MODULES
Foundation Year
CORE MODULES
Essential Skills for Higher Education (Mental Wealth)
The module aims to enable you to develop the range of essential skills required to complete your academic studies successfully and to enhance your employment prospects. You will develop your skills in academic reading and writing, gathering and evaluating information, and critical thinking. You will perform various individual and group activities, including presentations on topics relevant to your degree studies, enhancing your social awareness and team work skills as well as core communication skills.
Essential Maths & ICT
This module will provide you with fundamental knowledge and practical skills in basic maths, data presentation, and the IT skills. The development of these essential skills will help you to successfully complete further academic studies and enhance your employment prospects. Topics of study will include working with numbers, practical applied maths, basic statistics, data presentation and applied IT skills training in Microsoft office.
Human Biology
Within this module you will develop an understanding of the basic anatomical structures in the human body and physiological principles and processes underpinning their function. You will explore key areas such as the cardiovascular, respiratory, urinary, and musculoskeletal system and the coordination of these systems in the maintenance of bodily homeostasis and human health.
Chemistry of Life
This module will provide you with a foundation in the theoretical and experimental aspects of chemistry that underpin many topics in chemistry and biosciences. You will study basic principles of chemistry such as the periodic table, molecular structure and chemical bonding, organic and biological chemistry, nomenclature of carbon molecules and the structures and functions of the building blocks of life, environmental chemistry, pollutants and toxins on our environment and health.
Career & Professional Skills (Mental Wealth)
The module aims to develop your life and professional skills, enhance your employment prospects and progression, as well as the academic and subject specific skills which are required for further study. You will actively seek and engage with various digital platforms (e.g., LinkedIn), University services and external institutions that will offer you opportunities, to explore, evaluate, learn and participate in activities that enhance your professional skills and reflect on how to plan your career. Academic staff in the various degree programmes and career coaches at UEL will advise and support you on professional skills, career prospects and developments.
Introduction to the Study of Cells
The module aims to provide you with a basic introduction to how different biological and biochemical processes function within cells. You will study the structure and biochemistry of prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells, cell metabolism, cell division as well as the principles of genetic variation. After completing this module you will have gained a suitable foundation for further studies in the biological and chemical sciences.
Year 1
CORE MODULES
Professional Practice in Science (Mental Wealth)
Fundamentals of Organic Chemistry
The module aims to enable you to develop a knowledge and understanding of the synthesis, reaction, theoretical and practical techniques underpinning the fundamentals of organic chemistry. You will also develop an understanding of chemical chirality and its clinical significance in pharmaceuticals and other industrial applications.
Mathematics for Scientists
The module aims to enable you to develop a knowledge and understanding of the mathematical techniques underpinning all aspects of physical sciences and their application in theoretical and applied chemistry.
Fundamentals of Analytical Chemistry
The module aims to enable you to develop a knowledge and understanding of the fundamentals of analytical, mathematical and quantification techniques underpinning all aspects of chemistry.
Fundamentals of Inorganic Chemistry
The module aims to enable you to develop a knowledge and understanding of the theoretical and practical techniques underpinning the fundamentals of inorganic chemistry. Topics of study will include acids, bases and buffers, atomic and electronics structure, solid state chemistry and fundamental applications of spectroscopy to inorganic chemistry.
Fundamentals of Physical Chemistry
The module aims to enable you to develop a knowledge and understanding of the major areas and practical techniques underpinning the fundamentals of Physical Chemistry. This module will introduce key topics such as thermodynamics, kinetics, properties of gases and liquids and will provide you with the ability to apply standards experimental methodology to solve theoretical and practical problems.
OPTIONAL MODULES
Level 4 Short Work Placement
This module is designed to give you an opportunity to develop professional skills and experience within the workplace. It will also help you to establish a range of professional contacts that have the potential to be useful both for project work and assisting in finding employment after graduation.
Year 2
CORE MODULES
Advanced Topics in Analytical Chemistry
This module will provide you with an exciting learning experience spanning theoretical and practical elements of advanced analytical chemistry. The key pillars of organic structure elucidation are 2D 1H and 13C NMR spectroscopy, Fourier transform, IR spectroscopy and mass spectrometry. Evolving from principles learned at in the first year, a more diverse range of molecular spectra is interpreted.
Taught within a global employability framework, you will solve more complex structures before moving on to tackle industrial applications relevant to organic synthesis, drug discovery from natural products and quality control. This module will prepare you with an analytical toolbox for their subsequent independent research projects and enhances your placement opportunities for the penultimate summer period.
Topics in Environmental and Green Chemistry
The module aims to enable you to develop expertise in environmental and green chemistry. Topics of study will include the twelve principles of green chemistry, water pollution, atmospheric chemistry and geochemistry. Your role as a chemist in helping alleviate the environmental impact of laboratory activates will be discussed in-depth along with strategies for reducing chemical waste or energy expenditure during synthetic procedures. You will get hands on experience measuring selected analytes in environmental samples.
Topics in Inorganic Chemistry
The module aims to enable you to understand and apply theoretical and practical techniques to study important inorganic compounds and to develop your expertise in symmetry and spectroscopy. Topics of study include properties and reactions of groups 1-18, coordination of compounds, group theory, f-block elements and organometallic chemistry.
Research & Career Development - Mental Wealth
This module is structured to offer you reflective, integrated components in which different scientific disciplines and specialities belonging to their and other programmes of study (such pathobiology, clinical laboratory practice, disease treatment, synthetic chemistry, drug design and manufacture, etc.) are discussed in a system-led approach to develop professional competencies required in carrying out independent laboratory work in a professional setting.
This includes developing your understanding of different investigative techniques both within and outside of your programme of study, reading and interpreting scientific literature, generic research skills and understanding professional and regulatory benchmarks (ie ethics, governance) within the sector. You will also develop practical skills such as recording, evaluating and presenting results to different types of audiences. While development of sector specific scientific skills is the focus of this module, you will also in parallel develop key transferable skills which will help you thrive in a variety of other sectors.
Organic Mechanisms of Synthesis
The module aims to enable you to develop an expertise in implementing the drug synthesis, reaction, theoretical and practical techniques underpinning the core principles of organic chemistry. This will include the rational for various protecting group strategies and consolidating disconnection approaches in the context of drug synthesis.
Topics in Physical Chemistry
The module aims to develop your expertise in implementing the theoretical and experimental techniques underpinned by the core principles of Physical Chemistry by also providing examples of the application of quantum theory to spectroscopy. You will also explore topics in molecular structure and the application of statistics to thermodynamics.
OPTIONAL MODULES
Level 5 Short Work Placement
This module is designed to give you an opportunity to develop professional skills and experience within the workplace. It will also help you to establish a range of professional contacts that have the potential to be useful both for project work and assisting in finding employment after graduation.
OPTIONAL MODULES
Year Long Placement (Sandwich Year)
This module is designed to give you an opportunity to develop professional skills and experience within the workplace. It also enables you to apply knowledge and skills in the competent performance of tasks required by a scientist. Furthermore, it helps you to establish a range of professional contacts that have the potential to be useful both for project work and assisting in finding employment after graduation.
Year 3
CORE MODULES
Natural Products and Discovery
Within this module you will develop an in-depth understanding of the chemistry of natural products, the process involved in drug design and development using lead compounds derived from these sources. You will also evaluate the processes by which medicinal plants and other sources of natural products are cultivated, harvested, stored and processed including factors such as microbial contamination or adulteration and the impact of quality assurance for phytopharmaceuticals and complementary therapies. You will critically evaluate the chemistry, synthetic steps and challenges involved in manufacturing compounds originating from natural sources for research and commercial purposes.
Application of Analytical Techniques in Pharmaceutical Quality Control
This module is industry-focused and will allow you to implement an integrated knowledge of spectrophotometric and chromatographic techniques for industry standard quality control of chemical precursors, raw materials for manufacturing processes and pharmaceutical products. After you complete the module you will be able to critically justify, adapt and apply analytical techniques currently used in pharmaceutical, biotechnology and other related sectors. This will place you in a good position to successfully compete for jobs within this vibrant and expanding sector.
Research Project and Career Enhancement Portfolio (Mental Wealth)
During this capstone module you will integrate and apply the knowledge and practical skills you have learned through your degree programme in two activities. The first is the honours level independent research project (honours dissertation) focused on generation and interpretation data in a topic area centred within your programme of study.
The second is the development of a career enhancement portfolio where you will be able to assess and hone your key transferable skill sets in preparation for successfully achieving your desired postgraduate destinations.
Physical, Theoretical and Computational Chemistry
The module aims to give you an in-depth understanding of the theoretical and computational methods used to study problems in physical, inorganic and organic chemistry. Topics will include electronic structure calculations, molecular geometry optimisation, 3D structure and the prediction of the spectral properties and molecular and quantum mechanics. You will apply this theoretical knowledge both in silico and in laboratory activities learning how public chemistry databases and computational approaches are used within these disciplines.
Bioinorganic Chemistry
The module aims to enable you to rationalise how topics developed in inorganic chemistry can be applied to biological systems, and to evaluate the relationship between healthy and disease states in terms of "inorganic" elements imbalance. This module will introduce you to key topics in Bioinorganic Chemistry such as structure and function of metalloproteins and ion channels as well as the role of metalloids in therapy. It will also cover cutting edge topics such as radiopharmaceuticals and bio-imaging techniques including PET and MRI, and will provide you with the ability to engage with scientific literature.
OPTIONAL MODULES
Protein Biochemistry and Proteomics
Within this module you will gain an in-depth understanding of how a variety of laboratory and computation techniques are used to identify proteins and understand the structures of proteins. You will also learn how peptides can be synthesized and proteins can be chemically modified to alter their biological properties. Techniques used for the measurement of interactions between proteins and other macromolecules and their application in understanding protein function and bioengineering will also be explored.
Medicinal Chemistry
This module aims to enable you to understand and critically evaluate the core principles of medicinal chemistry in relation to drug structure and biological activity, also to appreciate the process involved in rational drug design and development of drug products. Topics will include empirical and rational approaches to lead discovery, lead optimisation, QSAR and toxicological prediction and testing. You will also gain hands on experience with different aspects of lead compound development from identification, synthesis to optimisation.
Level 6 Short Work Placement
This module is designed to give you an opportunity to develop professional skills and experience within the workplace. It will also help you to establish a range of professional contacts that have the potential to be useful both for project work and assisting in finding employment after graduation.
