Organic Chemistry - Master's Programme in Chemistry

Academic year 2023/2024

120 credits
Autumn 2023, Uppsala, 100%, Campus
Programme syllabus and outline

Overview
Programme
Career
Admissions
Contact and further resources

The Master's Programme in Chemistry, specialising in Organic Chemistry, is developed in cooperation with our world leading research groups in this field. Your studies will include, among other things, modern synthesis methodology, training in synthesis design, experimental verification and optimisation in the laboratory, and practical applications of spectroscopic techniques. The programme will make you well-equipped for future research and development within either academia or industry.

Why this programme?

The specialisation Organic Chemistry, within the Master's Programme in Chemistry, is taught by lecturers who are experts in, e.g., organic synthesis, organometallic chemistry, natural product chemistry, development of new analytical methodology, NMR spectroscopy, supramolecular chemistry, drug development, and chemistry of carbon allotropes. This will give you the opportunity to do your degree project in a dynamic and world-class research environment.

During your studies, you will have a personal mentor who will invite you to seminars, group meetings and other events in order to prepare you for your future career. You will also meet PhD students and postdocs who have come to Uppsala from all over the world to be part of the excellent research environment and to carry out cutting-edge research.

During the programme you can expect to:

be a part of a university with two Nobel prizes in chemistry
have a personal mentor who helps you prepare for your future career
gain in-depth knowledge in modern synthesis methodology, training in synthesis design, experimental verification and optimisation

A degree from Uppsala University will give you close connection to excellent and world leading research and you will have the opportunity to develop a personal contact network. You will be offered the opportunity to have a personal mentor who will invite you to seminars, group-meetings and other events in order to prepare you for your future career and you will meet PhD-students and post-docs who have come to Uppsala to be part of an excellent research environment to do cutting-edge research. Our research groups have a well-developed cooperation with other institutions and research agencies which is beneficial for you when choosing a project for the master thesis, and to make contacts for your future career.

To give you even further experience in working in a research group, you can also choose the course Research training which will further develop your theoretical knowledge and experimental skills.

Student profile

You are probably coming directly from your Bachelor's degree or have had a relevant job to strengthen your experimental skills. Your university was well-equipped with experimental facilities so you have good practical training working in a lab, and can select relevant methods and stay safe while doing experiments.

You have an analytical mind and are able and willing to express your thoughts in both writing and speaking. You are extremely motivated and will take the responsibility needed to successfully complete your studies.

A PhD education is a distinct possibility in your future so you would value coming into contact with current research and prominent researchers in the respective international field.

Degree

The programme leads to a Master of Science (120 credits) with Chemistry as the main field of study.

All specialisations of this programme

Read the interview

Name: Sofie Ye
From: Luleå, Sweden
Studied: Master’s Programme in Chemistry – Organic Chemistry

Why did you choose to study chemistry?
– I studied at the natural science program in high school but after that I actually went on to study music. Although it was really fun to spend all my days making music, I eventually started to miss science and sort of felt like I wanted to really understand how things “work in the world”. I started to think about what I could study to satisfy that feeling and ended up going for chemistry.

How come you chose to study at Uppsala University?
– I had heard a lot of good things about Uppsala, especially about the chemistry education. I had also seen a lot of videos from Uppsala on the television as a kid – from Valborg (Walpurgis eve) when the student choirs were singing and stuff like that. I thought that it would be a nice city to study in, partly because of the good reputation of the chemistry programme and partly because of all the student traditions.

What did you like most about studying in Uppsala?
– The student life! I took part in the welcoming reception for all new students at the very beginning and it was a great start. We played a lot of silly games together, which I think took down the “severity” of going to university a notch and made it easier to relax and get to know each other.

I also enjoyed the activities going on at the Nations. For me, who loves music, joining some of their choirs, orchestras and bands was a great way to have fun together with fellow students. It is really cool that we have these activities that are organised by students for students.

When it comes to the education, I appreciated that the professors were so available. I could come knock at their doors at (almost) any hour. It was truly inspiring to me to see how eager they were to help as long as you had the curiosity and willingness to learn.

Did you have any internships during your studies?
– Not really, but I got scholarships from the university to carry out short projects in different research groups during most of my summers in Uppsala. I thought it was really cool as it gave me more experience in research as well as knowledge in different fields of chemistry. The summer projects have been really helpful for me when it comes to choosing what I would like to work with in the future.

What have you done after you finished your studies?
– As soon as I graduated from the Master’s programme, I got the opportunity to work as a consultant within Life Science for six months at a consultant company. During those six months, I worked as a research engineer at the research and development department of a company in Uppsala. The project I worked in was related to optimising the production capacity of a new factory that was being built on site. I carried out experiments in the lab to better understand the parameters governing the properties of the product to make sure we would get the product we wanted.

What is the plan now?
– Now, I am just about to go back to academia for PhD studies. I will work with organic synthesis to, hopefully, develop molecular tools to visualise biological processes in the body. One of my first projects will be about making a molecule that may be used to give earlier diagnosis of diabetes.

Three quick questions
Favourite place in Uppsala?
– I like the view from the hill where the Castle stands!

Best student tradition in Uppsala?
– The welcoming reception in the beginning of the term, when the older students welcome the new ones.

Dream job?
– Actually, the other day when I had moment to just sit down and think, I thought to myself that “Wow, I’m living my dream”. I have been wanting to do a PhD for a long time and I’m also working part-time as a gym instructor, which is another dream of mine. I know that it sounds really cheesy but yeah, I think I’m living my dream right now.

Programme

The first semester you will study chemistry courses which provide you with the theoretical and experimental skills needed for the subsequent semesters. Some of these courses are also common to other specialisations in the Master's Programme in Chemistry. In the very first course, you will meet many of the chair professors in the different fields of chemistry, who will give seminars about the current trends in their respective research fields. The semester ends with the first course in NMR spectroscopy.

During the second and third semesters, you will take courses in organic chemistry, including, e.g., physical-organic chemistry and also more advanced methods in organic synthesis. The lab training is individual, and an important goal is for you to become independent both in the planning of your work and in the lab. The programme ends with a degree project of 30 credits or 45 credits.

Some examples of Master's thesis title 2020:

M. Crosta: Synthesis of hypoxia-activated fluorophores for cancer cell imaging
J. Esteve Guasch: Synthesis and reactivity studies of a benzidine precursor: Introducing BOSO
F. Deufel: Towards broad spectrum metallo-ß-lactamase inhibitors

Courses within the programme

See outline for courses within the specialisation .

Learning experience

Theory and practical work are always interwoven into the courses, and instruction takes place in the form of lectures, laboratory work, problem-solving, seminars, and projects.

The lecturers are active researchers who will coach you to adopt a scientific approach in your work, where you will develop the necessary skills to solve problems, think critically and analytically, plan and formulate research problems, and independently carry out the necessary experiments and analyse as well as interpret the results.

In seminars, you present your ideas and discuss with your classmates a course book or work you have conducted; while the teacher usually only moderates the discussion. The aim is to develop critical thinking and collaborative skills which will be required in your future professional development. All students are expected to be active participants in all forms of discussions.

You will also receive systematic training in both oral and written presentations as an integrated part of the courses. The ability to communicate well will be very important in your future career.

The language of instruction is English.

Career

The labour market for chemists with a degree from Uppsala University is excellent, with 97% of those who obtained their degree during the last ten years being either employed or undertaking doctoral studies.

After graduation you may work with research and development, production processes, analysis of materials, management of safety and legal issues, patenting of inventions, marketing and sales, developing new and improved methods for quality control, or the environment and sustainability.

Our former students work at for example:

Cytiva (tidigare GE Healthcare)
AstraZeneca
Cambrex
Biotage

Examples of potential professional titles after graduation:

Development Engineers
Principal or Research and Development Scientists
Chemical Analysis Specialists
Doctoral student at world-leading universities

Career support

During your time as a student, UU Careers offers support and guidance. You have the opportunity to take part in a variety of activities and events that will prepare you for your future career. Learn more about UU Careers.

Admissions

Below you will find details about eligibility requirements, selection criteria and tuition fees. For information on how to apply and what general documents you need to submit, check the application guide. Besides the general supporting documents, you also need to submit two programme-specific documents: 1. an Application Summary Sheet; 2. a statement of purpose (1 page).

Organic Chemistry

120 credits

Autumn 2023, 100%, Campus

Location: Uppsala

Application deadline: 16 January 2023

Application code: UU-M1616 Application

Language of instruction: English

Requirements:

Academic requirements

A Bachelor's degree, equivalent to a Swedish Kandidatexamen, from an internationally recognised university.

Also required is:

90 credits in chemistry, including 15 credits in organic chemistry;
basic knowledge and skills in laboratory safety*.

*The basic knowledge and skills in laboratory safety will be tested via remote interview after the last day of application. Shortly after the last day of application, information will be sent out to the applicants concerned.

Language requirements

Proficiency in English equivalent to the Swedish upper secondary course English 6. This requirement can be met either by achieving the required score on an internationally recognised test, or by previous upper secondary or university studies in some countries. Detailed instructions on how to provide evidence of your English proficiency are available at universityadmissions.se.

Selection: Students are selected based on:

an overall appraisal of previous university studies; and
a statement of purpose.

Fees:

If you are not a citizen of a European Union (EU) or European Economic Area (EEA) country, or Switzerland, you are required to pay application and tuition fees. Fees cover application and tuition only and do not cover accommodation, academic literature or the general cost of living. Read more about fees.

Application fee: SEK 900

Tuition fee, first semester: SEK 72,500

Tuition fee, total: SEK 290,000