- Home
- Advice for students
- Choosing what to study
- Five reasons to study Chemistry
Five reasons to study Chemistry
If you're interested in a degree in Chemistry, discover five of the best reasons to see why you should study it and how it can help you with your career.

51视频
1. An important field
Chemistry and chemical discoveries underpin many areas of life. Global challenges in the environment, healthcare or agriculture have been solved with the use of chemistry. We will always need chemists to improve the way humans live, so if you pursue a career in this area, your work could make a valuable contribution to society.
Famous chemists include Alfred Nobel, who invented dynamite and is who the Nobel Prize was named after. Marie Curie pioneered research on radioactivity and was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize. Study in their footsteps, and you too could achieve incredible things.
2. Career possibilities
You鈥檒l be in demand as a Chemistry graduate. Countless companies look for people who can carry out scientific research or work in a laboratory setting. You could be a scientist supporting organisations in criminal justice, pharmaceutics, metallurgy or sustainability, for instance.
There are also many opportunities to work outside of the lab. Roles include consultants, patent attorneys, educators, policymakers, writers and analysts.
3. Hands-on learning
Many Chemistry degree courses offer practical work experiences to prepare you for a fruitful career upon graduation. You鈥檒l likely spend time in synthetic chemistry labs learning with industry-standard equipment.
There鈥檚 also often the opportunity to spend a year in an industry placement, where you get to put your skills into practice in a real-world situation. Several students go on placements with companies as big as GlaxoSmithKline.
4. Great graduate prospects
Take a look at our Chemistry subject table and order it by the graduate prospects column. You鈥檒l see that most universities score 70% or above, with several scoring in the high 80s and 90s.
This means that most Chemistry students find professional employment or continue their studies within six months of graduating.
5. Overseas opportunities
Chemistry is used all around the world in most sciences, technologies and industries. Because of this, the skills you鈥檒l gain during a Chemistry degree will be recognised in a lot of places around the world. If you鈥檙e looking to work in a different country, a Chemistry degree might be a handy ticket to get you there.
Related articles

University tuition fees and financial support in...
An overview of undergraduate university tuition fees and student loans for students from...

University tuition fees and financial support in...
An overview of undergraduate university tuition fees and student finance for students...