Video title: Chemistry at Oxford


Understanding chemistry allows us to really interact with the world quite differently. For me to look up at the sky and be able to tell you why the sky is that colour, the chemical processes that are going on. It fundamentally changes the way you perceive the world. And that, I think, is like, always exciting.

[Logos on screen: University of Oxford and Department of Chemistry]

The most interesting fact about chemistry that I've learnt the last few years would be that liquid oxygen is blue.

And also to see that it was magnetic as well, which is not something I would have ever thought. That was a great lecture.

Just as you think you've understood how something works, there’s something that comes along, and it's a new molecule that breaks a certain rule and you just think, that is bizarre. When you understand those things you take for granted, I find that to be the most interesting part.

Why I chose Chemistry is because I saw it everywhere around me. Wherever you look, there's some aspect of chemistry that goes into it.

Particularly here, I think the course is so broad that it spans both the physics, the biology, the materials.

It’s sort of the central science, right? That's what everybody says.

Yeah.

So that's sort of what appealed.

It’s also a very practical subject. When you're in the lab and you're actually doing something and you can test it out yourself, that's when you really gain an appreciation for the subject.

I chose Chemistry because it was my favourite subject at school. Definitely the best subject.

It's a really good place to try loads of new things. If you like chemistry, and you’re thinking of applying, you should do it.

I chose Chemistry at Oxford because it's a world-leading institution for chemistry. The research output is fantastic. 

You have so many hours of labs and you gain so much hands-on experience from day one that I thought that was a really good opportunity.

You have access to the most incredible suite of analytical equipment in the teaching labs.

The teaching labs are definitely one of my favourites. We’re here, you know, you can see what it’s like.

Something that's great about the lecture courses as well is because we have so much core content, you really get a well-rounded understanding before you
then go into your fourth year, which is where you can really start to specialise and see where your interests lie.

The fourth year, your Part II project, where you actually get to immerse yourself in an entire year worth of research.

Generally you're doing something that's new and no one's ever done before, which is very exciting.

You actually get to apply all your knowledge and then compile it into a thesis and actually say, look at this. This is my work. I've done new science.

What really makes Chemistry at Oxford stand out would be the tutorial system. 

It's where you have two or three people in one group and you're there with a tutor who is, you know, highly regarded in their field.

You go through the topic in a load of detail. You can work through it with the tutor, with the other people in the group, which is a lot more effective
than if you were in a bigger group, I think.

Your tutors really are experts in the field, so they are able to advise you and guide you. 

For me, in the tutorial system really just feels like a way for you to steer your own learning.

So the colleges kind of work as mini campuses, I suppose you could say. 

Some people like to think of it a bit like the house system in schools, but you're still part of the larger university.

The most impactful part of my experience is, like, I guess the people.

Chemistry is definitely a difficult degree, but having such good friends to do it with, people that I can talk to, not just about chemistry problems.
I think that's something that I will cherish forever.

I came in liking all of chemistry. I'll come out liking all of chemistry, pretty much to equal degree. 

There's an absolute buzz of realising, wow, I learnt these things that I never thought I would learn. I'm here in this place I never thought I would be, and I've done it.

[Logos on screen: University of Oxford and Department of Chemistry]