利莫利克大学

Why Study Pharmaceutical and Industrial Chemistry at UL?

The Pharmaceutical & Industrial Chemistry degree course qualifies you for employment in a variety of professional careers in the pharmaceuticals and chemicals sector. A number of features of the course structure ensure that you are well prepared for the challenges of a position in these fields 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, you will spend eight months as a full-time paid employee of a pharmaceutical or chemical company during the work placement period (called Cooperative Education) in the third year of the programme. The course is accredited by the Institute of Chemistry of Ireland and the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) with graduates eligible for RSC Chartered Chemist status.

There are significant employment prospects for our graduates in companies involved in the production, by chemical means, of numerous other items and goods that are essential to modern living:

• Food production and processing
• Fuels (including non-fossil, renewable fuels)
• Polymers and plastics
• Computer components (including microships and integrated circuits)
• Synthetic fibres e.g. Lycra

Typical duties of our graduates include:

• Drug discovery and synthesis
• Formulation and production of active ingredients
• Scale up of drug synthesis from the laboratory to the production plant
• Laboratory quality analysis of pharmaceuticals
• Developing innovative processes for making chemicals and pharmaceuticals
• Quality assurance, validation and regulatory compliance e.g. FDA licensing
• Pollution monitoring/control and environmental remediation
• Chemical analysis work e.g. Forensic analysis or process troubleshooting

Career Prospects

Careers open to you with a degree in Pharmaceutical and Industrial Chemistry include;

• Chemist
• Industrial Chemist
• Environmental Chemist
• Chemical Process Engineer
• Quality Assurance Manager

Coming from the longest established applied chemistry programme in Ireland, our graduates have an extremely good reputation with employers. Over 95% work locally in Ireland, in jobs that are well paid and largely sustainable. Our graduates enjoy recognition as qualified chemists by professional bodies within Ireland, the EU, and worldwide.

Our graduates work in a wide range of employment sectors such as:

• Pharmaceutical/drug production
• Clean chemical technologies
• Renewable fuels and sustainable energy generation
• Paints and plastics & textiles
• Drug discovery and development
• Mineral & metal processing
• Chemical Quality Control & validation
• Electronic materials & components

Follow-On Study

Numerous opportunities exist for students that have graduated from the programme at the appropriate level. Funded postgraduate research work to Masters or PhD level at UL or at other universities worldwide, specialist taught MSc???s, and professional add-on/ conversion courses (e.g. a Graduate Diploma in Chemical Engineering) are among the more popular options.