Bachelor of Science in Chemistry

Chemistry is the science that studies the structure and reactions of non-living and living matter. In crystals, carbohydrates or DNA, chemists immediately recognise combinations of atoms and molecules. They use their chemical knowledge and insights to help develop smart and sustainable materials or innovative medicines. In doing so, chemists make an important contribution to a more comfortable, environmentally friendly and healthier life.

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Bachelor's Programme

3 year 180 credits

Faculty of Sciences

Dutch

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About the programme

Programme summary

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Off to a good start

Postgraduate studies

What

Choosing the Chemistry programme means choosing an in-depth scientific education that explores the boundaries of the discipline – and often goes beyond them. On the one hand, you learn how all matter is made up of atoms and molecules. As a chemist, you use these insights to develop new materials and products, such as degradable (bio)polymers, solar cells, LEDs and OLEDs, catalysts and medicines. On the other hand, you discover how everything, including life itself, can be understood in terms of chemical reactions. These reactions underpin a wide range of processes that chemists help optimise: producing and storing energy, producing hydrogen, capturing and reusing CO₂, recycling plastics, producing biomaterials and purifying water. Your chemical expertise equips you to devise innovative solutions for a safer, more sustainable and healthier world. Chemistry is also a fascinating discipline in its own right. It occupies a central position within the sciences. Fields such as medicine, agriculture, materials science, pharmacy, biochemistry and biotechnology build directly on it. Even archaeologists and art scholars increasingly draw on chemical knowledge.

Remarks

Admission into the programme is subject to taking a benchmark test - the test is in Dutch.

For whom

The Chemistry programme is designed for students with a strong interest in science and mathematics who are curious about the building blocks of matter and want to understand how substances are structured and how they react. It is for those who enjoy combining theory and practice: you learn about atoms and molecules and put your knowledge into practice in the laboratory. Can you see yourself helping to address societal challenges relating to climate, energy, materials development, health or the environment? Then this programme is for you. You need a solid foundation in mathematics, which is assessed through the compulsory benchmark test. A secondary school background with six hours of mathematics per week is ideal. If you have taken four hours of advanced mathematics per week as part of a science-oriented curriculum, some topics will be new to you. All other subjects start from the basics but progress quickly. Accuracy, practical dexterity and good time management are important for the practical sessions.

Structure

Bachelor

In the first year of the Bachelor’s programme, you are introduced to chemistry – both as a science and in its societal context – and take foundational courses in mathematics, computer science, physics and biochemistry. This lays the foundations you need to explore the various fields of chemistry in greater depth in the second and third years. You receive thorough training in theoretical, inorganic, physical, organic and analytical chemistry, combined with practical laboratory skills. In the second semester of the third year, you shape part of your own curriculum. For your Bachelor’s dissertation, you choose from a wide range of short research placements. You also select one of four minors to explore a particular area of interest: Research and Development, Multidisciplinary Broadening, Education or International Exchange. Choosing the Education minor gives you direct access to the corresponding Master’s Programme in Teaching.

Master

The English-taught Master’s programme in Chemistry offers three main subjects that allow you to develop your academic and professional profile: (Bio)Organic and Polymer Chemistry, Materials and Nanochemistry, and Analytical and Environmental Chemistry. Each main subject follows the same curricular structure, but focuses respectively on the latest developments in molecules, materials or chemical analysis. You become familiar with specialist terminology in English and are thoroughly prepared for the international context of the professional world. Through project-based learning, you learn from academic and industrial partners worldwide, from engineers and archaeologists to plastics manufacturers. You write up the results of your Master’s dissertation research and defend your dissertation before a jury. The programme concludes with a work placement at a company or a research laboratory abroad.

In addition to the (domain) Master’s programme described above, you can also choose a Master’s Programme in Teaching (in Dutch: educatieve master (120 sp).

Labour Market

All recent reports point in the same direction: Belgium and its neighbouring countries face a significant shortage of graduates in the exact sciences, and chemists in particular. Flanders also has one of the highest concentrations of chemical industry in the world. Together, these factors make the job prospects for our graduates particularly promising. The traditional image of a chemist in a white coat, juggling steaming test tubes and bubbling liquids, is certainly outdated. Today, substances and compounds are created and analysed using advanced technology and sophisticated equipment. Modern chemists therefore work both in traditional laboratories and at computers. But the possibilities extend further: depending on the company, you may work in a research department or in market research, product development or quality control. Production, sales and customer service are also common areas of employment. Outside industry, chemists work in education or in roles serving society, such as environmental services. A PhD can give you an additional advantage.

Study programme quality

Quality Assurance

At Ghent University, we strive to educate people who dare to think about the challenges of tomorrow. For that purpose, we provide education that is embedded in six strategic objectives: Think Broadly, Keep Researching, Cultivate Talent, Contribute, Extend Horizons, Opt for Quality.
Ghent University continuously focuses on quality assurance and quality culture. The Ghent University's quality assurance system offers information on each study programme’s unique selling points, and on its strengths and weaknesses with regard to quality assurance.

More information:

Ghent University's Education Objectives

Quality Assurance at Ghent University

Unique Selling Points

Broad talent development: we offer our students a solid science education based on a wide range of knowledge, skills and attitudes, including experimentation, modelling and simulation, entrepreneurship, sustainability, critical and creative thought, and co-operation.
State-of-the-art research: our study programme has a long-standing tradition of state-of-the-art international research, in which we involve our students from the very beginning. The strong interrelation between research and education becomes apparent, e.g., in the work placement opportunities, as well as in the Bachelor’s and Master’s dissertation.
Active co-operation: our students appreciate the innovative and project-based approach or our lecturers, all of whom have internationally recognised research expertise. They are particularly appreciative of the low-threshold contacts between students, lecturers, and PhD students.
Student-centred approach: student appreciation for our thoroughly revised Bachelor’s and Master’s curriculum is high. The new curricula are versatile, future-oriented and they allow for a significant degree of curricular freedom based on the students’ personal interests, talents and ambitions. The Master’s curriculum is fully English-taught. By means of three main subjects, the Bachelor’s and Master’s curriculum leaves room for professional training as well as further in-depth training.
Future-oriented approach: in terms of future employment, students see an important added value in the English-taught Master’s programme. Our graduates find work quickly in various (international) sectors and profiles in research (PhD), industry or education.

Strengths

Vision and programme: our study programme has a strong future-oriented vision on chemistry, which takes into account the wide range of career opportunities in the field. We have translated that vision into a curriculum in which chemistry is covered in all its aspects, focusing on broad and in-depth knowledge, and on scientific skills and attitudes.
Participation: systematic quality improvement based on (student) feedback is part of our DNA. Our students, for instance, are actively involved in the day-to-day management of the programme, and our curricular revision is the result of thorough consultations with all our (external) stakeholders.
Assessment: we use various active assessment methods, which evolve throughout the curriculum as the students grow more independent. The Bachelor’s and Master’s dissertation are high-profile final papers.
Openness: we place great store by the low-threshold and dynamic culture that exists among lecturers, students and the professional field, and their involvement in our education policy. All of our lecturers are passionate professionals.
Promoting chemistry: we actively reach out to secondary schools and have various initiatives for bringing secondary school pupils into contact with the beauty of chemistry. In addition, we actively promote chemistry in wider society and international contexts.

Challenges

We want to strengthen our individuality further vis-à-vis (international) students, graduates and the professional field by means of our advisory group, staff mobility and network events.
We want to contribute actively to the reorganization and renewal of a state-of-the-art infrastructure for our practicals.
We continuously assess the correlation between the Bachelor’s and the revised Master’s curriculum with a focus on the use of digital teaching methods.

Accreditation

This study programme is accredited by the Accreditation Organization of the Netherlands and Flanders (Dutch: NVAO). Accreditation was extended following the positive outcome of the institutional review in 2022. Programme quality was validated by a quality review, i.e. a screening of the Education Monitor by the Education Quality Board. The Quality Assurance Resolution (in Dutch) can be found here.

This information was last updated on 01/02/2023.
In case of questions or suggestions with regard to the publicly available information, please contact the study programme.