Chemistry

While many people think of chemistry and remember foul-smelling school laboratories, periodic tables and the occasional excitement of an explosion, they should be thinking of the subject as the all-singing, all-dancing explanations of almost every natural process you can think of. Whether it's why leaves turn red in autumn, why diamonds are hard or even why soap gets us clean, then you won't find a better way to explain it than through the study of chemistry. Atoms, molecules and ions - the fundamental building blocks - are the key actors in the chaotic theatre that is the world in which we live.

As you'd expect, therefore, chemistry is the broadest of the traditional physical sciences and covers areas more usually associated with biological, medical or geological studies. It:s a challenging degree, requiring a sound foundation of broad scientific knowledge, as well as an ability to appreciate how different processes interrelate - and an eagerness to don a lab coat and conduct investigations and experiments for yourself.

To study it as an undergraduate, chemistry at A-level or equivalent is, as you'd expect, an absolute must, but some universities will also recommend that you have passes in maths, physics or biology - this will especially be the case if you intend to apply for a more specialised field, requiring the relevant back-ground knowledge. However, most general courses will provide students with support in these areas if it is needed, so entry can still be pretty flexible. The Royal Society of Chemistry website gives a summary of entry requirements for chemical science degrees.

By and large, chemistry courses build on what you'll already have done at school or college (but, chances are, in a very different environment), so you'll work on organic, inorganic and physical chemistry, and move on to more areas oftheoretical and analytical chemistry (one and the same in some places) and then on to more particular specialisation in areas such as medicinal, biological or pharmaceutical chemistry.

The specialised knowledge required for this degree is such that many graduates decide to stay in scientific fields, either continuing on to higher and research courses or going straight into industry and laboratory work - this could be anything from pharmaceuticals to oceanography. But with the breadth of study you'd be expected to undertake, chemistry students leave university with many of the numerical, IT, problem-solving and analytical skills appreciated by employers, and are, therefore, sought after by employers in a very wide range of professions, including, for example, the City, in government or in commerce.

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