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Graduate Programs in Green and Sustainable Chemistry

These green and sustainable chemistry programs provide unique advanced training opportunities for chemists with bachelor's degrees and related professionals. Now one of the fastest-growing employment sectors, there's never been a better time to get additional sustainability skills.

Why pursue a graduate program in green and sustainable chemistry?

Growing public awareness about the state of our environment, chemical product safety, and new chemical regulatory policies is driving demand for employees trained in environmental and green chemistry. These new challenges necessitate that leaders in business, government, and non-governmental organizations understand the fundamental science underlying both the environmental challenges we face and potential innovative solutions. 

Graduates of such programs will be qualified to pursue employment opportunities as green and sustainable chemistry experts in:

  • Government
  • Private sector (industry)
  • Environmental, sustainability, and toxicology consultancies
  • Occupational health and safety
  • new product development
  • Environmental engineering
  • Project management

Industry is increasingly establishing dedicated divisions focused on sustainability to cope with the changing landscape of global environmental responsibility. In the U.S., “green” jobs are one of the fastest-growing employment sectors, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

 

career paths graphic

What should I look for in a green and sustainable chemistry graduate program?

When comparing graduate programs, here are a few items you will want to consider:

  • Core courses dedicated to the program:  Inquire whether the program's key courses are focused on providing technical ability and knowledge in green and sustainable chemistry.
     
  • Focus on problem-solving and design: Professional opportunities will likely require the use of multiple fundamental skillsets from the chemistry curriculum used in tandem (“a systems approach”) to solve specific problems or to design new chemicals and products. Look for courses, projects, or research that hone this skill set.
     
  • Interdisciplinary coursework: Programs should allow students to develop an awareness in areas that relate to sustainability, including lifecycle thinking, chemical toxicology, process engineering, economics, and communications, among others.
     
  • Project-based internship or capstone experience: Look for opportunities to independently identify a problem and devise appropriate methods for its solution, contributing original knowledge to the field. Such opportunities poise graduates to obtain employment or advance their professional development. 
     
  • For Doctoral degree programs: Discuss with potential research mentors how the research projects use green chemistry tools and how they apply to sustainability challenges or U.N. Sustainable Development Goals. 
     
  • Graduate career paths: Lastly, ask where past graduates have found employment  - this is often the most useful information about a program.

 

Graduate Programs

 

Chulalongkorn University

Doctor of Philosophy in Green Chemistry and Sustainability

or Master of Science in Green Chemistry and Sustainability

Bangkok, Thailand

 

Common Electives:

  • Chemical Toxicology and Risk Management
  • Understanding Environment, Development, and Sustainability
  • Advancement in Green Technology
  • Innovation Management in Chemical Science

 

George Washington University

M.S., Environmental & Green Chemistry

Washington, D.C., USA

 

Green Chemistry Courses:

  • Renewable Energy
  • Chemical Toxicology and Design of Safer Chemicals
  • Environmental Chemistry: water, air, and soil chemistry
  • Industrial Green Chemistry
  • Environmental Analytical Chemistry
  • Capstone Seminar

Common Electives:

  • Organometallic Chemistry and Catalysis
  • Polymer Chemistry

  • Environmental and Occupational Health in a Sustainable World

     

Imperial College London

MRes Green Chemistry, Energy and the Environment

London, United Kingdom

 

Green Chemistry Courses:

  • Sustainable Chemistry
  • Recovery of Metals from Waste
  • Green Chemistry Research Project

 

Leuphana University of Lüneburg

M.Sc. Professional Master in Sustainable Chemistry

Lüneburg, Germany

 

Contact for Course Information:

Lisa Keßler, M.Sc. Coordinator
Fon +49.4131.677-4110
[email protected] 

 

Monash University

Graduate Certificate of Green Chemistry and Sustainable Technologies

Melbourne, Australia

 

Green Chemistry Courses:

  • Introduction to Green Chemistry
  • Green Chemistry Consultancy Project
  • Green Chemistry Innovation: Transforming Industry and Manufacturing
  • Designing Safer Chemicals
  • Green Chemical Synthesis

Common Electives

  • Environmental Governance and Citizenship
  • Corporate Sustainability Management
  • Biomass and Biorefineries
  • Advanced Biopolymers
  • Sustainability and Innovation
  • Climate Change, Energy, and Human Security
  • Processes to Influence Change
  • Managing Innovation
  • Sustainable Operations and Supply Chain Management

 

Stockholm University

Master's Programme in Sustainable Chemistry

Stockholm, Sweden

 

Green Chemistry Courses:

  • Introduction to Sustainable Chemistry
  • Materials Chemistry for Environmental Applications
  • Chemistry of Renewable Materials
  • Chemistry of Renewable Energy Generation and Storage
  • Toxicology for Environmental Scientists
  • Sustainable Organic Chemistry
  • Chemistry of Sustainable Recycling

 

University College London

MSc Sustainable Chemistry

London, England

Green Chemistry Courses:

  • Core Concepts in Chemical Sustainability
  • Chemical Sustainability Research Skills 
  • Literature Project 
  • Advanced Research Project: Sustainable Chemistry
  • Transferable Skills for Scientists
  • Topics in Modern Chemistry 

Contacts for course information:

 

 

University of Massachusetts, Boston

Green Chemistry Track in the Chemistry Ph.D. Program

Boston, Massachusetts, USA

 

Green Chemistry Courses:

  • Introduction to Green Chemistry
  • Environmental Toxicology

 

University of Massachusetts, Lowell

Ph.D. in Chemistry, Sustainability Option

Lowell, Massachusetts, USA

 

Green Chemistry Courses:

  • Toxicology and Health
  • Sustainable Materials Design

Common Electives:

  • Environmental Law and Policy
  • Experimental Conceptualization

 

University of Toledo

Professional Science Master's Degree in Green Chemistry and Engineering

Toledo, Ohio, USA

 

Green Chemistry Courses:

  • Green Chemistry
  • Environmental Chemistry
  • Green Engineering Principles
  • Green Engineering Applications
  • Supply Chain Management
  • Strategic Management of Innovation
  • New Venture Creation

 

University of Poitiers in France (UP), University of Aveiro in Portugal (UA), University of Rovira i Virgili in Spain (URV)

Erasmus Mundus Master in Sustainable Catalysis

Poitiers, France

 

Green Chemistry Courses:

  • Sustainable chemistry
  • Homogenous catalysis 
  • Microbial and enzymatic catalysis
  • Life cycle assessment 
  • Biotechnologies
  • Environmental Remediation

 

University of York

M.Sc. Green Chemistry and Sustainable Industrial Technology

York, United Kingdom

 

Green Chemistry Courses:

  • Principles and Systems Thinking in Green and Sustainable Chemistry
  • Applications of Green and Sustainable Chemistry
  • Communication, Education, and Public Understanding of Green and Sustainable Chemistry
  • The Business Case for Green and Sustainable Chemistry
  • Research Skills and Methodologies
  • Green and Sustainable Chemistry Research Project

 

Vienna University of Technology, the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Viena, and the University of Vienna

Master's Programme in Green Chemistry

Vienna, Austria

 

Green Chemistry Courses:

  • Concepts of Green Chemistry
  • Feedstocks and Renewables
  • Environmental Analytical Chemistry and Toxicology
  • Sustainable Development
  • Green Chemistry Laboratory