Postgraduate Study in Organic Chemistry and Chemical Biology

• How to apply
• Course Codes
• When to apply
• Areas of current research
• Supervisors' research interests
• Financial information
• Admissions criteria
• Graduate studies prospectus (including research in Chemistry)
• Currently advertised vacancies, for which the application procedure is either given in the advertisement or follows the general procedure described below

Applicants should contact the Graduate Studies Administrator (Aga Borkowska ) with any queries regarding the application process.

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NEW programme / funding opportunity: DPhil in Cardiovascular Medicinal Chemistry

Candidates should apply for a DPhil in Organic Chemistry (programme code: 002530), but specify in the application form that they want to be considered for this programme.

Please contact Dr Angela Russell: angela.russell@chem.ox.ac.uk if you have any questions.

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Organic Chemistry and Chemical Biology OPEN DAY was held on Thursday, 8 November 2012.

Please click here to download Dr Nick Green's (Director of Studies) presentation.

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How to apply

The normal route to graduate study in Chemistry at Oxford is to apply for admission as a Probationer Research Student (PRS) with the intention of completing research over (usually) a 3-4 year period leading to the degree of DPhil; occasionally a shorter period of study may be appropriate and students may then submit for the degree of MSc by research.

There is also: Oxford Industrial Doctorate in Systems Approaches to Biomedical Science (SABS-IDC)

Applicants should apply online, it is recommended that you read the notes of guidance before applying, as found here.

Applicants are strongly recommended first to make contact with potential research supervisor(s) before submitting a formal application. As well as describing possible research projects, the potential supervisor will be able to offer advice on completing the application form and may help with identifying possible sources of grants or scholarships.

More information about courses can be found at:

Organic Chemistry: http://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/postgraduate_courses/course_guide/chemistry_2.html

Chemical Biology: http://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/postgraduate_courses/course_guide/chemistry.htm

Course Codes

Application Deadlines

Applications may be received at any time during the year. Applicants are advised to contact potential supervisors before submitting an application.

Important note for overseas students: you will need to secure funding for your study as most research grants are for UK or other EU* nationals only. For University scholarships for overseas students the absolute deadline is Friday, 18 January 2013; further information on sources of funding can be found on the University's website .

Please also see: http://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/postgraduate_courses/apply/application_guide.html#awhen_to_apply

Self-funded students or those who have awards from institutions outside Oxford University may apply at any time.

* Austria; Belgium; Bulgaira; Cyprus; Czech Republic; Denmark; Estonia; Finland; France; Germany; Greece; Hungary; Ireland; Italy; Latvia; Lithuania; Luxembourg; Malta; Netherlands; Poland; Portugal; Romania; Slovakia; Slovenia; Spain; Sweden

Please note however, that if you apply after 8 March 2012 (3rd University Deadline), we will need to secure a College place for you before we make a formal offer.

Interviews

Applicants for Organic Chemistry and Chemical Biology should note that all interviews will be held on ten days across the year. If you can not make the interview day, please contact Aga Borkowska. Please note that applicants from outside the UK will normally be interviewed by telephone.

The interview days will generally begin with a meeting with the Director of Graduate Studies, followed by interviews with prospective supervisors. Applicants will also have lunch with current DPhil students.

Applicants should note that due to the way the applications are circulated, they may be interviewed by a supervisor that they did not name on their application..

Areas of current research

Organic Chemistry

• New synthetic methodology
• Total synthesis of natural products
• Asymmetric synthesis methodologies, both catalytic and stoichiometric
• Carbohydrate-based organic synthesis
• Free radical chemistry
• Oxidation and reduction in organic synthesis
• Computational Organic Chemistry
• Organic synthesis of new materials, including materials with new optical and conducting properties
• Medicinal chemistry
• Combinatorial chemistry
• Mechanistic and structural studies on enzyme mechanisms
• Biocatalysis
• Bio-organic chemistry and biosynthesis of natural products
• Protein engineering and functionalisation

Chemical Biology

• Fundamental studies of protein function
• Protein structure and dynamics
• Protein engineering
• Chemistry of genetics and epigenetics
• Nucleic acid chemistry
• Single molecule approaches
• Biotechnology
• Applications in medicine
• Use of small molecules as functional probes
• New biophysical methods for analysing molecules in cells
• Biocatalylsis
• Bioenergy
• Carbohydrate chemistry
• Membrane proteins
• Synthetic biology

Individual projects may also be separately advertised with their own cut-off dates; again, applications will be accepted in the normal manner.

Financial information

Fees (shows the costs of graduate study at Oxford)

Fees, funding & scholarship Search (contains information about scholarships and awards)

Admissions criteria

Admissions criteria for graduate studies at the Department of Chemistry can be found here .