卡迪夫大学

Overview

The search for new drugs to combat serious illnesses is an important and exciting challenge at the forefront of medical research. As a medicinal chemist, you can have a positive impact on the health and wellbeing of millions of people worldwide. On the course, you will explore the wider context of drug discovery, business and healthcare, as well as developing the knowledge and laboratory skills needed to design drugs. You will also investigate the relationship between medicinal chemists and drug discovery companies with stakeholders such as patients, investors and governments.There are opportunities for you to gain hands-on experience within a medicinal chemistry team during your research project.

Course structure

This course may be taken on a one year full-time or three year part-time basis. There are two parts to the degree. Part one is comprised of core and optional taught modules which you will take during the autumn and spring semesters. In these modules we will provide you with a foundation in the skills required by contemporary medicinal chemists, such as the techniques and trends in modern drug discovery. We will also look in more detail at the modelling of biological macromolecules and drug targets. We will then follow the process of drug development through from laboratory to clinic. Upon successful completion of part one, you will progress to part two, the summer research project. We will make a range of project options available to you from the field of medicinal chemistry. For this project, depending on the subject you choose, you may work with a research group in the School of Chemistry or our partner, the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Studies. You may, if available, also be able to complete this project with one of our industrial partners or within another academic institution in the UK or abroad.

Learning and assessment

The methods of teaching we employ will vary from module to module, as appropriate depending on the subject matter and the method of assessment. We teach using a mixture of lectures, workshops, case studies, computer-aided sessions, practicals and tutorials. Taught modules are assessed in a variety of different ways depending on the module content and learning outcomes (found in the module descriptions). We use coursework, assessed workshops and presentations or a combination of these to assess your progress on the course.

Career prospects

Graduates are well suited to take up roles in the pharmaceutical, biopharmaceutical and biotech industries and in academia conducting research into new drugs. Our graduates pursue research-related roles within public and private research institutions, academic institutions, or hospital laboratories.