Master of Science (MSc) in Chemistry

Graduates with a specialisation in analytical chemistry are in demand in research, at industrial production industries from energy over foods and pharmaceuticals to biotech and at environmental consultancies.

You learn to analyze chemical composition of samples, and to reveal how these were formed and how to improve their production. You'll get hands on experience in the lab using high end scientific instruments. Furthermore, you learn to select, develop, validate and assess chemical analyses.

During the specialisation, you will work with:

• Sampling theory and sample preparation methods, chromatography, mass spectrometry, and spectroscopic methods.
• Practical use of advanced analytical techniques for analysis of gas, liquid and solid samples.
• Quantitative and qualitative chemical analyses.

Upon graduation you'll have the competencies to plan and perform sampling, as well as to sample preparation of complex matrices. You will also be able to analyze simple and complex mixtures of chemicals and elements using modern chromatography, mass spectrometry and spectroscopy methods, and to perform data analysis for qualitative (identification) and quantitative (concentration measurements) analysis.

Denmark has one of the highest ratios of advanced scientific instruments to population, so jobs are plentiful in research, industry, biotech and consultancy. Among other things, you can find work within production or research in fields as plant breeding, foods, biotechnology, catalysis, and environmental chemistry.

The specialisation can be structured in two different ways, depending on whether you start in September or February:

Course table, Study Start in September

Compulsory courses: 30 ECTS
Elective courses: 30 ECTS
Master's thesis: 60 ECTS

One block each year equals nine weeks of study and 15 ECTS. The table is primarily for guidance and may be subject to revision.

Course table, Study Start in February

Study start in February is only for students with legal right of admission to the programme. Read about legal right of admission here >>

Compulsory courses: 30 ECTS
Elective courses: 30 ECTS
Master's thesis: 60 ECTS

One block each year equals nine weeks of study and 15 ECTS. The table is primarily for guidance and may be subject to revision.

The specialisation in inorganic chemistry prepares you to take the lead in research and development. As a graduate you are able to develop new functional materials. For example, molecular electronics that allow computers to grow smaller using fewer elements harmful to nature, catalysts that allows industries to produce more and pollute less, or plastics that are lighter and stronger yet biodegradable.

A central aspect of developing new compounds and materials is to characterize the new molecules you have invented. This involves use of large scale research facilities such as the largest synchrotron facility in Europe, the European Spallation Source (ESS), which is currently being built just an hour’s drive away from Copenhagen. So studying for your M.Sc. in Copenhagen also gives you ample opportunity to develop your skills at planning and executing research programmes at large scale facilities.

Among other things, you will focus on inorganic and coordination chemistry, materials science and theoretical modelling of inorganic systems. Upon graduation you have the competencies to:

• use modern experimental techniques in inorganic chemistry.
• describe the most important experimental techniques applied in the characterization of inorganic compounds.
• describe and rationalize the most important periodic variation in the chemical and physical properties of the elements and their compounds.
• apply electronic structure models to inorganic systems.

The specialisation can be structured in two different ways, depending on whether you start in September or February:

Course table, Study Start in September

Compulsory courses: 30 ECTS
Elective courses: 30 ECTS
Master's thesis: 60 ECTS

One block each year equals nine weeks of study and 15 ECTS. The table is primarily for guidance and may be subject to revision.

Course table, Study Start in February

Study start in February is only for students with legal right of admission to the programme. Read about legal right of admission here >>

Compulsory courses: 30 ECTS
Elective courses: 30 ECTS
Master's thesis: 60 ECTS

One block each year equals nine weeks of study and 15 ECTS. The table is primarily for guidance and may be subject to revision.

New medicines, smart materials, better fuels, brighter pigments, perfumes and more. With a specialisation in organic synthesis you will be trained to invent and develop new organic compounds. You acquire a deep insight into what can and cannot be produced in an organic chemistry laboratory. You also get hands on experience with advanced techniques and equipment for producing small molecules.

Among other things, you learn to:

• elucidate the reaction mechanisms of desired and undesired organic reactions.
• work independently with specialized equipment and advanced synthesis methods.
• work with synthetic chemistry under inert atmosphere, anhydrous conditions and extreme conditions (temperature, pressure, etc.).
• work with various types of chromatographic purification methods.
• organize, describe, execute and optimize multistep syntheses on large and small scales.

When you graduate, you'll have the competencies to analyze reactions on the basis of physical organic chemistry. You are also able to analyze complex synthetic problems and plan a feasible synthesis. These are competencies that are sought after by the private sector, not least the pharmaceutical industry.

The specialisation can be structured in two different ways, depending on whether you start in September or February:

Course table, Study Start in September

Compulsory courses: 30 ECTS
Elective courses: 30 ECTS
Master's thesis: 60 ECTS

One block each year equals nine weeks of study and 15 ECTS. The table is primarily for guidance and may be subject to revision.

Course table, Study Start in February

Study start in February is only for students with legal right of admission to the programme. Read about legal right of admission here >>

Compulsory courses: 30 ECTS
Elective courses: 30 ECTS
Master's thesis: 60 ECTS

One block each year equals nine weeks of study and 15 ECTS. The table is primarily for guidance and may be subject to revision.

The physical and computational chemistry specialisation focus on fundamental forces in chemistry as well as questions such as how atmospheric phenomena relates to climate change, or how we store solar energy.

You can involve yourself in anything from full scale investigations of atmospheric phenomena to analysis and spectroscopic experimentation in the laboratory and predictive theoretical and computational chemistry. You can investigate the forces acting between single atoms in a molecule, and draw inferences to the macroscopic interactions that governs entire planetary atmospheric systems.

You will learn to:

• use methods and software within the field of computational chemistry e.g., high level programming and machine learning.
• use experimental and theoretical advanced physical chemical methods.
• use experimental techniques within gas, liquid, and solid phase spectroscopy.
• use basic spectroscopic instruments and to describe different techniques and the theory behind them.

With a specialisation in physical and computational chemistry you have an expertise in spectroscopy and physical chemistry, which is in demand in high tech industries, environmental agencies, consulting companies and the biomedical industry. Your insight into high level programming and data mining also makes you sought after by the IT-sector as well as in finance and banking.

The specialisation can be structured in two different ways, depending on whether you start in September or February:

Course table, Study Start in September

Compulsory courses: 30 ECTS
Elective courses: 30 ECTS
Master's thesis: 60 ECTS

One block each year equals nine weeks of study and 15 ECTS. The table is primarily for guidance and may be subject to revision.

Course table, Study Start in February

Study start in February is only for students with legal right of admission to the programme. Read about legal right of admission here >>

Compulsory courses: 30 ECTS
Elective courses: 30 ECTS
Master's thesis: 60 ECTS

One block each year equals nine weeks of study and 15 ECTS. The table is primarily for guidance and may be subject to revision.

Please note: The MSc in Chemistry with a minor subject is only for applicants with a Danish Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry including the required courses from the minor subject. The minor subject consists of courses taught in Danish, where the first part is compulsory in the Bachelor’s degree, and the remaining is part of the MSc.

You can study chemistry with a minor subject if you want to acquire the competences to teach or disseminate both subjects. This enables you to teach in Danish upper secondary schools. Furthermore, you will be qualified to work in e.g., chemical, phamaceutical, high-tech, or consulting companies, as well as within the public sector, universities, or sector research institutes. You will also have the prerequisites for further studies e.g., a PhD programme.

The programme can be structured in different ways depending on whether your minor subject is within or outside the field of science, and whether you start in September or February. Below, you will find examples of course tables showing the study structure if you start in September or February with a minor subject within the field of science. 

See the full programme overview in the curriculum for MSc Chemistry with a minor subject >>

Course table, Study Start in September, Minor Subject Within the Field of Science

Compulsory courses: 15 ECTS
Restricted elective courses: 30 ECTS
Minor subject: 45 ECTS
Master's thesis: 30 ECTS

One block each year equals nine weeks of study and 15 ECTS. The table is primarily for guidance and may be subject to revision.

Course table, Study Start in February, Minor Subject Within the Field of Science

Study start in February is only for students with legal right of admission to the programme. Read about legal right of admission here >>

Compulsory courses: 15 ECTS
Restricted elective courses: 30 ECTS
Minor subject: 45 ECTS
Master's thesis: 30 ECTS

One block each year equals nine weeks of study and 15 ECTS. The table is primarily for guidance and may be subject to revision.

Restricted Elective Courses

Choose your restricted elective courses from the list below. Click on each course for a detailed description.

• Advanced Fluorescence Spectroscopy and Microscopy
• Advanced Vibrational Spectroscopy
• Air Pollution and Health
• Analytical Chemistry
• Computational Chemistry
• Descriptive Inorganic Chemistry
• Heterocyclic Chemistry
• Methods and Modelling in Inorganic Chemistry
• Organic Chemistry
• Reactions and Synthesis in Medicinal Chemistry
• Scientific Writing, Planning and Presentation
• Structural Tools in Nanoscience
• Project in Practice