Bachelor of Science (Hons) in Chemistry (Optional Placement)

at University of Plymouth United Kingdom

Exploring the beauty of mathematics trains you to think systematically and creatively, so you're valuable in today’s economy. Choose the direction you want on our highly flexible course, culminating in a final-year project of your choice.

Employers want graduates with work experience, so when you arrive here, ask about our placements programme. Science, engineering, finance, government and medicine – as a mathematics graduate you stand to enter a rewarding career in a sector that interests you.

Key Features

• This course offers modules in all key areas of mathematics, statistics and theoretical physics, including a wide choice of final year options. This allows you to follow your interests and shape your future career.
• You will acquire skills which are highly sought after by employers: problem solving skills, knowledge of computing languages and mathematical software packages as well as presentation and communication skills.
• You have a great deal of available support including: a study space next to staff offices; our lecturers’ open door policy; a mathematics drop-in centre in the library; and additional peer learning sessions led by second and third year students.
• An optional but recommended paid placement year primes you for the career you want. Students who have taken a placement tend to attract multiple job offers.
• You have an opportunity in the final year to carry out an in-depth research project on a mathematical topic of your choice, supervised by an expert in that field. This involves producing a 50 page report and presenting your work at a poster session.

Explore the driving forces of relationships between countries and cultures in the 21st century close to where the G7 leaders met in 2021. Unpick all aspects of international relations from law to economics, diplomacy and governance to help you build your own critical thinking skills to navigate some of the major issues facing society. Combine theory and practice so you can better understand the decision-making that drives change. Hone your skills by representing Plymouth at the model UN.

Key Features

• We’re very proud of our National Student Survey (NSS) 2018 return showing that 100 per cent of our students agree staff are good at explaining things.*
• Travel the world through our international student exchange program. From the Czech Republic and Poland, to Canada and the USA, you’ll have plenty of opportunities to gain insights into international relations worldwide.
• Look at how politics works in practice by visiting the Middle East and southern Africa on university-subsidised fieldtrips led by the academic staff.
• Be inspired by teaching rooted in research. Our staff are leading experts in their fields; areas of expertise include popular protest in the Middle East, British and American foreign policy, development in Africa, global environmental politics, security studies and the politics of the European Union.
• Explore the evolution of politics internationally. Debate contemporary worldwide issues, current affairs and major political events. Ask those difficult questions about war, hunger and poverty in the developing world.
• Engage with contemporary international issues and take part in exclusive events, film screenings and lectures, through the Politics and International Affairs Society.
• Differentiate yourself in an international sector with industry experience and modern language skills. As journalists, politicians' assistants and public affairs consultants, our graduates have gone on to work for the European Union, United Nations and UK Civil Service.
• Investigate daily headlines: discover the international and political ideas that influence society.
• Benefit from a course which received excellent ratings for teaching and student satisfaction, in the Guardian University Guide 2015 (within the subject league table for Politics).
• Enhance your employability by participating in the our internship scheme.

Statisticians play a vital and increasing part in all areas of society, business and industry. We have recently seen the importance of statistical analysis and thinking in understanding and managing the Covid-19 pandemic as an example.

You will gain key statistical knowledge and skills to build data fluency that is very much valued by employers. You will have the opportunity to work on a statistics project that provides innovative solutions to real-world problems driven by business, information technology, engineering, finance, medicine, biology and psychology.

Key Features

• This programme provides a deeper knowledge of statistical techniques and a broader experience of data analysis than our BSc (Hons) Mathematics programme. It also covers all the mathematics necessary for a career as a professional mathematician.
• Your experience of studying Statistics at Plymouth will be different from school, because you will learn with experts who design clinical trials, collaborate with national and international health organisations, and provide consultancy to medical practitioners and financial institutions. You will solve problems of contemporary importance using real-world data. For example, you will meet techniques for monitoring and understanding the Covid-19 pandemic.
• Your lectures are also highly qualified and renowned practitioners of mathematics and statistics education. They include authors of text books used worldwide, winners of prestigious research prizes for statistical education, and Senior Fellows of the Higher Education Academy. They are dedicated to enabling students from different educational backgrounds to reach their full potential and maintain it long-term.
• You will have the opportunity to collaborate with lecturers on a mathematics or statistics research project, one output of which is a report which also provides material for discussion in job interviews. The Plymouth Mathematics and Statistics programme is designed to enable you to become a creative, analytical and persevering problem solver and to discuss technical results with non-specialist collaborators clearly and in-depth.
• You will gain knowledge of techniques relevant to business, education, engineering, health and wellbeing, psychology, science, social media analytics and sport, which will make you highly valuable to an extremely broad range of employers.
• You will be equipped with subject-specific knowledge needed by mathematicians and statisticians throughout their working lives. You will learn how to master state-of-the-art analytical software in such a way that you can quickly become familiar with programs that you will use in the workplace.
• You will be part of the close-knit, collaborative and supportive family that is Mathematical Sciences at Plymouth and that is based in the naturally beautiful South West. We are highly committed to interactive student engagement and personalized learning, as this enables us to check regularly your knowledge and skills consolidation together with your general development. This means that studying with us will provide you with the strongest possible foundations for life-long professional success.

 Autonomous systems will increasingly be adopted into every aspect of our daily lives. The future of autonomy, in the transport sector alone, is projected to grow tenfold to over US$550 billion by 2026. Plymouth is fast becoming a global centre for excellence in marine and robotic autonomy systems development. You will have the opportunity to use our specialist laboratories including the COAST and Robotics Laboratory for your dissertation.

Our one year course covers core principles of this emerging field: sensor technologies for machine perception; machine learning and AI for adaptation and decision making; embedded systems, communications, security and data management, for safe and efficient operations of an Autonomous System. The course also encompasses general ethical issues related to the societal acceptance of these systems. The course has been designed in conjunction with employers who contribute seminars and guest lectures.

Key Features

In a world ever-increasingly in flux – economically, environmentally, socio-culturally – there’s an ever greater need for architects able to think creatively, critically and strategically. You’ll be supported in a design and research-led critical inquiry, testing your work in the public domain through live projects in the UK and overseas. You will develop your own sense of praxis, while exploring the potential of architecture to generate more sustainable, inclusive and resilient places.

Our course is fully validated by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) and prescribed by the Architects Registration Board (ARB) to the requirements at Part 2 level. Within six months of degree completion, 100 per cent of our graduates have found professional employment in the UK, Europe and Asia* – with award-winning architects such as AHMM, Allies and Morrison, Feilden Clegg Bradley, Hopkins, John McAslan, Keith Williams, Make, Nicholas Hare and Walters and Cohen.

Key Features

• Our school was described as ‘charged’ by The Architects’ Journal.
• Get creative with our amazing facilities and resources. You’ll be based in our eye-catching Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Business building in the heart of the campus, surrounded by students and staff from other art courses. And, you’ll have two square metres of desk to call your own.
• Study a programme fully validated by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) and prescribed by the Architects Registration Board (ARB) – with National Student Survey results for the M Arch (not including BA Architecture) for the past two years at 100 per cent for overall student satisfaction.
• Interact with the public domain with architecture that’s responsive to people, places and tectonics. Work with local communities and institutions, including city councils, business organisations and non-governmental organisations.
• Work on live studio-based projects, both in the UK and abroad. Previous projects have been based in China, Latvia, Poland, Portugal, Spain and the UK.
• Over 95 per cent of our recent graduates have found work in the UK, the Middle East and Asia.
• Benefit from our future-facing programme that features a strong socio-cultural, urban and sustainability dimension. 
• Learn from tutors with industry experience and interdisciplinary research interests.

Cyber security is essential for all organisations, with hacking, malicious code and social engineering ever present threats to data. This programme provides holistic coverage of cyber security, from governance and policy, to cryptography, penetration testing and digital forensics. Grounded in core computer science, the programme develops the knowledge and skills to design, develop and manage secure systems to produce highly employable cyber security professionals.

Being very applied in nature, you will spend a significant proportion of your time in our Security and Forensics Laboratory putting theory in practice whilst working alongside world-leading academics.

Key Features

 Chemists plays a vital role in tackling key societal challenges, including sustainability, health, energy and protecting the environment. To ensure our graduates can apply their chemistry, our course places problem solving, communication, and project management at the core of what we do. Taught by world-class researchers, our students gain both the academic knowledge and practical laboratory skills needed to be a professional chemist in a wide range of careers.

Work and learn in our ISO 9001 certified laboratories, our unique offer to undergraduates to train in a regulated professional laboratory environment. Chemistry at Plymouth is ranked 14th in the Guardian University Guide 2021: top in the UK for ‘satisfied with feedback’, 2nd in both ‘satisfied with teaching’ and the ‘value-added score’, and 6th on ‘satisfied with the course’

Key Features

• Benefit from outstanding teaching - our degree is ranked 1st in the UK for academic support, 2nd for assessment and feedback and 4th for overall teaching quality (NSS, 2019).
• Equip yourself for successful employment in a competitive job market – our focus on practical, professional skills means you graduate primed to enter the workplace.
• Benefit from award-winning teaching in small groups and be inspired by staff who are world-leading researchers.
• Hone your practical problem solving skills in our newly-refurbished laboratories, kitted out with the latest analytical instrumentation.
• Our tutorial system ensures that you receive the support and guidance you need to reach your full potential.
• 70% of assessment is based on coursework.
• Experience chemistry in the real world and boost your employability by taking a placement, work-based project in your final year, or working alongside PhD and post-doctoral researchers in our high specification laboratories.
• Graduate with in-demand skills for a range of career paths, from research and development in the pharmaceutical industry and lab-based roles in the food and energy industries, to positions in the science, engineering, healthcare, environmental or technology sectors.
• Accredited by the Royal Society of Chemistry, the professional body representing chemistry in the UK.

With companies spending more of their budgets than ever before on digital marketing, and brands like Google, Amazon and Facebook continuing to grow their user base, digital and social-media marketing is changing the rules of competition, giving customers ways to directly influence modern businesses. With this MSc you’ll learn how to succeed in this new reality of marketing, actively participating in the planning, development and deployment of real digital and social media marketing campaigns.

Key Features

Get the best preparation to take on the challenge of a career as a primary teacher focusing on Special Educational Needs (SEN). With teaching methods shaped by our own research expertise, and plenty of on-the-job training in the classroom, you’ll gain the confidence and experience you need to work with SEN students in a variety of roles and settings. We’ll support you to explore the diversity of how children learn and develop your own toolkit for inclusive and effective teaching.

Have you considered

• BEd (Hons) Primary (FS/KS1 with QTS)
• BEd (Hons) Primary (KS1/KS2 with QTS)

Key Features

• Launch your career: obtaining integrated Qualified Teacher Status (QTS), which means you can begin your teaching career immediately. Expand your horizons, enhance your practical experience and set yourself above the competition.
• SEN focus area: this degree will look at teaching over the primary phase but also look at the way SEN and inclusion feeds into KS1 and KS2 preparing you to work with children from any phase of primary education in either mainstream or special schools.
• Partnership with special schools: throughout this degree you will be visiting special schools and working with learners with inclusive needs. You will have a good understanding of how these schools support children with their learning.
• No exams: learn through interactive workshops and with no end-of-year/semester exams.
• Close links to the Master of Education (MA Ed): this link enables students to achieve enhanced career progression in a profession in which masters level attainment is increasingly valued.
• Work based learning opportunities: students benefit from a wide range of placement types within our partnership of over 500 schools and other settings, from single days to extended block placements to develop and consolidate QTS standards.
• Professional identity: from the very start of the programme you are considered as a teacher in development. The programme supports you as you develop your professional standards and identity.
• Research -informed teaching: not only are all modules enhanced by tutors’ active research interests but students are immersed in a research culture and benefit from learning about the advantages of researching their practice first hand.
• Student support: within the Plymouth Institute of Education there is a strong ethos of support for all students. Your professional tutor will actively engage with you throughout the BEd programme to offer guidance and support in both academic and pastoral terms.
• OfSTED recognised: recent inspection rated the Primary ITE provision at Plymouth as good in all aspects, with particular strengths in the partnership led elements of the programmes and the quality of the graduates.

International shipping is a vital industry. Whether moving coffee or computers, professional international shipping managers make difficult decisions. The global shipping industry is responsible for the carriage of the vast majority of the world's trade, which provides the lifeblood of the global economy. Our focused top-up degree provides the bridge from your previous academic qualifications or work experience, giving you the skills needed to enter a dynamic, global and growing industry.

You’ll cover environmental issues and the latest regulations and governance, and develop a range of business and management skills to help you launch your logistics career. This course is available with a January or September start.

Key Features

• Bridge the gap from your previous academic qualifications or work experience and acquire the specialist knowledge that will help you to join this rapidly growing industry. This one year, full-time course is an additional top-up degree.
• Benefit from our International Shipping & Logistics Group’s associations with a number of commercial and international maritime organisations including the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers, The Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport and The Nautical Institute.
• Develop the critical thinking, communication and problem solving skills that enable professional international shipping managers to succeed.
• Learn to view the supply chain and logistics industry with a distinctly contemporary eye – sustainability and environmental issues are embedded in all our modules, increasing your employability and better preparing you for the challenges that climate change presents the industry.
• Examine the latest regulatory and governance in ports, shipping and supply chains – so you’ll graduate with a solid grounding in both the practicalities and the legalities of international shipping.
• Benefit from studying a shipping-related course in a city with a rich maritime tradition and history.
• Immerse yourself in the industry through regular field trips to regulatory organisations, shipbrokers and ports. Take advantage of our programme of visiting speakers, and gain insider knowledge and important networking contacts.