Chemical Formulation Design
Brianne West (BSc in Biological Sciences) launched her own sustainable beauty and personal care brand Ethique. She was named in a list of the US Foreign Policy magazine's '100 leading Global Thinkers' of 2016; and in 2019 won the Stuff Women of Influence New Zealand Business Enterprise award, the Westpac 'Innovation' and 'Small Enterprise' Champion Supreme Award categories, and the EY New Zealand Young Entrepreneur of the Year title.
Qualifications
Overview
Chemical Formulation Design is one of three majors of the Bachelor of Product Design degree combining creative innovation with technical and business skills.
Chemical, biological, pharmaceutical, food, nutraceutical, agricultural, and personal care products need to be crafted in a sustainable way, using active ingredients, packaging material and labels that enable their practical use, ensuring safety, efficacy, and quality. For example, to create a moisturising skin lotion that would be an attractive product for the consumer, it would need to contain moistening properties and other elements to create suitable viscosity, skin feel, and fragrance, and contain antimicrobial agents to achieve the expected shelf life. You will explore innovative ways to better formulate these products, and to analyse existing products and suggest improvements.
This subject, combined with others such as Biochemistry, will help you understand the total product design process — from idea generation to commercialisation. Other skills you will gain include practical experience in product formulation prototyping, methods of analysis, regulatory requirements, commercial production, testing, and process economics.
- UC’s Te Kura Hanga Otinga | School of Product Design brings together creative design, science, engineering, and business, and there are opportunities to apply your learning through team-based projects, entrepreneurship courses, and the use of dedicated hands-on product innovation spaces.
Students should ideally have 14 credits in Level 3 NCEA chemistry (or the IB/CIE equivalent of these).
UC offers a major in Chemical Formulation Design as part of the Bachelor of Product Design.
At all levels, students will undertake significant hands-on projects, working in teams and individually, to design, formulate, and test physical product prototypes in our dedicated formulation laboratory, to the level needed to pitch a new product concept to a client or investor.
Chemical Formulation Design major
To complete a major in Chemical Formulation Design within the Bachelor of Product Design, you will need to take the following courses throughout the degree:
100-level
- CHEM 111 Chemical Principles and Processes
- PROD 131 Introduction to Formulation Science
- One 100-level Engineering or Science course
200-level
- PROD 231 Product Formulation 1
- PROD 232 Natural Products Properties and Production
- PROD 233 Chemical and Healthcare Product Formulation 1A
- PROD 234 Chemical and Healthcare Product Formulation 1B
- PROD 235 Formulation Chemistry
- PROD 230 Product Properties and Processing or ENCH 291 Mass and Energy Balances
300-level
- PROD 331 Product Formulation 2
- PROD 333 Chemical and Healthcare Product Formulation 2A
- PROD 334 Chemical and Healthcare Product Formulation 2B
- One 200-level Engineering or Science course
- One 300-level Engineering or Science course
Graduates with this scientific background could pursue opportunities that lead to a career in the personal care, agricultural, pharmaceutical, and food industries.
Possible jobs are formulation scientist, quality manager, research and development chemist, laboratory technician, product/marketing manager, marketing analyst, portfolio analyst, business development manager, regulatory consultant, concept developer, and sales manager. Some qualified product designers have chosen to start their own businesses for new product lines that they developed during their studies.
Find out more about what you can do with a degree in Chemical Formulation Design.
Contact us
Te Kura Hanga Otinga | School of Product Design
Phone +64 3 369 4271 or +64 3 369 4272
Email productdesign@canterbury.ac.nz
Location
Len Lye building – see campus maps
Postal address
Te Rāngai Pūkaha | College of Engineering
Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha | University of Canterbury
Private Bag 4800
Christchurch 8140
New Zealand
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