Teaching & Learning

As the 'central science' chemistry is inherently interdisciplinary and is at the the centre of our teaching and student academic experience. Interdisciplinarity is featured within all our core chemistry degrees across our organic, inorganic and physical chemistry curriculum. There are also multiple opportunities to engage with industry and international academic placements to discover and apply your knowledge across different contexts and in practice.

Examples of interdisciplinary teaching and learning include opportunities to learn about structure elucidation through a game based practical experiment as part of a 2nd year module led by Dr Russ Kitson. Teams of students are exposed to a business challenge, whereby students needs to use their lab skills to analyse a compound and make series of investment and strategic decision that can lead them to making the highest profit. Another example is a 3rd year module on energy led by a photovoltaics expert Dr Ross Hatton, where students are exposed to multiple academic and industry experts and latest thinking in Chemistry and opportunities for next generation chemists in this area.

Our postgraduate Masters programmes cover topics such as polymers and analytical science and are inherently interdisciplinary. A significant proportion of Chemistry's postgraduate teaching is delivered by academics from Physics, Engineering, WMG, School of Life Sciences, WMS, and Statistics, or by a range of industrial partners.

Research & Expertise

Chemistry has joint academic staff appointments with Life Sciences and the Medical School, with modules within the Chemistry degree programmes being taught at the Chemistry, Physics and Chemistry. Biology interface. Our staff collaborate across disciplines and bring an interdisciplinary focus into their teaching, particularly in the later years of your degrees. So, as you build up your disciplinary knowledge, vocabulary and confidence you will open more opportunities to engage in learning beyond the boundaries of Chemistry. Computational, biochemistry, energy, education modules are among our most popular student options.

Our departmental research culture hugely values student involvement and contribution. Student research opportunities and support are integrated into your experience from day 1 and you will be encouraged to be creative and push the disciplinary boundaries as you progress through your degree. In addition to this, Chemistry has a long standing link with the Undergraduate Research Support Scheme (URSS) and a number of our students successfully secure research funding for independent interdisciplinary summer research projects with the Scheme. You can find out more about other departmental and central Student Research opportunities here.

Skills

Chemistry's innovative work led by Dr Russ Kitson with support from Dr Paolo Coppo as part of an international educational partnership with Monash University on embedding skills into the curriculum created multiple opportunities for students to expand their knowledge of the subject and develop new academic and employability skills. Each Chemistry student will have the opportunity to develop the following skills:

Useful contacts

Chemistry's Career Consultant Charlie Cunningham will help you find a way to integrate your interdisciplinary experience and skills into your CV. There is also plenty of support with getting started with your interdisciplinary research experience. Start your research journey by speaking to Chemistry's Academic Support Librarian Chris Vernon.

For further questions about interdisciplinary opportunities in the department and beyond, as well as suggestions and ideas for interdisciplinary learning within and outside of the curriculum, please get in touch with Director of Education, Dr Russ Kitson or Director of Student Experience, Dr Bo Kelestyn.

Student project - Our Green Future

ChemSoc created a unique interdisciplinary event, connecting students from all disciplines at the Our Green Future Forum that curated the latest academic and industry through leadership on food, plastic and transport. The event posed a number of complex questions on the future direction of sustainability and positioned Chemistry as a discipline at the intersection of these questions. Supported by the department and Materials GRP the event was the first of many interdisciplinary debates led by Chemistry students outside of their formal curriculum.

Student story - ICUR presentation, Gabby Han

After hearing about the opportunity to share my own research at a conference, I was eager to participate in order to test my abilities of communicating clearly to an interdisciplinary audience as well as improve my professional portfolio. I was greatly supported by my research group on my presentation and really enjoyed the experience of explaining to others what I had worked so hard on, and have them be interested in return. If you have done undergraduate research, then ICUR is a great chance to show it to the public, and also build up your practical presenting skills.

IATL Modules

Studying on an IATL module gives you the opportunity to work with students and lecturers from right across the university, developing connections between ideas, experiences and practice. These skills, of working with people from different backgrounds and developing complex understandings of concepts, are increasingly valued by both students and employers alike and offer you ways of engaging with some of the big questions facing us today. In an IATL module you are not merely learning about the world, you are working with others to develop new ways of understanding it.

There are plenty of options for both Undergraduate and Postgraduate students to choose from. Speak to your department or fill out a request form to get started.

Warwick Enterprise

Enterprise and entrepreneurship are not just about starting or running a business. It embodies a set of transferable skills that are integral to the experience of every student, and that are sought after by a broad range of employers. Whatever your background, interests and post Warwick ambitions, there are plenty of ways you can have an interdisciplinary experience with Warwick Enterprise.

World at Warwick

Warwick is one of the most vibrant, diverse and global Universities in the UK. Explore learning and extra curricular opportunities available on campus and with Study Abroad that will help push the boundaries of your learning. From events, to study abroad opportunities and intercultural training programme, explore the World at Warwick!