Molecular Physical Chemistry - Study line

Physical Chemistry provides the general framework for analyzing and understanding the behavior of matter at the molecular level. This specialization will teach you about the key experimental and theoretical approaches. You will acquire a solid foundation in physical chemistry which together with your general knowledge on chemistry will allow you to contribute to applications within all areas of chemistry including catalysis and drug development.  The focus is on the quantitative description of structure, dynamics, and function of molecules.

On the theoretical side you will learn about the key theories which connect the properties of individual molecules with observables in the laboratory.  To that end, you will have a chance to make use of the mathematics you have learned – and more.  The solution of problems within physical chemistry makes extensive use of computers – including large-scale scientific computing on the biggest computers around. On the experimental side you will get hands-on experience with key methods like spectroscopy and scattering.   This includes the new international large-scale facilities like the MAX IV synchrotron beamlines in Lund and the free-electron femtosecond X-ray laser E-XFEL in Hamburg.

This study line will especially appeal to students who wants to acquire strong general competences with a focus on theory, computer simulation, and data analysis.

Program Provisions

To complete the study line in Molecular Physical Chemistry, the students must fulfil the following requirements:

• Have passed General Competence Courses adding up to at least 30 ECTS points.

• Have passed Technological Specialization Courses adding up to at least 30 ECTS points.

• Have performed a Master Thesis of at least 30 ECTS within Physical Chemistry.

• Have passed a sufficient number of Elective Courses to bring the total number of ECTS points of the entire study to 120 points.

The specialization courses cover experimental courses including spectroscopy (26130) and scattering techniques (47336) as well as courses focusing on theory and computation. A natural progression among the latter courses starts with Applied Computational Chemistry (26245) and Quantum Chemistry (26261). Followed by Molecular Electronic Structure Methods (26263, the advanced course in quantum chemistry), Advanced Physical Chemistry (26236, statistical mechanics and molecular reaction dynamics), and Computermodelling in Chemistry (26255, classical molecular dynamics simulations of structure and properties).