labs.

That time will help you develop your practical chemistry skills. You'll also be getting fantastic experience of problem solving, group working and report writing so you'll be fully prepared for a wide variety of careers.

Our past graduates have gone on to work in a huge range of areas, including in industry, science research, education and the public sector. Here are just a few of the fields recent graduates have gone in to:

• oceanography
• forensic science
• food science
• cosmetic science
• patent law

Find out more about what our graduates go on to do.

Around 60% of all science students choose to go on a placement. But it's up to you, and you can leave the decision until after you've started the course.

There are lots of benefits. You'll get the opportunity to create valuable contacts and develop transferable skills such as problem solving and time management to prepare you for a competitive work environment. You'll also find the experience you gain will help with the rest of your degree.

It's not just experience. Most of our placement options are paid, so you'll be adding valuable funds to your university budget.

Our award-winning placements team work with everyone from tech start-ups to multi-nationals and research councils. We offer a really strong support system so you can make the most of the opportunities.

Recent placement companies include:

• GlaxoSmithKline
• Cleveland Clinic
• Crystec Pharma Ltd
• European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF)
• Harvard University
• Johnson & Johnson
• JP Morgan Chase
• Pfizer
• Porton Biopharma
• Walt Disney

The quality of our placements programme is also one of the reasons we're accredited by the Royal Society of Chemistry.

"One of the driving forces for me coming here was the support they give in finding you industry placements which will stand anybody in good stead after leaving university." Lewis Dixon, MChem (Hons) Chemistry

You'll get a good introduction to the main areas of Chemistry and have the chance to try out topics in management or drug discovery. You'll have the option to build on that experience and specialise later in the course. Some students even transfer to a Master's degree (MChem).

We offer a wide range of projects during our courses, where you get to put your learning to practical use. For the BSc, you can choose between lab-based research, teaching chemistry in schools, public engagement with science or a dissertation based project. The MChem gives more opportunities for practical work, with increasing emphasis on projects in the last two years of the course.

This ensures our courses are kept informed by the latest developments in science. You may also have the opportunity to work on research with them, giving you experience of real world research and something to put on your CV.

You can read about some of our latest research here:

• Solar-powered hydrogen fuels a step closer
• Artificial intelligence takes on chemical research
• Tiny ‘cages’ to keep vaccine supplies safe