UCL - Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Biochemical Engineering & Biomedical Engineering Guide

Created on July 10, 2026

2026   ·   uk   ucl   program introduction

UK · Chemistry · Chemical Engineering · Biochemical Engineering · Biomedical Engineering · A-Level Applicant Guide · 2027 Entry

UCL — University College London

This guide covers 4 undergraduate programme families — Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Biochemical Engineering, and Biomedical Engineering — at UCL, ranked #8 in the world (QS 2026). Written for students applying with A-levels from international schools for 2027 entry.

Key differentiators: Chemistry is UCL's largest and most flexible department here, with 7+ named routes (BSc/MSci, plus Maths and Management Studies joint programmes); Chemical Engineering sits within the Integrated Engineering Programme; Biochemical Engineering is a separate, adjacent department bridging chemistry and biotech and is markedly the least competitive by offer rate; Biomedical Engineering sits in the Department of Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering, alongside Physics-with-Medical-Physics routes. All follow the standard UCAS 2027-entry cycle, with an equal consideration deadline of 13 January 2027.

#8QS World Rankings 2026
4Departments in this guide
15+Named UG programmes covered
13 JanUCAS equal consideration deadline (2027)

The 4 Departments at a Glance

2 representative programmes per department · colour-coded by department

Programme A-Level Requirement IELTS Places Offer Rate
Chemistry
BSc
AAA
Chemistry required+ one of Biology/Physics/Maths
6.5/6 200 50.7%
Chemistry
MSci
A*AA
Chemistry required+ one of Biology/Physics/Maths
6.5/6 68.6%
Chemical Eng.
BEng
AAB
Mathematics + Chemistry
 6.5/6 147 24.7%
Chemical Eng.
MEng
A*AA
Mathematics (min. A) + Chemistry (min. B)
 6.5/6 40.8%
Biochemical Eng.
BEng
AAA
Mathematics requiredplus one from Biology, Chemistry or Physics
6.5/6 90 76.9%
Biochemical Eng.
MEng
AAA
Mathematics requiredplus one from Biology, Chemistry or Physics
6.5/6 86.6%
Biomedical Eng.
BEng
A/A
Mathematics + Physics(Biology may substitute Physics if graded A at GCSE)
6.5/6 105 41.7%
Biomedical Eng.
MEng
A/A
Mathematics + Physics(Biology may substitute Physics if graded A at GCSE)
6.5/6 50.2%
Physics w/ Med. Physics
BSc
A*AA
Mathematics and Physics required. A* must be in one of theseBiology and Chemistry preferred
6.5/6 28 90.5%
Medical Physics
MSci
A*AA
Mathematics and Physics required. A* must be in one of theseBiology and Chemistry preferred
6.5/6 69.5%

IELTS shown as overall/minimum per element (UCL "Standard level" baseline — some faculties require a higher level, confirm on the course page). See the Programmes and Admissions Data tabs for the full breakdown.

Offer rate ≠ chance of a place: UCL makes offers well above the number of available seats, since not every offer-holder accepts or meets conditions. The "applications per place" figures above give a rougher but more honest sense of final-outcome competitiveness than the headline offer rate. Biochemical Engineering is, by a wide margin, the least competitive of the four departments in this guide.

Which Department Suits You?

Find your best fit based on your interests and strengths

"I love atoms, molecules, and chemical reactions — and want maximum flexibility"
→ Chemistry
Also consider: Chemistry with Mathematics if you're maths-strong
"I want to design large-scale industrial or pharmaceutical processes"
→ Chemical Engineering
Also consider: Biochemical Engineering (biotech/pharma focus)
"I'm drawn to biotech, fermentation, and bioprocessing rather than heavy industry"
→ Biochemical Engineering
Also consider: Chemical Engineering's MEng "Biochemical Engineering" Year 4 route
"I want to engineer medical devices, imaging systems or prosthetics"
→ Biomedical Engineering
Also consider: Physics with Medical Physics (imaging-leaning)
"I want a business-facing route into the chemical sciences"
→ Chemistry with Management Studies
Also consider: standard Chemistry BSc/MSci
"I want the strongest employability/least competitive route into chem-adjacent engineering"
→ Biochemical Engineering
Also consider: still verify fit — it's a distinct, biotech-facing curriculum, not "easy Chemical Engineering"
Important: Chemistry is UCL's broadest department here — BSc and MSci share identical first two years, so you can defer that choice until the end of Year 2. Chemical Engineering, Biochemical Engineering, and Biomedical Engineering similarly let you defer the BEng/MEng or 3-year/4-year decision, typically to the end of Year 3. Apply for the named route that matches your interests now; internal transfers between closely related routes are usually possible early on, subject to performance.

4 departments · Faculty of Mathematical & Physical Sciences · Faculty of Engineering Sciences

Programme Introductions

Chemistry
Dept of Chemistry · Faculty of Mathematical & Physical Sciences
7 named routesModerate–High Competition
What is it?

UCL Chemistry's full undergraduate portfolio: BSc Chemistry, MSci Chemistry, BSc/MSci Chemistry with Mathematics, BSc/MSci Chemistry with Management Studies, MSci Chemistry (International Programme, with a year abroad in Australia/Canada/USA), and Chemistry with a European Language (BSc/MSci). BSc and MSci share an identical first two years, so the choice can be deferred to end of Year 2 — UCL recommends starting on the MSci to keep options open, since BSc→MSci transfer requires consistently strong (2:1-level) performance.

Structure notes
  • MSci = 480 credits · BSc = 360 credits
  • MSci is RSC-accredited for full Chartered Chemist (CChem) status; BSc meets requirements only partially
  • Chemistry with Mathematics: joint Maths + Chemistry required
  • International Programme: year abroad built into the MSci
Entry & contact
  • Chemistry BSc/MSci: Chemistry + one of Biology/Physics/Maths required
  • Typical band: AAA (BSc) / A*AA (MSci)
  • Chemistry with Mathematics: Maths + Chemistry required, AAA/A*AA
  • Contact: admissions.chem@ucl.ac.uk
Dept Aggregate Offer Rate
55.1% (880/1,597)
Places Available
200
Apps per Place
~8.0
★ Chemistry with a European Language did not appear in either the course-listing or admissions-statistics datasets used here — it may not be running, or is too small to report separately. Verify directly on the department hub before relying on it. The UCAS code F101 was found reused across two of UCL's own listings for MSci routes — double-check the exact code on UCAS itself.
Chemical Engineering
Dept of Chemical Engineering · Faculty of Engineering Sciences
BEng / MEngHigh Competition
What is it?

UCL's only two Chemical Engineering entry routes are the BEng and MEng — unlike Chemistry, there are no separate joint-named variants; specialisation instead happens within the MEng's Year 4 "route" choice (standard MEng, Chemistry, Biochemical Engineering, Engineering Mathematics, or Study Abroad). Part of the Integrated Engineering Programme (IEP): interdisciplinary, project/scenario-based teaching, with IEP "minor" options such as programming, business, sustainability, and molecular engineering.

Structure notes
  • BEng/MEng share a common curriculum through Year 3; transfer to MEng possible at end of Year 3 (subject to approval)
  • Year 3: group design project — a full chemical process plant, covering unit design, safety, sustainability and costing
  • Both IChemE-accredited; MEng is the direct route to Chartered Engineer (CEng)
  • Optional Year in Industry (student-sourced placement)
Entry & contact
  • BEng: Mathematics + Chemistry required, typical AAB band
  • MEng: Mathematics (min. grade A) + Chemistry (min. grade B), typical A*AA/AAA band
  • Contact: ug-chemeng@ucl.ac.uk
Dept Aggregate Offer Rate
32.7% (459/1,403)
Places Available
147
Apps per Place
~9.5
★ Highest applications-per-place of the four departments (~9.5) despite a mid-range headline offer rate — a reminder that offer rate alone understates real competitiveness here. MEng has a noticeably higher offer rate than BEng (40.8% vs 24.7%) in the 2024/25 cycle.
Biochemical Engineering
Dept of Biochemical Engineering (separate, adjacent dept) · Faculty of Engineering Sciences
BEng / MEngLeast Competitive
What is it?

A distinct department, adjacent to Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, bridging chemical/biological science with biotechnology and bioprocessing. Relevant if you're drawn to fermentation, biopharmaceuticals, or bioprocess design rather than heavy industrial chemical engineering. By a wide margin the most accessible of the four departments in this guide by offer rate.

Structure notes
  • BEng · 3 years / MEng · 4 years
  • Sits within the same Faculty of Engineering Sciences as Chemical Engineering
  • Chemical Engineering MEng students can also route into Biochemical Engineering content via a Year 4 specialisation, without switching department
Entry & contact
  • See department hub for exact A-level requirements — not itemised in the sourced dataset
  • Contact: biochemeng@ucl.ac.uk
Dept Aggregate Offer Rate
82.2% (426/518)
Places Available
90
Apps per Place
~5.8
★ Caution on the MEng Chinese-applicant figure: only 18 Chinese applicants were recorded, all 18 receiving offers (100%) — a genuinely tiny sample where a single-digit swing would change the rate substantially. Treat as directional, not a stable benchmark.
Biomedical Engineering
Dept of Medical Physics & Biomedical Engineering · Faculty of Engineering Sciences
BEng: HC60 / MEng: H160High Competition
What is it?

Applies engineering to medicine and biology — medical devices, imaging systems and physiological monitoring. One of four UG entry routes run by the same department: BEng/MEng Biomedical Engineering, plus BSc Physics with Medical Physics and MSci Medical Physics, which are taught jointly with UCL Physics & Astronomy and sit closer to the physics/imaging side than device-design engineering. Highly competitive: the department's own FAQ cites roughly 500 applications for around 50 BME places per year.

Structure notes
  • BEng/MEng share an identical first 3 years; transfer possible up to end of Year 3, requiring 55%+ weighted average
  • Year 3: major individual project linked to UCL research strengths / healthcare partners
  • MEng Year 4: group design project + advanced modules; MEng is IET-accredited, meeting CEng requirements directly
  • Optional Year in Industry (student-sourced) and Year Abroad (MEng only, Year 3)
Entry & contact
  • Mathematics and Physics required, typically grade A
  • Biology acceptable in place of Physics if Physics was taken to grade A/7 at GCSE
  • Contact: medphys.teaching@ucl.ac.uk
BME-Line Offer Rate
49.8% (423/849)
Places Available (BME line)
105
Apps per Place
~8.1
★ Don't confuse the BME-line aggregate with the department's separate "Medical Physics" line (Physics with Medical Physics + MSci Medical Physics), which runs at a much higher 83.9% offer rate (135/161) — those routes are joint-taught with Physics and noticeably less competitive than BEng/MEng itself.

Applications · Offer rates · Chinese applicant data · 2024/25 cycle

Admissions Data

Source: UCL FOI response 024-370 (per-programme applications/offers for the 2024/25 cycle, including a Chinese-domiciled-applicant breakdown) and a separate UG "Apps per Place" department-aggregate summary. Values shown as <5 are suppressed for privacy by UCL — Chinese-specific rates for several smaller programmes can only be bounded, not stated precisely. This is a single cycle's figures; year-to-year variation can be meaningful, especially for smaller programmes with low applicant counts.
Department Offer Rates · 2024/25

All applicants, department aggregate level · offer rate = offers made / applications received

Biochemical Engineering (82.2%) is far less competitive by offer rate than the other three departments. Chemical Engineering, despite a mid-range 32.7% offer rate, has the highest applications-per-place (~9.5) of the four.
Applications per Place · 2024/25

A rougher but more honest read on final-outcome competitiveness than offer rate alone

Chemistry — Full Programme Breakdown

All applicants vs Chinese-domiciled applicants, 2024/25

Programme All Apps → Offers All Offer Rate Chinese Apps → Offers Chinese Offer Rate
BSc Chemistry 980 → 497 50.7% 518 → 235 45.4%
BSc Chemistry with Mathematics 67 → 32 47.8% 18 → <5 ≤27.8%
BSc Chemistry with Management Studies 69 → 19 27.5% 24 → <5 ≤20.8%
MSci Chemistry 360 → 247 68.6% 67 → 28 41.8%
MSci Chemistry with Mathematics 41 → 27 65.9% <5 → <5 n/a (suppressed)
MSci Chemistry with Management Studies 34 → 17 50.0% <5 → <5 n/a (suppressed)
MSci Chemistry (International Programme) 78 → 55 70.5% 7 → <5 ≤71.4%
Chemistry with a European Language Not found in either dataset — likely not running, or too small to report
Department Aggregate 1,597 → 880 55.1% ~8.0 applications per place

Chemical Engineering & Biochemical Engineering — Full Breakdown

Two separate departments, shown together for comparison

Programme All Apps → Offers All Offer Rate Chinese Apps → Offers Chinese Offer Rate
BEng Chemical Engineering 842 → 208 24.7% 253 → 88 34.8%
MEng Chemical Engineering 679 → 277 40.8% 63 → 32 50.8%
Chemical Eng. Aggregate 1,403 → 459 32.7% ~9.5 applications per place
BEng Biochemical Engineering 268 → 206 76.9% 103 → 96 93.2%
MEng Biochemical Engineering 134 → 116 86.6% 18 → 18 100%*
Biochemical Eng. Aggregate 518 → 426 82.2% ~5.8 applications per place

*MEng Biochemical Engineering Chinese figure is based on only 18 applicants — a very small sample; treat with caution rather than as a stable benchmark.

Biomedical Engineering & Medical Physics — Full Breakdown

All four UG entry routes in the Department of Medical Physics & Biomedical Engineering

Programme All Apps → Offers All Offer Rate Chinese Apps → Offers Chinese Offer Rate
BEng Biomedical Engineering 516 → 215 41.7% 199 → 104 52.3%
MEng Biomedical Engineering 434 → 218 50.2% 109 → 62 56.9%
Biomedical Eng. ("BME line") Aggregate 849 → 423 49.8% ~8.1 applications per place
BSc Physics with Medical Physics 105 → 95 90.5% 65 → 62 95.4%
MSci Medical Physics 59 → 41 69.5% 19 → 16 84.2%
"Medical Physics" Line Aggregate 161 → 135 83.9% Separate from BME line

The Physics-with-Medical-Physics routes are taught jointly with UCL Physics & Astronomy and sit closer to imaging/physics than device-design engineering — their much higher offer rates reflect a different applicant pool, not that BME itself is easy to get into.

UCAS · Deadlines · Entry requirements summary · Common mistakes

How to Apply

UCAS Application Process

2027-entry cycle · Applications for all UCL routes go through UCAS — no separate UCL portal application needed

A-Level student applies →
12 May 2026
UCAS applications open for 2027 entry — Register on UCAS Hub and start researching your chosen named routes (e.g. Chemistry vs Chemistry with Mathematics; BEng vs MEng).
May–Dec 2026
Write your personal statement — One statement serves all 5 UCAS choices, so it needs to work across every course you apply to, not just your UCL choice.
13 Jan 2027
UCAS equal consideration deadline — 6pm UK time. Applications may still be accepted after this via Clearing or late applications, but check UCAS directly rather than relying on that as a fallback.
Post-deadline
Decisions issued — Timing varies by department; some UCL science/engineering courses may include an additional interview or written assessment stage — confirm on each individual course page.
Aug 2027
A-level results & confirmation — Meet your conditional offer to secure your place.

Entry Requirements Summary (A-Level, Indicative)

Always confirm exact grade profiles, GCSE prerequisites, and English language requirements on the official course page before applying

Route Required Subjects Typical Band
Chemistry BSc / MSci Chemistry + one of Biology/Physics/Maths AAA / A*AA
Chemistry with Mathematics Mathematics + Chemistry AAA / A*AA
Chemical Engineering BEng Mathematics + Chemistry AAB
Chemical Engineering MEng Mathematics (min. A) + Chemistry (min. B) A*AA / AAA
Biochemical Engineering BEng / MEng See department hub — not itemised in sourced data Verify on official page
Biomedical Engineering BEng / MEng Mathematics + Physics (Biology can substitute Physics if Physics graded A/7 at GCSE) Typically grade A in both

Common Application Mistakes

Confusing the department aggregate offer rate with your specific programme's rate
Check the exact named route in the tables above — rates vary widely within a department (e.g. Chemistry with Management Studies at 27.5% vs MSci Chemistry at 68.6%)
Assuming Biomedical Engineering and Physics with Medical Physics are equally competitive
They're taught jointly with different departments and have very different offer rates — don't apply to one assuming it behaves like the other
Treating "-2026" URLs on UCL's site as current for 2027 entry
UCL was actively republishing course pages under new year-suffixed URLs at time of research — re-check each link close to application time
Assuming Chemical Engineering and Biochemical Engineering are the same department
They're separate, adjacent departments with very different offer rates (32.7% vs 82.2%) — verify which one your named UCAS choice actually belongs to
Relying on small-sample Chinese-applicant rates as if they were stable
Programmes with under ~20 Chinese applicants (e.g. MSci Chemistry with Mathematics, MEng Biochemical Engineering) can swing sharply year to year — treat as directional only
Missing the 13 January 2027 equal consideration deadline
Late applications may still be possible via Clearing, but don't plan around that — treat 13 Jan as the real deadline

Application Timeline

12 May 2026
UCAS 2027-entry applications open
Summer 2026
Research named routes & open days
Autumn 2026
Write personal statement
13 Jan 2027
UCAS equal consideration deadline
Early 2027
Decisions issued
Aug 2027
Results — confirm place

Useful Resources

Chemistry Dept Hub
ucl.ac.uk/chemistry
Chemical Engineering Dept Hub
ucl.ac.uk/chemical-engineering
Biochemical Engineering Dept Hub
ucl.ac.uk/biochemical-engineering
Biomedical Eng. / Medical Physics Dept Hub
ucl.ac.uk/medical-physics-biomedical-engineering
BME FAQ (competitiveness, admissions)
ucl.ac.uk/…/faq
UCAS
ucas.com
All admissions statistics current as of the 2024/25 cycle; course/requirement details compiled from official UCL pages during 2026. UCL was actively transitioning course pages from "-2026" to "-2027" URLs at time of research. Always verify requirements, deadlines, and UCAS codes on official UCL and UCAS pages before submitting — these can change year to year, and several UCAS codes in this guide were not independently confirmed beyond Biomedical Engineering.


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