Chemistry is the science which deals with transformations in matter ; it ranges from understanding the molecular level of the living world to the design of tomorrow’s materials. The main characteristic of the Master in Chemistry is training through research. This Master is designed to train high level scientists capable of finding solutions to current problems involving chemistry. The programme aims to provide knowledge and practical skills which students can develop when they go on to work in the professional field. Chemists work in many different areas, particularly those linked with scientific research, in industrial development and production, in the banking sector, management, communication and in teaching science. 

Not only does the Master programme provide solid theoretical training, but it also develops experimental skills, ability to take an overview, a critical attitude as well as rigour in thinking and expression.
Doing a dissertation in one of the laboratories of the Department of Chemistry also serves as an introduction to research, thus opening the way for the doctoral schools, whatever focus is chosen. 

The research focus places the greatest emphasis on training through research. In addition to the dissertation which requires immersion in research, students have opportunities for contacts with other groups and to take part in other projects both in Belgium and abroad. The research focus prepares students to become researchers.Specialized courses deal with issues that are at the edge of human knowledge. There is emphasis on experimentation and academic communication, both written and oral. The programme includes a placement or training in a laboratory outside UCL, preferably abroad.

The professional focus ‘industrial chemist’ enables students who wish to go on to work in industry to have the opportunity of a work placement in an industrial setting and begin to gain a reputation in the business world. Students should choose courses that provide them both with the tools and methods for chemical analysis and general knowledge of intellectual property and legal standards. 

The teaching focus is a specially adapted programme designed for teachers at higher levels in secondary education which also provides training in general scientific communication.

Students will mainly be assessed on the basis of individual work (e.g. reading, consultation of databases and bibliographic references, writing monographs and reports, presentation of seminars, dissertation and work placement). Where necessary, students will also be assessed on how much they have learned from lectures. As far as possible, there will be continuous assessment, including regular ‘open book examinations’. Certain activities will not be given a precise mark but will be officially certified. Assessment of the dissertation is in two stages : a ‘progress report’ at the end of the first year of the Master and the final presentation.

The programme promotes mobility by simplifying to the maximum the management of the timing of activities. The periods for possible mobility (Erasmus-Socrates and Mercator exchanges, placements in companies, internal placements) are best concentrated in the second semester of the first year. The dissertation and additional training are therefore concentrated in the second year.

However, in the research focus with external mobility and also in the professional focus, there is an alternative : mobility can take place in the fourth semester, by moving the dissertation and the additional training to the second and third semesters. 

Advanced courses are given by many visiting lecturers from different foreign institutions and some Belgian ones. These are mostly in English.