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Studying for an MPhil/PhD at UCL Chemistry means joining a thriving department along with a large cohort of researchers working alongside academics and, potentially, industry. The department has wide-ranging links with science and technology industries offering excellent prospects for employability.
Key information
Programme starts
September 2018
Modes and duration
Tuition fees (2018/19)
- UK/EU:
- £5,060 (FT) £2,530 (PT)
- Overseas:
- £23,540 (FT) £11,760 (PT)
Application dates
Note on fees: The tuition fees shown are for the year indicated above. Fees for subsequent years may increase or otherwise vary. Further information on fee status, fee increases and the fee schedule can be viewed on the UCL Current Students website.
Entry requirements
A UK Master’s degree in Chemistry, or an MSci or MChem with upper second-class Honours, or an overseas qualification of an equivalent standard.
English language requirements
If your education has not been conducted in the English language, you will be expected to demonstrate evidence of an adequate level of English proficiency.
The English language level for this programme is: Standard
Further information can be found on our English language requirements page.
International students
Country-specific information, including details of when UCL representatives are visiting your part of the world, can be obtained from the International Students website.
International applicants can find out the equivalent qualification for their country by selecting from the list below.
Select your country:
Overview
The department offers a broad range of research themes across physical, organic, inorganic and computational chemistry, specific departmental strengths are listed under research areas below.
Research areas
- Biocatalysis and synthetic biology
- Bionanotechnology
- Chemical biology and drug discovery
- Chemical modification and synthesis of proteins and complex peptides
- Chemical sensors and gas-phase electrochemistry
- Chemistry in interstellar space
- Computational chemistry, from materials simulations to quantum dynamics
- Development of chemical probes for biological systems
- Development of synthetic methodology for organic synthesis
- Gas-phase reactions of ions and molecules related to atmospheric chemistry
- Industrial materials
- New synthetic methods for inorganic materials
- Thin film growth and analysis
- Surface solid-state science
- Ultrafast molecular dynamics and coherent control.
The department takes a leading role in the following interdisciplinary research centres, which bring together expertise from various departments in UCL, and which maintain strong and coherent links with external institutions:
- The Centre for Computational Science (CCS)
- The Centre for Cosmic Chemistry and Physics
- The Materials Chemistry Centre.
- The Institute of Structural and Molecular Biology
- UK Catalysis Hub- Research Complex at Harwell
- The Francis Crick Institute (2015 onwards)
Funding
The department may be able to offer, on a competitive basis, BBSRC, EPSRC, and NERC studentships, teaching assistantships and industrially supported studentships.
Scholarships relevant to this department are displayed below.
CSC-UCL Joint Research Scholarship
- Note:
- Now closed for 2018/19.
- Value:
- Fees, maintenance and travel (Duration of programme)
- Eligibility:
- Overseas
- Criteria:
- Based on academic merit
For a comprehensive list of the funding opportunities available at UCL, including funding relevant to your nationality, please visit the Scholarships and Funding website.
Careers
Recent UCL Chemistry PhD graduates have become postdoctoral researchers at a range of institutions in the UK and abroad, including ETH Zurich and Princeton, amongst others. Other PhD graduates have followed a wide range of careers, becoming research chemists, secondary school science teachers, working in finance and publishing and becoming technical consultants.
Recent career destinations for this degree
- Assistant Professor, Jahangirnagar University
- Global Medical Writer, Norgine Pharmaceuticals
- Management Consultant, BAE Systems
- Postdoctoral Research Assistant, UCL
- Research Scientist, NPL (National Physical Laboratory)
Networking
Networking opportunities are available throughout the PhD at departmental seminars and events for interdisciplinary research collaborations with other institutions and departments. Furthermore all of our PhD students have the opportunity to meet with subject-specific visiting academic speakers giving seminars. Networking is also possible at the Chemical & Physics Society (CPS), which holds weekly talks from staff and visiting speakers throughout each term. The CPS is the UCL Chemistry Department’s student society that was founded in 1876, and is UCL's oldest students' society. PhD students can also become engaged with the UCL Alumni Relations Office and the UCL Gillespie Science Club.
Careers data is taken from the ‘Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education’ survey undertaken by HESA looking at the destinations of UK and EU students in the 2013–2015 graduating cohorts six months after graduation.
Why study this degree at UCL?
UCL Chemistry has excellent facilities, a large research staff and postgraduate research cohort spanning a broad range of cutting-edge science and the department is situated in the heart of the UCL campus. There are very strong interdisciplinary links with other departments, including the London Centre for Nanotechnology and extensive collaborations with industry.
Department: Chemistry
Student / staff numbers
› 52 staff
Staff/student numbers information correct as of 1 August 2017.
Research Excellence Framework (REF)
The Research Excellence Framework, or REF, is the system for assessing the quality of research in UK higher education institutions. The 2014 REF was carried out by the UK's higher education funding bodies, and the results used to allocate research funding from 2015/16.
The following REF score was awarded to the department: Chemistry
94% rated 4* (‘world-leading’) or 3* (‘internationally excellent’)
Learn more about the scope of UCL's research, and browse case studies, on our Research Impact website.
Application and next steps
Applications
Students are advised to apply as early as possible due to competition for places. Those applying for scholarship funding (particularly overseas applicants) should take note of application deadlines.
Application deadlines
Deadlines and start dates are usually dictated by funding arrangements so check with the department or academic unit to see if you need to consider these in your application preparation. In most cases you should identify and contact potential supervisors before making your application. For more information see our How to apply page.
For more information see our Applications page.
Apply nowContact information
- Jadranka Butorac, Postgraduate Administrator
- pgcourses.chem@ucl.ac.uk
- +44 (0)20 7679 4650
Page last modified on 29 January 2018 by UCL Student Recruitment Marketing
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