Digital Chemistry
Discover and contribute to a new era of digital molecular design
Award titles
Postgraduate Certificate (PG Cert)
MSc
Key information
Duration: 6 months or 1 year full-time
Start date: October 2022
Location: Online
Overview
The practice of chemistry in academia and industry is being revolutionised by advances in automation, artificial intelligence, and big data.
This Master's programme will equip you to navigate and contribute to emerging fields within chemistry and train the next generation of scientists that are greatly needed and currently in short supply.
It comprises modules that cover the theory and application of data science, machine learning and automation in a diverse range of areas within the chemical sciences.
From computational modelling allowing predictive insights into the behaviour of complex molecules and systems, to artificial intelligence and machine learning revolutionising our ability to predict reaction outcomes, you will explore recent developments across the field and gain sought-after skills.
These modules will be delivered online except for a single term research project module, which you can undertake either remotely or on campus.
Careers
Our career-focused degrees ensure graduates are well-placed to gain employment in a growing industry.
There are many areas of employment open to you as a graduate of this course. Previous graduates of the Department have gone on to pursue careers in:
- Healthcare
- Medical device industry
- Research
- Medicine
- Start-ups
- Teaching
- Consultancy
- Finance
- Chemical and pharmaceutical industries
- Data-driven industries
Structure
This page reflects the latest version of the curriculum for this year of entry. However, this information is subject to change.
The curriculum of this programme is currently being reviewed as part of a College-wide process to introduce a standardised modular structure. As a result, the content and assessment structures of this course may change for this year of entry.
We recommend you check this page before finalising your application and again before accepting your offer. We will update this page as soon as any changes are confirmed by the College.
Find out more about the limited circumstances in which we may need to make changes to or in relation to our courses, the type of changes we may make and how we will tell you about any changes made.
Page last reviewed on 25 October 2021.
Structure
Taught modules
Core modules
You will take all of the following:
- Data Analytics in Chemistry
- “Hacking” for Chemists
- Automation in Chemistry, Drug Discovery and Materials
- Ethics in Data Science and Artificial Intelligence
- Journal Club
- Artificial Intelligence in Chemistry: Materials
- Artificial Intelligence in Chemistry: Drug Discovery
- Design of Experiments (DoE)
- Chemical Entrepreneurship and Sustainability Innovation in Chemistry
Depending on your academic and/or professional background, you will also take one of the following modules:
- Key Concepts in Chemistry
- Programming in Python
Research project
You will conduct an independent and original research project in the area of digital chemistry. You will be able to choose from a selection of projects suggested by academics in the Department of Chemistry and their collaborators and perform original research from March to August with the aim of producing publishable results.
You will write a dissertation, defend your work with an oral examination and present in a student symposium. This research project can be completed either online or on-site and will provide an opportunity for you to work on cutting-edge research with two academic groups within the Department and/or in an affiliated laboratory within the College or a selected partner organisation (for example, an SME or industrial partner).
The two research supervisors will contribute complementary technical expertise e.g. one in medicinal chemistry, one in machine learning.
Teaching and assessment
Teaching
The Digital Chemistry programme will be delivered online, apart from the research project module, where you will have the option to either carry it out remotely or on campus.
Teaching and learning on the programme will be delivered by the departmental faculty through a range of methods including:
- recorded lectures
- online engagement points
- guided reading
- scheduled live tutorials
- coding exercises
- 'lab-in-a-box' remote experiments
You will also learn as part of a cohort through and through interactions with your peers on discussion boards (which can be used as assessment through graded discussion prompts), group projects and peer-assessed exercises.
Although you will be working remotely, staff will be available to support you in your learning and help you to work most effectively.
Assessment
There will be short assessments for each module, but most modules are assessed primarily through coursework. The final project assessment involves both a written report and oral examination.
Excluding the final research project that counts for 45% of the degree, the assessment in the remaining modules is roughly 10% exams, 60% coursework and 30% practical work.
Overall workload
The expected total study time is 2,250 hours per year.
Your overall workload consists of online sessions and independent learning. The following gives an indication of how much time you will need to allocate to different activities.
At Imperial, each ECTS credit you take equates to an expected total study time of 25 hours. The research project will amount to 1,000 hours, and around 20% of the time you spend on the remaining modules (250 hours) will be spent in various structured activities (lectures, workshops and practical sessions) and 80% (1000 hours) in independent study.
Entry requirements
We welcome students from all over the world and consider all applicants on an individual basis.
Admissions
Minimum academic requirement
Our minimum entry requirement is normally a 2.1 degree in chemistry, biochemistry or chemical engineering.
Applicants with a 2:1 degree in a data science related area, such as computing, applied mathematics and statistics, will be considered on a case by case basis.
Prior experience in programming, artifical intelligence or machine learning is not required.
International qualifications
We also accept a wide variety of international qualifications.
The academic requirement above is for applicants who hold or who are working towards a UK qualification.
For guidance see our Country Index though please note that the standards listed are the minimum for entry to the College, and not specifically this Department.
If you have any questions about admissions and the standard required for the qualification you hold or are currently studying then please contact the relevant admissions team.
English language requirement (all applicants)
All candidates must demonstrate a minimum level of English language proficiency for admission to the College.
For admission to this course, you must achieve the standard College requirement in the appropriate English language qualification. For details of the minimum grades required to achieve this requirement, please see the English language requirements for postgraduate applicants.
Competence standards
Our competence standards highlight the core skills students should be able to demonstrate by the end of this course.
View the Department of Chemistry's competence standards [pdf]
We believe in providing the widest practicable access to all of our degree programmes and will make reasonable adjustments wherever possible to support your study. For more information, please contact the Department using the contact details below.
Department of Chemistry
T: +44 (0)20 7594 5864
E: d.pappoe@imperial.ac.uk
How to apply
Making an application
Apply online
All applicants must apply online.
Visit our Admissions website for details on the application process.
You can submit one application form per year of entry. You can usually choose up to two courses.
Application fee
If you are applying for a taught Master’s course, you will need to pay an application fee before submitting your application.
The fee applies per application and not per course:
- £80 for taught Master's applications (excluding MBAs)
- £135 for MBA applications
There is no application fee for MRes courses, Postgraduate Certificates, Postgraduate Diplomas or research courses, such as PhDs and EngDs.
If you are facing financial hardship and are unable to pay the application fee, we encourage you to apply for our application fee waiver.
Selection process
Online interviews will be offered to shortlisted candidates.
ATAS certificate
An ATAS certificate is not required for overseas students applying for this course.
Visa information
Students opting for the Digital Chemistry (Blended) (MSc 1YFT) are not eligible for sponsorship for a Student visa for any part of this programme.
If you are non-UK/Irish national based outside of the UK and opt for the Digital Chemistry (Blended) (MSc 1YFT) pathway, you will be required to come to the UK as a General Visitor for the duration of the research project April-September.
Please note, there are no working rights on the General visitor immigration route and that you will not be able to extend this permission or switch to another immigration category from within the UK. As such, you will be required to leave the UK at the end of the period granted under this route. Additionally, those with immigration permission under the General visitor immigration route will not qualify for the Graduate Worker route following the completion of the programme.
Further questions?
Find answers to your questions about admissions. Answers cover COVID-19, English language requirements, visas and more.
Tuition fees and funding
The level of tuition fees you pay is based on your fee status, which we assess based on UK government legislation.
Find out more about fees and funding opportunities.
Tuition fees
Home rate of tuition
2022 entry
MSc
£12,800
Postgraduate Certificate (PG Cert)
£6,400
Fees are charged by year of entry to the College and not year of study.
Except where otherwise indicated, the fees for students on courses lasting more than one year will increase annually by an amount linked to inflation, including for part-time students on modular programmes. The measure of inflation used will be the Retail Price Index (RPI) value in the April of the calendar year in which the academic session starts e.g. the RPI value in April 2022 will apply to fees for the academic year 2022–2023.
Find out more about how fees are paid.
Fee status
Whether you pay the Home fee depends on your fee status.
Your fee status is assessed based on UK Government legislation and includes things like where you live and your nationality or residency status.
Find out more about how we assess your fee status.
EU/EEA/Swiss students
The Government has confirmed that EU/EEA/Swiss students who begin a course before the 31 July 2021 will be eligible to pay the same fee as Home students and have access to student finance for the duration of their course, as long as they meet certain requirements which are unchanged from previous years. This includes students who begin the course remotely.
EU/EEA/Swiss students starting a course on or after 1 August 2021 will no longer be eligible for the Home fee rate and so will be charged the Overseas fee. Please note we do not expect this to apply to Irish students or students benefitting from Citizens' rights under the EU Withdrawal Agreement, EEA EFTA Separation Agreement or Swiss Citizens’ Rights Agreement respectively. However, we are currently awaiting the formal publication of the amended Fees and Awards regulations.
The UK Council for International Student Affairs (UKCISA) website has useful information on the conditions you currently need to meet to be entitled to pay tuition fees at the Home rate for study on a higher education course in England and reflect the regulations as they currently stand (not the amended regulations which are subject to publication).
UKCISA has also provided some information in response to Questions for students starting their course from the 1 August 2021.
Overseas rate of tuition
2022 entry
MSc
£35,400
Postgraduate Certificate (PG Cert)
£17,700
Fees are charged by year of entry to the College and not year of study.
Except where otherwise indicated, the fees for students on courses lasting more than one year will increase annually by an amount linked to inflation, including for part-time students on modular programmes. The measure of inflation used will be the Retail Price Index (RPI) value in the April of the calendar year in which the academic session starts e.g. the RPI value in April 2022 will apply to fees for the academic year 2022–2023.
Find out more about how fees are paid.
Fee status
Whether you pay the Overseas fee depends on your fee status.
Your fee status is assessed based on UK Government legislation and includes things like where you live and your nationality or residency status.
Find out more about how we assess your fee status.
EU/EEA/Swiss students
The Government has confirmed that EU/EEA/Swiss students who begin a course before the 31 July 2021 will be eligible to pay the same fee as Home students and have access to student finance for the duration of their course, as long as they meet certain requirements which are unchanged from previous years. This includes students who begin the course remotely.
EU/EEA/Swiss students starting a course on or after 1 August 2021 will no longer be eligible for the Home fee rate and so will be charged the Overseas fee. Please note we do not expect this to apply to Irish students or students benefitting from Citizens' rights under the EU Withdrawal Agreement, EEA EFTA Separation Agreement or Swiss Citizens’ Rights Agreement respectively. However, we are currently awaiting the formal publication of the amended Fees and Awards regulations.
The UK Council for International Student Affairs (UKCISA) website has useful information on the conditions you currently need to meet to be entitled to pay tuition fees at the Home rate for study on a higher education course in England and reflect the regulations as they currently stand (not the amended regulations which are subject to publication).
Postgraduate Master's loan
If you're a UK national, or EU national with settled or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme, you may be able to apply for a Postgraduate Master’s Loan from the UK government, if you meet certain criteria.
For 2022-23 entry, the maximum amount is £11,836. The loan is not means-tested and you can choose whether to put it towards your tuition fees or living costs.
Scholarships
We offer a range of scholarships for postgraduate students to support you through your studies.
See what opportunities you may be eligible for:
Further information
Got a question?
Dr Mike Ray and Dr Dipa Gurung
T: +44 (0)20 7594 2678 and +44 (0)20 7594 1241
E: chemres@imperial.ac.uk
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