Chemical Synthesis and Spectroscopy is your specialization in Molecular Sciences if you want to create new molecules, understand how they are built and behave, and use this knowledge and the skills learned through courses to address important societal problems or fundamental research questions. Chemical synthesis is key to obtaining the molecules needed to develop new pharmaceuticals, materials, catalysts and much more. To be able to design the medical or materials properties we want, we need to understand and characterize the molecular structure and behavior of the molecules by using spectroscopic methods.

Your Master thesis topic in Chemical Synthesis and Spectroscopy can be selected from a range of research activities. You can choose to focus on chemical synthesis, where you will work in a chemical laboratory with other scientists, conducting chemical reactions, purifications and analysis. You will achieve competency in general laboratory practice, chemical reactions, specialized techniques, and analytical chemistry. You can choose to go in depth in NMR-spectroscopy, and have an instrumental analysis focus in your Master-project. Here you will achieve competency in instrumental technology and analysis of structure and properties. The skills you develop are highly coveted by companies and industry, in science teaching and in academic research. Interdisciplinary projects (e.g. together with biochemistry, medicine and/or computational chemistry) are quite common and can be designed for interested students. Furthermore, projects with applied or fundamental research focus are available, depending on your interests.

For a flavor of research topics, some of our current activities involve developing:

• antibiotics capable of defying antimicrobial resistance
• more effective and selective anticancer agents
• photoactive materials for applications in solar cells, photodynamic therapy and catalysis
• spectroscopic methods (NMR) for studying biological membrane models
• pharmaceuticals for applications in medical imaging (PET/MRI)
• green and sustainable chemical methods
• chemical methods for improving medicinal agents
• methods for using CO2 to create other valuable materials
• host-molecules for applications in methane sensor technology

After completion of the programme, the candidate:

Knowledge

• has an overview of discipline-relevant scientific approaches to analyse and understand molecular properties and processes
• has thorough knowledge of theory and methods used in molecular sciences
• has advanced insight into international research and development within her or his discipline
• has acquired advanced knowledge and understanding needed to contribute to innovation and discovery within her or his discipline

Skills

• can independently use and analyse various sources of information to structure and formulate scientific arguments
• can independently produce and analyze data, products and results employing discipline-relevant scientific methods, instrumentation, and software
• can critically analyze and evaluate the quality of data and results
• can conduct scientific work and document results in accordance with applicable standards and norm for research ethics
• can carry out independent limited research under supervision
• can plan and carry out chemical syntheses of organic or inorganic molecules
• can analyse synthetic and natural substances with advanced chromatographic, spectroscopic and/or crystallographic methods

General competence

• can critically read, cite, analyse and understand scientific literature
• can independently communicate scientific information clearly and precisely, bothwritten and oral forms
• can independently analyse and judge the reliability of information obtained from different sources and has a sound critical attitude towards knowledge from all sources
• can independently conduct research activities and communicate the research questions and results in both written and oral forms
• can carry out knowledge-based evaluations of general problems in science and communicate this to the public
• can accomplish research projects under guidance, e.g. under a PhD program in molecular sciences, chemistry or related areas
• can apply the obtained knowledge to independently solve new problems in natural sciences and to contribute to research and innovation

You can be qualified if you have a Bachelor degree in:

• Chemistry
• Molecular sciences*
• Pharmacy*

*with a minimum of 30 ECTS in chemistry.

Bachelor's degrees within other related areas may be considered on an individual basis.

For complete information regarding admission requirements, see Admission requirements for Master in Molecular Sciences.