Competitions · Chemistry · WUCT
WUCT, the Washington University Chemistry Tournament.
A team chemistry tournament run by the chemistry department at Washington University in St. Louis, built around three announced themes each year - one of which has asked competitors to solve a murder using chemistry.
At a glance
What the tournament is, and who can enter.
WUCT has run since 2016 and is described by its organisers as the only university-recognised chemistry team challenge in the United States. Places are limited and allocated by selection rather than by registration.
- Organiser
- The chemistry department at Washington University in St. Louis
- Since
- 2016
- Who can enter
- Students in grades 9 to 12
- Team size
- Six members, with a minimum of three. At most two grade 9 students per team
- How places are allocated
- Fifty teams are selected from applying schools on the basis of past performance. Registering does not guarantee a place
- Rounds
- Four - individual, theme, team, and a relay round
- Content basis
- AP Chemistry, extended toward university-level application
- Language
- English
- When and where
- A weekend in late December, held at a hotel venue in Shanghai for the China region
- Beyond the rounds
- Chemistry professors speak on STEM careers, and there are chemistry-themed social events
The annual themes
Three topics a year, and the rounds are built on them.
This is what distinguishes WUCT from every other chemistry competition here. The content is announced in advance and framed as subject matter rather than as syllabus.
Three topics, published each year
The organisers announce three themes annually and design the challenges around them. A team knows what territory it is entering before it prepares.
And they are genuinely unusual
Past themes have included the history of chemistry, the chemistry of cancer, and a chemistry mystery in which competitors must use chemical reasoning to solve a murder.
The theme round is built on them directly
One of the four rounds is dedicated to the announced themes, so preparing them is not optional background reading.
Which changes how a team prepares
Rather than revising a syllabus, a team researches three subjects. That is closer to how chemistry is actually studied than a revision timetable is.
The four rounds
Individual, theme, team and relay.
The four formats reward different things, which is why teams of six rather than individuals compete.
Individual round
Each member works alone. This is the part closest to a conventional chemistry paper and the one where individual preparation shows most directly.
Theme round
Built on the three announced topics. Preparation here is research into specific subjects rather than revision of a course.
Team round
Worked collaboratively. With six members and limited time, dividing the questions sensibly matters as much as solving them.
The relay round
Titled "Breaking Chemical Bonds" - a relay format where the team works in sequence. It rewards accuracy early, since errors propagate down the chain.
Getting in
Selection, not registration.
WUCT limits its field, which makes the application itself a step worth taking seriously.
Fifty teams, chosen
The committee selects fifty teams from applying schools based on their past performance. A school without a record needs to build one before it can count on a place.
Six is the target, three is the floor
Teams are nominally six members with a minimum of three. A fuller team spreads the four rounds across more people.
At most two grade 9 students
A team may include no more than two students from grade 9. Building a team around younger students is not possible here.
A December weekend
The tournament runs across a weekend in late December at a single venue, so it is a travel commitment as well as an academic one.
Preparation
How Hanlin prepares a WUCT team.
Published themes and a team format make this the most plannable chemistry competition on this site - and the one that least resembles revision.
Researching the three themes
The themes are announced in advance and one round is built on them. Teams divide the research and then teach each other, which is the efficient use of six people.
Securing the AP foundation
The questions are based on AP Chemistry content extended toward university-level application. A solid AP footing is the prerequisite the themes sit on top of.
Rehearsing the relay
A relay round punishes early errors more than late ones. Teams practise the sequence and settle who goes first on reliability rather than speed.
Building the application record
Because places are selected on past performance, a school aiming at WUCT benefits from entering other chemistry competitions first. That is a season of planning, not a form.
Why Hanlin
Preparation for WUCT at Hanlin is taught by full-time subject tutors, on a course tier chosen by placement paper rather than by year group.
Programme formats
Five ways this is taught.
Group size is the whole difference between these. It decides how much of the tutor's attention a student gets and how far the course can bend to them, so it is worth choosing rather than accepting.
| Format | Group size | What it suits |
|---|---|---|
| One-to-one | One student | Content, pace and emphasis set by what this student actually needs rather than by a syllabus. The only format that can be rebuilt mid-course. |
| Small group | Three to eight | Opens at three. Frequent discussion, and the tutor can slow down or move on according to what the group has absorbed. Most students chasing a higher award are taught in this one. |
| Class | Eight to twelve | Taught by the subject lead or a medal coach. Less back-and-forth, so it suits a student who will say when something is unclear. |
| Large class | Ten to twenty | For students in the middle of the placement range, and a way to try a competition before committing. Students often move to a small group or to one-to-one afterwards. |
| Past-paper class | No cap | Past papers worked through in sequence in the weeks before the sitting. Free to students already enrolled. |
Course length for WUCT is set after a placement paper. The gap between where a student is and what the paper asks for is what the course has to close, and that gap is not the same for two students in the same year group.
How it runs
Six steps, four people on your side.
The same process for every student, so that nothing depends on one tutor remembering to do it.
Step 1Pre-course assessment
A placement paper before anything is booked, so the course tier is chosen on evidence rather than on a year group.
Step 2Tutor matching
A subject tutor is matched to the result, and their full background is provided before you agree to it.
Step 3Plan and group
A study group opens with four people on one student: the tutor, a planner, a supervisor and an academic manager.
Step 4Scheduled teaching
The teaching office sets the timetable around the competition date and school term, and teaching begins.
Step 5After-class reports
What was covered, and how the student handled it, reported after every lesson.
Step 6Homework follow-up
The teaching assistant and the form teacher both check that homework is done, which is where most preparation quietly fails.
Free resource pack
Past papers and preparation pack
The same material our own WUCT students work from. Scan the code, say what you need, and an advisor sends it.
Tell an advisor which competition and year group, and the material comes back the same day. Free, and you do not have to enrol in anything. If we do not already hold what you need, we will go and find it.
- PDFPast papers, every year the organiser has released
- PDFWorked solutions, where the organiser publishes them
- PDFThe syllabus on one page - every topic, and how heavily it is examined
- PDFEntry checklist and the dates for the current cycle
Teaching team
Who would teach it.
Three of the twenty-two tutors on the published Hanlin roster - the ones whose subject this is.
Dr Li
A Fudan postdoctoral researcher with a PhD in organic chemistry from HKUST, a master's in medicinal chemistry and nano-engineering from East China University of Science and Technology jointly with Myongji University, and a first degree in pharmaceutics. College Board-accredited.
Qiu
PhD in organic chemistry from the Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, after materials physics at East China University of Science and Technology. College Board-accredited, with published papers on organic small-molecule catalysis in internationally recognised journals.
Shi
Master's in water science and engineering from TU Dresden - one of Germany's TU9 institutes - after environmental engineering at Ocean University of China. A researcher in environmental chemistry at the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, a DAAD scholarship holder, and College Board-accredited.
Where it is taught
Hanlin learning centres.
Teaching runs from Hanlin's own centres in Shanghai, Shenzhen, Chengdu and Hangzhou, and online for students elsewhere.
Talk to an advisor
Everything Hanlin does for WUCT, in one conversation.
Entry, planning, coaching and the past papers. An advisor will tell you which of these a student actually needs, including when the answer is none of them.
Competition entry and planning
Which competitions suit this student, in what order, and by when - then we handle the registration, including the ones that can only be entered through a school or a centre.
Competition coaching
Taught by full-time subject tutors, on a course tier chosen by placement paper rather than by year group.
International curriculum tutoring
IB, AP, A-Level, IGCSE and the US high school curriculum, taught alongside school and timed around the exam calendar.
Competition past papers, free
A large library of past papers, mark schemes and syllabus breakdowns across every competition on this site. No charge and no enrolment.
Scan to add an advisor
Say which competition or course you are asking about. Replies in Chinese or English.
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WUCT, briefly answered.
What students, teachers and families ask before applying.
Who can enter WUCT?
Students in grades 9 to 12, in teams of six with a minimum of three. A team may include at most two grade 9 students.
Can we just register?
No. Fifty teams are selected from applying schools on the basis of past performance, so a place is allocated rather than booked.
What are the four rounds?
An individual round, a theme round built on the year’s announced topics, a team round worked collaboratively, and a relay round titled "Breaking Chemical Bonds".
What are the annual themes?
Three topics announced each year, around which the challenges are designed. Past themes have included the history of chemistry, the chemistry of cancer, and a chemistry mystery requiring competitors to solve a murder.
What chemistry do we need?
The questions are based on AP Chemistry content, extended toward university-level application. A solid AP footing is the foundation the themes build on.
When and where is it held?
A weekend in late December, at a single venue in Shanghai for the China region.
Is there anything besides the competition?
Yes. Chemistry professors speak about STEM career development, and there are chemistry-themed social events across the weekend.
What language is it in?
English throughout.
Related
Other chemistry contests.
What teams commonly enter alongside or before WUCT.
WUCT enquiries
Places are selected on what your school has already done.
Fifty teams are chosen from applicants on past performance, so a WUCT entry usually starts with a season of other chemistry competitions. Tell us where your students are and an advisor will map the route to an application that lands.