MSc in Chemistry

Chemistry in Groningen is the home of 2016 Nobel Prize winner Ben Feringa, who has won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his research on a light-driven rotary molecular motor.

How can I make a flexible solar cell out of organic molecules? Can I build a car engine on a molecular level? Can I synthesize life? Can I cure tuberculosis? You will encounter such questions in the Master's degree program in Chemistry at the University of Groningen.

The 2-year program is fully taught in English and embedded in an internationally leading research environment. The programme offers a great deal of freedom in topics and has a strong focus on research; students spend 50% of their time in research labs. It is organized along with three main specializations:

Advanced Materials

Focus of this specialization lies in the chemistry of functional materials, including aspects like material synthesis and self-assembly, supramolecular chemistry, structural characterization techniques, and functional properties.

Catalysis and Green Chemistry

This specialization focuses on different aspects of catalysis by enzymes as well as synthetic homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysts and key industrially relevant transformations.

Chemical Biology (also offers an honors program)

This specialization studies biology and the processes of life using the tools of chemistry and deals with topics ranging from understanding how biochemistry works to protein engineering and the engineering of biological systems.

Science, Business and Policy

This profile emphasizes the societal aspects of Science. You will learn to implement your chemistry knowledge in companies and policy organizations.

The Chemistry research project takes place in a research group within or across one of these specializations. These groups are associated with three main research institutes that focus on chemistry: the Stratingh Institute for Chemistry, the Zernike Institute of Advanced Materials and the Groningen Biomolecular Science & Biotechnology Institute. The program also offers the opportunity to do research in a lab abroad or in industry.

Apart from general subjects including reaction mechanism and spectroscopic methods, we teach and offer research projects across the entire spectrum of Chemistry, including: (in)organic synthesis, stereochemistry, polymer chemistry, supramolecular chemistry, homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysis, biocatalysis & protein engineering, organometallic chemistry, molecular dynamic, quantum mechanics, green chemistry, synthetic biology and systems chemistry.

Why study this program in Groningen?

• Excellent research training by world-leading scientist
• Opportunity to spend time in the industry and/or go abroad
• Best Chemistry Master's degree program in the Netherlands according to Elsevier
• Our Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials belongs to the THES top 15 of best materials research institutes in the world

Program

Curriculum

2-year program; credits per year: 60 ECTS; most courses are 5 ECTS.

Study abroad

• Study abroad is recommended
• For an average of 20 weeks
• Maximum of 60 EC

Exchange: All our science and engineering programs offer study abroad possibilities at a number of partner institutions. Our partners include top-100 universities in Europe (for example in Germany, the UK, and Sweden) and in the USA, China, South-East Asia, and South America. Our exchange programs have a typical duration of one semester and count toward your final degree.

Internship: This program offers you the opportunity to carry out an internship at a company in the Netherlands or abroad. Our choice of industry partners ranges from large multinationals (such as Shell, Philips, Unilever) to dynamic small-medium enterprises in the Groningen area. The internship has a typical duration of 3 to 4 months and counts towards your final degree.

Admission requirements

Dutch diploma

International diploma

Scholarships

In cooperation with major national and international companies, we welcome students with several scholarships

ASML Scholarship: ASML is one of the world's leading manufacturers of chip-making equipment. The €5000 p/y scholarship is awarded every year to 25 exceptional students, who get the chance to become a Technology Ambassador within their scholarship period.

Language requirements

Registration procedure

The Admissions Board will decide whether you can be admitted to the Master's degree program. Applications are evaluated on a continuous basis. You do not have to wait until the application deadline to apply.

Application deadlines

Tuition fees

Job prospects

This degree program in Chemistry is primarily meant for students who want to become researchers or research managers. It also provides excellent preparation for a Ph.D. project, either in Groningen or elsewhere.

Our recent alumni found jobs very quickly after graduating; 79% had a job lined up immediately following graduation! Groningen students have found jobs all over Europe and beyond in major companies, including DSM, Akzo Nobel, Corus, ASML or Philips as well as in smaller companies such as Syncom, Merchachem, PolyVation.

In addition, many chemists who are trained as researchers find jobs that are less research-oriented. This is because the program also pays attention to communication skills, teamwork, presentation techniques, and IT skills. During their training as researchers in chemistry, students develop general competences that make them highly versatile and widely employable, so Groningen chemistry graduates can be found in consulting agencies, commercial functions, product research and development, product management or teaching.

Job examples

• Ph.D. research project
• Work for a major multinational such as Akzo Nobel or Philps
• Consulting agencies
• Product management or commercial positions

Research

Research constitutes an important of the Chemistry Master's degree and students spend approximately half their time in research projects. The main research project (45 ECTS) is typically performed in a research group belonging to one of the three research institutes most relevant to the chemistry program:

• The Stratingh Institute for Chemistry
• The Zernike Institute of Advanced Materials
• The Groningen Biomolecular Science & Biotechnology Institute

Between these institutes, students can choose to perform the research in one of approximately 30 research groups that work in different areas of chemistry.

A second shorter research project (15 ECTS) often takes place in the form of a placement in industry or abroad. Students have a great deal of autonomy in choosing their research projects from an exceptionally wide variety of topics.

Fundamental and applied (industrially oriented) research

Possible research projects include application-oriented research on organic and inorganic synthesis, heterogeneous, homogeneous and biocatalysis, computational chemistry, chemical biology, and polymer chemistry. The multidisciplinary teams within the University facilitate R&D routes from laboratory to industrial scale.

Typical examples of projects include the design of new routes to chemicals from renewable resources, synthesis, and study of molecular motors, development of new antibiotics, the study of self-replicating molecules, and the synthesis and development of molecular-electronic devices and organic solar cells.

The Times Higher Education (THES) Top 15 of best materials research institutes

The Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials belongs to the THES top 15 of the best materials research institutes in the world. The institute is dedicated to a cross-disciplinary approach; in many research groups, physicists and chemists work closely together. Research fields include surfaces, polymers, biomolecular materials, computational solid-state physics, optical properties of the solid-state and material engineering.