The goal of medicinal chemistry is to support the search for new drugs to treat conditions such as heart disease, obesity and cancer. You’ll work in well-equipped laboratories and be taught by a team of engaging academics.

The chemistry courses at Keele provides an innovative curriculum and high quality teaching. Practical Chemistry is taught in teaching laboratories and staff have direct experience of working in pharmaceutical companies and can therefore challenge you to develop the rigorous and demanding scientific approach that the industry expects. In your final year you will undertake a research project and learn how to conduct effective independent research. You’ll develop essential skills for employment, such as problem solving, presentation and communication.

The industrial placement year provides a fantastic opportunity for you to gain invaluable work experience, and takes place between your second and third year of study with us. You will gain directly transferable skills for the job market, which will give you a headstart when applying for jobs after graduation; you may even meet your future employers!

This degree is accredited by the Royal Society of Chemistry.

Our Medicinal Chemistry graduates have excellent employment prospects, whether at the cutting edge of drug discovery or in a wide range of related fields. For example you might go to work for a pharmaceutical company, either as a research scientist or in a more business related role. Alternatively, you might work as a development chemist taking lead drug compounds through to a manufacturing scale or an analytical chemist profiling the metabolites of a potential drug.