Bachelor of Science in Pharmaceutical and Industrial Chemistry

General Information

The Pharmaceutical & Industrial Chemistry degree course at the University of Limerick is a four year programme which qualifies you for employment in a variety of pharmaceutical, and professional positions. A number of features of the course structure ensure that you are well prepared for the challenges of a position in the pharmaceutical sector immediately on graduation. Fundamental and applied aspects of organic, inorganic, physical and analytical chemistry are covered as well as key chemical engineering topics. In addition each student spends eight months as a full-time paid employee of a pharmaceutical or chemical company during the work placement period called Cooperative Education during the third year of the programme.

Our chemistry graduates are employed by a very wide range of organisations, primarily pharmaceutical companies that synthesise active ingredients for medicines and other healthcare products, as well as those industries which formulate these into the end products that you can buy in a pharmacy or that may be prescribed by a doctor. Virtually all of our present day pharmaceutical and healthcare products are prepared by chemical and pharmaceutical companies.

A very wide range of other items and goods essential to modern living involve the use of chemicals:

• food (production and processing)
• synthetic fibres for cloths e.g. lycra
• polymers and plastics corrosion resistant coatings on metals
• computer chips

Typical duties of pharmaceutical and industrial chemistry graduates include:

• drug discovery and synthesis
• formulation of active ingredients
• production of active ingredients
• research on scale-up of new drugs
• laboratory - analysis of drug quality
• process development and innovation
• quality assurance tasks
• environmental remediation
• elimination of waste
• forensic analysis

For further details, log on to www.ul.ie/~ces

Course Structure

The first year of the course deals with foundation material in a variety of science subjects: chemistry, physics, mathematics, biology, computing. In the second semester of year one and through the two semesters of year two the focus is on the fundamental aspects of organic, inorganic, physical and analytical chemistry. Applied and advanced topics as well as the main chemical engineering topics are covered in years three and four.

The Cooperative Education placement runs in year three from February 1 to the end of September. This is organised by the University together with representatives from the various industries.The student is interviewed by the company representatives and on selection is offered full-time employment during the Cooperative Education period and is paid the going rate for the job.

Each student carries out a research project during their final year.This may involve continuing some work carried out while on the Cooperative Education placement or it may involve carrying out work in association with a chemistry postgraduate student.

Entry Requirements

Applicants are required to hold at the time of enrolment the Leaving Certificate (or an approved equivalent) with at least Grade C3 in two Higher Level subjects and Grade D3 in four Ordinary or Higher Level subjects (including Mathematics; Irish or another language; and English). In addition, applicants are required to hold at least the following in the Leaving Certificate or an approved equivalent: Grade C3 in Higher Level Mathematics and a Grade D3 in a Higher or Ordinary Level paper in any one of the following: Physics, Chemistry, Physics with Chemistry, Engineering,Technical Drawing/Design & Communication Graphics,Technology,Agricultural Science, Biology. OR Grade B3 in Ordinary Level Mathematics (Grade D3 in Higher Level Mathematics also suffices) and Grade C3 in one of the following Higher Level papers:Applied Mathematics,Physics,Chemistry,Physics with Chemistry,Biology,Agricultural Science.

Notes: (a) Only students who take a Science subject at Ordinary Level must have a Higher C3 in Mathematics.
(b) Leaving Certificate Chemistry is not a compulsory Science subject but without it some extra work will be required in the first year.

Students can also enter this programme of study via the Science Choice degree LM117. A Special Mathematics Examination will be offered at UL following the Leaving Certificate results for those students who did not achieve the Mathematics requirement.

Career Prospects

Graduates from the programme have established an extremely good reputation with employers.Over 95% now work locally in Ireland and the others in the EU, North and South America and Australia.Typical job titles of recent graduates include, Research Chemist, Production Manager, Process Engineer, Environmental Manager, Forensic Chemist. Graduates are employed in technical management and production development in a wide range of industries such as:

• Pharmaceutical drug production
• Clean chemical technologies
• Paints and plastics
• Quality Control & validation
• Textiles
• Mineral & metal processing
• Drug discovery & development
• Electronic materials & components
• Biomedical devices