MSc in Applied Organic Chemistry

The Department of Chemistry, University of Colombo has a long tradition of excellence in teaching and offers four year undergraduate programs in chemistry and related disciplines. Further the Department of Chemistry has taken an interest towards the postgraduate education in Sri Lanka. M.Sc. in Analytical Chemistry is the first ever taught M.Sc. program in the country that was started by the University of Colombo in November 1975.

Building on the success of this program, Department of Chemistry introduced M.Sc. in Applied Organic Chemistry on April 28, 2006. Organic chemistry is everywhere in today’s world. Mastering organic chemistry is crucial for the design of a wide range of everyday products, novel products and processes. Design of materials with tailor-made properties requires an enhanced understanding of their synthesis, physico-chemical characteristics, characterization and structure-property relationships at the molecular level.

An historic change was made on October 24, 2009 when two courses of the program were offered on-line, enabling the busy postgraduate students to access the lessons from home. The department envisages offering this program via dual mode and more courses will be offered on-line in the future.

The M.Sc. in Applied Organic Chemistry Program provides a broad background in organic chemistry both at theoretical and experimental level. This is accomplished via courses/practical classes covering different areas related to organic chemistry and by conducting a research project. Some research projects are conducted with extensive collaboration with companies.

Objective

Organic chemistry plays an essential role in a large number of chemical industries. The objectives of this programme are,