Chemistry is a 4-year course at Oxford, with the fourth year consisting entirely of a project in which you have the opportunity to work with a research group - a unique part of the Oxford degree.
Here are some general resources related to Chemistry.
Overview 🔗 The Oxford course page contains a wealth of resources about the course structure as well as admission requirements.
Faculty website 🔗 This is the official Faculty webpage for prospective undergraduates, which links to various resources.
Alternative Prospectus 🔗 This is an unofficial prospectus put together by the Oxford Student Union; it’s written based on students’ perspectives and gives a better sense of what the day-to-day experience as a Chemistry student is like, compared to official materials.
Tutorial style and number varies between colleges, however, you will be tutored in all three sub-disciplines of Chemistry (Physical, Organic, Inorganic), as well as Maths in your first year. A typical day will include two morning lectures and a tutorial or labs (2 days per week). As you progress through the degree, there is scope to specialise by taking option modules in the third year.
Why Chemistry at Oxford? 🔗 🌟 The department has a fairly good page about the advantages of the Oxford Chemistry course. Whilst the pages emphasise the non-modularity of the course, that doesn’t mean there’s not any choice! Starting from the second year you’ll have the opportunity to sit supplementary subjects (i.e. an additional module that accounts for up to 1% of your degree and currently, a significant amount of lab hours). This can be in anything from the history & philosophy of science, to languages, and further in-depth courses in all three branches of chemistry. The third year also offers a compulsory ‘options’ paper of courses you choose to study for a term after the main course teaching has finished!
Day in the Life of a Chemistry Student video 🔗 🌟 A day in the life of a chemistry student by Lady Margaret Hall. Talks both about life at LMH and the day-to-day life of studying chemistry.
Reading Lists 🔗 These are the reading lists for the papers that first-years take. Don’t be intimidated by how long they are; they’re intended to be worked through over the course of a full academic year, and honestly no one reads everything anyway.
Chemistry personal statements advice 🔗 Exemplar personal statements are available online, but it is important to stress there is no winning formula, and you should try to explain to the tutors why you are interested in Chemistry. It is a useful opportunity to demonstrate your ability to read around your subject. A rough guide for Oxbridge personal statements is to keep the non-subject-related content to around 5%. As tempting as it is to write about sporting and music achievement, the tutors are looking for a genuine chemical passion and so will skim over any unrelated music awards!
It is important to note the way interviews are run and their structure will vary by college. It is reasonable to expect that you’ll be asked questions about all three disciplines plus maths over at least two interviews. Probably the most important thing you can do to prepare is to know and understand the entirety of your A-Level chemistry course before the interview (even if you haven’t covered it in class). Further resources to aid your understanding of A-Level Chemistry can be found on the subject page.
Mock Interview 🔗 🌟 Check out this mock interview for chemistry by Jesus College. To emphasise what is said in this interview, the questions asked will be rooted initially in your A-Level course before exploring beyond that - it’s not about what you know, but rather your understanding of Chemistry and how you think through problems you haven’t seen before! Don’t be intimidated, as the tutors are there to guide you if you get stuck! (the authors of this guide would like to add that the tutor featured in this video is one of our favourite lecturers, absolutely top guy)
Cambridge Chemistry Challenge 🔗 🌟 The past papers and online puzzles are a great way of preparing for interviews. These little brain teasers are a good taster for the sort of problem solving and sorts of questions found in Oxford interviews, so would strongly recommend.
InsideUni Chemistry interview experiences 🔗 🌟 Current students talk about their interview experience, as well as sharing some tips. We’re biased, but we think they’re useful!