Course content

Our Environmental Science combined honours course at Keele draws on the expertise of scientists within the disciplines of life sciences, chemical sciences and geosciences to emphasise the role and importance of scientific understanding and practical skills in the analysis and management of environmental problems. Alongside studying topical global environmental issues, you will have the opportunity to develop a broad range of practical, laboratory and field-based skills to take into future employment. You’ll also have the opportunity to do fieldwork and gain valuable work experience or study abroad at one of our partner institutions.

In addition, this course prepares you to help solve problems at the intersection of chemistry, biochemistry, molecular biology and pharmacology. The goal of Medicinal Chemistry is to support the search for new drugs to treat conditions such as heart disease and cancer. You’ll work in well-equipped laboratories, and learn to conduct effective independent research. This will enable you to develop essential skills for employment, such as problem solving, presentation and communication.

This programme is accredited by the Institution of Environmental Sciences (IES), meaning you can gain free membership of the IES to support your personal and professional development in the environmental sector. The programme is also accredited by the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment (IEMA) and therefore you may apply for free Student Membership of the IEMA which provides a range of benefits.

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Environmental Science can also be studied in the following combinations:

• Astrophysics and Environmental Science
• Biology and Environmental Science
• Chemistry and Environmental Science 
• Environmental Science and Geography 
• Environmental Science and Physics

Medicinal Chemistry can also be studied as a Combined Honours degree in the following combinations:

• Astrophysics and Medicinal Chemistry
• Biochemistry and Medicinal Chemistry 
• Medicinal Chemistry and Biology
• Medicinal Chemistry and Forensic Science
• Medicinal Chemistry and Geology
• Human Biology and Medicinal Chemistry
• Medicinal Chemistry and Mathematics
• Medicinal Chemistry and Neuroscience
• Medicinal Chemistry and Physics

You may also be interested in:

• Environmental Science with Work Placement Year
• Environment and Sustainability
• Environment and Sustainability with Work Placement Year
• Ecology and Conservation
• Ecology and Conservation with Integrated Master's

Two of our staff will tell you about some of the distinctive modules that we offer at Keele. Medicinal Chemistry will allow you to specialise if you are thinking about a career in the pharmaceutical industry, whereas the Environmental & Sustainable Chemistry and Industrial Chemistry modules allow you to apply the core knowledge that you have learned to real world problems. Dr Katherine Haxton recently won a green gown award for her work on sustainability.

• Dr Katherine Haxton will introduce you to one of our distinctive first year modules, that is becoming increasingly relevant to society: Environmental & Sustainable Chemistry
• Dr Katherine Haxton will introduce you to one of our distinctive second year modules, that allows you to apply the core knowledge that you have learned to real world problems: Industrial Chemistry
• Dr Tess Phillips will introduce you to Medicinal Chemistry at Keele, which you may be interested in if you are considering a career in the pharmaceutical industry

Facilities

The William Smith building is situated towards the centre of campus, and is occupied solely by the School of Geography, Geology and the Environment. All of the laboratories in the William Smith building have been refurbished over the past few years to provide up-to-date teaching facilities. 

The majority of our undergraduate and postgraduate classes, and research facilities are located within or nearby to the William Smith Building, including a state of the art dedicated teaching floor in the new Central Science Laboratories (CSL), and the Keele University Ice Laboratory (IceLab) - a laboratory that provides dedicated high-precision water isotope and fluorescence spectrometry.

Student's at Keele and the wider community can benefit from the services we offer such as the Keele University Thin-section Services laboratory, one of very few that still remain in the UK, and the Keele University Weather Station, providing weather data for Keele University since 1951.

Chemistry is a practical subject and much of your training will be undertaken in our superb laboratories. The Central Science Laboratories is a world class facility in which to learn how to become a professional chemist. You will gain hands-on experience with modern state-of the art equipment and instrumentation which gives you the opportunity to undertake novel Chemical and Medicinal Chemistry research.

The new state of the art Chemistry laboratories in the Central Science Laboratories are an integral part of the Lennard-Jones laboratories where Chemistry academics and researchers are located. The two new teaching laboratories, a 35 fume hood teaching lab and a large open lab, have been designed to complement the exisiting excellent teaching facilities which include our large teaching laboratory, the spectroscopy suit, the analytical labaratory and the NMR suite. These now create an interconnected collection of Chemistry laboratories all on one floor with a large faculty computor teaching facility two floors above. 

Foundation year

You may choose to study this course via foundation year.

If you’re returning to education following a break, wish to study a new subject or don’t have the grades or sufficient equivalent experience for direct entry to this course, a foundation year may be a good option for you.

Following successful completion (including any additional progression requirements) of the foundation year you can progress on to this course.

The foundation year offers September starts across all subjects, and January starts across all science, humanities, social sciences and business routes.

The January intake excludes the Veterinary Medicine and Surgery degree with Foundation Year and other health-related foundation Year degree

For more details visit our foundation year webpages.

Foundation year

Fees and funding

Going to university can be a daunting as well as an exciting experience. It can be difficult to understand the true costs of being a student, as well as the financial support that is available to help you meet those costs.

We can help you to manage your funds, create a budget and ensure that you receive any funding for which you may be eligible. We also offer financial support such as the Keele University Hardship Fund and emergency loans.

For more information visit our money, advice and guidance section.

Career prospects

96% of Keele graduates were in a job or further study within six months of graduating (HESA, 2017)

All organisations, from private business to local government, increasingly need to engage with environmental issues. Alongside Environmental Science, the Medicinal Chemistry element provides excellent employment prospects, whether at the cutting edge of drug discovery or in a wide range of related fields, with options such as working for a pharmaceutical company, either as a research scientist or in a more business related role. Alternatively, you might work in an organisation as a development chemist, a research assistant, or a site chemist.

Previous employers

• ESF Consultants
• Mott MacDonald Bentley
• LGSS

Regardless of which career you pursue after Keele, employers will want evidence of the range of skills and personal qualities you possess and which are required for the job. Your degree is clearly important in this respect but don’t forget the extra-curricular activities, positions of responsibility, jobs and voluntary work you may have been engaged in while studying at Keele. These activities allow you to demonstrate the skills and personal qualities required by employers and will be vital in your attempts to secure graduate employment.

Find out more about our careers and employability services, including career planning, alumni mentoring, jobs, internships, starting your own business and much more.

Teaching

On Medincinal Chemistry you will experience a wide range of teaching styles and methods from traditional lectures and tutorials to team-based learning and screencasts, online, offline individually and in groups we aim to give you the opportunity to learn in many ways. Our assessment feedback loops combining feedback on how you can improve, with opportunities on how you present your work, are aimed at helping you improve your chemical knowledge as well as your marks. Our undergraduate students receive free online access to our core text books which, with our own bespoke online materials and lecture capture, give you the opportunity to learn in the best ways to suit you.

Three further members of staff will tell you about some of the distinctive methods of teaching that we use on our courses, to give you the best possible chance of success in your time with us.

• Dr Matt O'Brien showcases some of the interactive digital teaching methods that we use, such as interactive screencasts on key concepts
• Dr David McGarvey highlights why we are proud of the teaching that we deliver on our Chemistry/Medicinal Chemistry programmes
• Dr Laura Hancock talks about Team Based Learning (TBL) - a collaborative form of teaching that allows students to achieve as much as possible in workshops