Medicinal Chemistry with Industrial Placement

Medicinal chemistry is the science of designing, synthesising and developing molecules that can function as medicines. It occupies the territory between chemistry and pharmacology, asking how molecular structure determines biological activity, how drugs interact with their targets in the body, and how candidate compounds can be optimised for potency, selectivity, safety and pharmacokinetic properties. Graduates of this discipline sit at the heart of the pharmaceutical industry's most important work.

This five-year full-time MChem programme at Heriot-Watt University is career-focused and includes an industrial placement year, giving you direct experience of working in pharmaceutical or chemical science settings before you complete your studies. You will develop rigorous knowledge across organic synthesis, analytical chemistry, biological chemistry, drug metabolism, molecular modelling and the regulatory science that governs drug development. The placement year is structured to give you real professional experience in the pharmaceutical or related industry, building both your technical skills and your understanding of how research is conducted in commercial and regulatory contexts.

Graduating at MChem level means you leave with a master's-equivalent qualification that is well positioned for professional and research roles.

Heriot-Watt's programme is explicitly designed to equip you for pharmaceutical and drug development careers, and the combination of academic rigour and industrial experience gives graduates a meaningful advantage in the job market.

Graduates move into drug discovery research, process chemistry, analytical chemistry, quality assurance, clinical research, regulatory affairs and pharmaceutical manufacturing. Many work in the UK's substantial pharmaceutical and biotechnology sector, and some pursue postgraduate research degrees in medicinal chemistry, chemical biology or related fields.