Chemistry with Medicinal Chemistry MChem (Hons)
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Master
In St Andrews
Description
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Type
Master
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Location
St andrews (Scotland)
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Duration
5 Years
The MChem (Hons) in Chemistry with Medicinal Chemistry focuses on the important interface of chemistry with biology and medicine, and provides training in both chemistry and biomolecular sciences. During your degree, you will be provided with a broad base of chemical knowledge and understanding reinforced by extensive practical experience and familiarity with modern laboratory, instrumental and computational techniques.
The MChem allows you to combine undergraduate and postgraduate study into a single five-year programme, graduating with a Masters degree. The course is designed to give you the best possible training for a career in chemistry and is tailored for those intending to enter the professional chemical sector or to carry out postgraduate study upon graduation.
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About this course
The MChem in Chemistry with Medicinal Chemistry is a five-year Integrated Masters course run by the School of Chemistry. During the course, you will develop awareness and appreciation of the latest advances in Medicinal Chemistry in addition to the fundamentals of the subject. You will be provided with a broad base of chemical knowledge and understanding reinforced by extensive practical experience. In addition, you will get a high level of general intellectual and scientific training, which allows many graduates to enter challenging careers in areas not directly related to chemistry.
In the first two years, you will take modules in organic, inorganic and physical chemistry. The skills you gain in research and analysis during these years will prepare you to undertake more advanced and specialist modules during your final three years. These specialist subjects include (but are not limited to):
chemical biology
biosynthesis of natural products
molecular recognition
physical and organic chemistry.
Chemistry graduates have never been more in demand and they are keenly sought by major companies; there are also exciting opportunities in a new generation of innovative grassroots companies. Those who take an Integrated Masters degree receive advanced research training and are prepared for a career within the scientific sector.
St Andrews Chemistry graduates are highly employable and have gone on to find success in a wide variety of careers in industry and business including:
professional chemists in the chemical and pharmaceutical industries
teachers
forensic scientists
various careers in the food industry (including brewing)
management consultancy
marketing and advertising
patent lawyers
journalism and the media
SQA Highers AAAB, including A in Chemistry, and an additional Higher in one of the following:
Biology or Human Biology
Computing Science or equivalent
Geography
Mathematics
Physics
Psychology.
GCE A-Levels AAB, including A in Chemistry.
IB points 35, including HL6 in Chemistry.
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Subjects
- Biology
- Physical Chemistry
- Medicinal Chemistry
- Chemistry
- Biosynthesis
- Natural products
- Asymmetric Synthesis
- Chemical Biology
- Molecular Recognition
- Synthetic Methodology
Course programme
In the first two years of your degree (known as sub-honours) you will take the required modules in Chemistry alongside modules in at least one other subject.
Typically, you will take one or two Chemistry modules per semester during your first two years, and four to six per semester during your third, fourth and fifth years
1st Year
Students will take the following compulsory first-year modules:
- Introduction to Inorganic and Physical Chemistry: covers the origin of the elements, atoms and the Periodic Table, shapes and properties of molecules, chemistry of the elements, properties of solutions, thermochemistry, thermodynamics and kinetics.
- Inorganic and Physical Chemistry 1: covers bonding in simple molecules, inorganic solids, chemistry of the first row transition metals, properties of solids, states of matter and introductory spectroscopy.
- Organic and Biological Chemistry 1: covers the structure, stereochemistry and nomenclature of simple organic compounds, fundamental organic reaction mechanisms, organic functional groups and their reactions, introductory bioorganic chemistry, and organic spectroscopy.
Students will take the following compulsory second-year modules:
- Inorganic Chemistry 2: covers metal complexes and organometallics, descriptive transition-metal chemistry, atmospheric chemistry, solid-state chemistry and descriptive main-group chemistry.
- Organic Chemistry 2: covers carbon-carbon bond formation, interconversion of functional groups, aromatic and heteroaromatic reactivity, mechanistic biological chemistry and organic spectroscopy.
- Physical Chemistry 2: covers quantum mechanics, thermodynamics and electrochemistry, kinetics, molecular spectroscopy and diffraction and mathematical tools for chemistry.
If you decide to take Chemistry with Medicinal Chemistry in your third year, you choose from a wide variety of advanced options, including modules ranging from physical inorganic chemistry to quantum theory of atoms, molecules and solids.
Here is a sample of Honours modules which have been offered in previous years:
- Quantitative Aspects of Medicinal Chemistry
- Organometallic Chemistry
- Synthetic Methodology
- Mechanism in Organic Chemistry
- Carbohydrate and Nucleic Acid Chemistry.
During fourth year, you will have the opportunity to work on a placement outside St Andrews for a whole year. This is a great chance to gain experience in industry and to add value to your CV at the same time.
Typically, you may join a research and development group within a company and receive a salary for the duration of your placement. It is also possible for the placement to be carried out in an overseas academic institution.
The School will assist students in applying for an 8 to 13-month placement in a leading industrial research laboratory. The School has links with large and small companies of different types, including:
- AstraZeneca (UK)
- BP (UK)
- DSM (Amsterdam, Netherlands)
- GlaxoSmithKline (UK)
- Novartis (Basel, Switzerland)
- Proctor and Gamble (UK)
- Roche (Basel, Switzerland)
- Syngenta (UK).
Alternatively, you have the choice to complete the MChem without doing an external placement, and will take lecture and practical modules during your fourth year Honours programme at St Andrews.
5th Year
During fifth year, you will take advanced research-led modules in your chosen speciality. Advanced modules offered in the past include:
- Molecular Recognition
- Chemical Biology
- Reactive Intermediates
- Asymmetric Synthesis
- Natural Products, Biosynthesis and Enzyme Co-Factors.
Students will also undertake a substantial research project in their final year on a topic chosen in consultation with academic staff. The project aims to develop your skills in experimental design and problem-solving, the evaluation and interpretation of data, and communication skills.
The sub-honours modules listed here are the compulsory modules that students must take in order to graduate in this subject. However, most students at St Andrews take additional modules, either in their primary subject or from other subjects they are interested in. For Honours-level, students choose from a range of Honours modules, some of which are listed above.
Additional information
Chemistry with Medicinal Chemistry MChem (Hons)