Program Overview

The Ph.D. in Chemistry program is designed to prepare students to become independent, creative practitioners in Chemistry. The program provides an intensive training approach both in theory and experimentation that will enable students to be better equipped in their preparation for their different career paths in academia, research and development, science-based start-ups, and the industry. The Ph.D. in Chemistry program focuses on priority areas for Kazakhstan, serving as a foundation for future high-tech industries and a knowledge-based economy.

Students in the Ph.D. in Chemistry program are required to complete 240 ECTS credits, within a normal timeline of 4 years, which is in line with the Regulatory Framework for Graduate Programs and Courses of Nazarbayev University (2019).

The program consists of comprehensive coursework and research activity. The courses are designed to enable students to acquire highly advanced and cutting-edge knowledge in Chemistry. Additional, flexible learning time allocated into their research program would enable them to attend specialized equipment training courses and gain practical skills in working with Nazarbayev University core facilities, essential for their research projects. After passing a comprehensive exam and Ph.D. proposal defense, students are required to develop and practice novel research within the area of Chemistry, or an interdisciplinary field related to Chemistry. Research components of the program and dissertation defense will be passed by each student to complete the program and graduate.

Deadline for International Applicants: to be announced
Deadline for Local Applicants: to be announced

Program Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of the Ph.D. in Chemistry program students will be able to:

1. Design research proposals in their area of expertise and execute research projects, resulting in preparation of coherent reports of research findings and possible research publications;
2. Demonstrate knowledge of the concepts of experimental and theoretical chemistry, complete successfully in both core and elective courses;
3. Search, discover, and master contemporary research literature in their field of expertise, including their research project and develop awareness about its commercialization potential.
4. Apply research methodology in successful execution of experiments in a research laboratory or implement analytical and/or numerical solutions of a scientific question related to unsolved Chemistry research problems;
5. Employ knowledge of the phases and stages of the research process through successful presentation of a research seminar and/or proposal writing;
6. Explain scientific concepts and research findings through various modalities of communication in English, with particular emphasis on tertiary education instruction.

Curriculum

The Ph.D. in Chemistry program will typically be conducted full time over a period of 48 months. Each student will develop their personal and professional skills and their Ph.D. program as part of the core curriculum courses. The program includes the possibility of taught courses (during the first year) to support the development of postgraduate research students, to extend and test their knowledge in their research discipline.

Each student will be required to formally pass a comprehensive exam at the end of the second semester of Year 1 as a prerequisite for defending their Ph.D. proposal at the end of the second semester of Year 1. The program will then progress into a period dedicated to their research topic, from which a demonstrable original contribution to the knowledge pool will be assessed. Extension into a 5th year is possible upon approval and may come with specific requisites and stipulations. The program includes the possibility of a mobility period of 6-12 months in a host university abroad, agreed with the supervisory team and their collaborators, to provide the students with international experience.

The Ph.D. in Chemistry program, a four-year 240 ECTS credits, is a research-intensive third-cycle program designed according to the Bologna requirements. The curriculum of the program consists of three (3) different types of courses, namely:

Core courses (30 ECTS)

• Mechanistic Principles of Organic Reactions
• Polymer Chemistry
• Spectrochemical Methods of Analysis
• Chemical Thermodynamics and Kinetics
• Inorganic Materials and Catalysis
• Hot Topics in Chemistry
• Research Methods & Ethics

Elective courses (32 ECTS)

• Advanced Environmental Chemistry
• Design of Functional Materials
• Surfactant & Colloid Chemistry
• Chemical Biology
• Materials Chemistry
• Organometallic Chemistry

Research courses (178 ECTS)

Sample Schedule Ph.D. in Chemistry (2023 - 2024)

FIRST YEAR OF STUDY

FALL SEMESTER (32 ECTS)
CHEM 7XX - Graduate Core Course 1* (8 ECTS)
CHEM 7XX - Graduate Core Course 2* (8 ECTS*
CHEM 7XX - Graduate Core Course 3* OR Graduate Elective Course 1 (8 ECTS)
CHEM 700 - Hot Topics in Chemistry (8 ECTS)
CHEM 798 - Thesis Research (Continuous course in research)

SPRING SEMESTER (30 ECTS)
CHEM 780 - Research Methods and Ethics (6 ECTS)
CHEM 7XX - Graduate Core Course 3* OR Graduate Elective Course 1 OR 2 (8 ECTS)
CHEM 7XX - Graduate Elective Course 2 (8 ECTS)
CHEM 7XX - Graduate Elective Course 3 OR Technical Elective (8 ECTS)
CHEM 798 - Thesis Research (Continuous course in research)

In the summer, students will take a comprehensive exam that covers two core Chemistry courses as well as two elective Chemistry courses selected by both the supervisor and the student. Successful completion of this exam will make them eligible to defend their proposal, typically scheduled for the fall semester of their second year.

From the summer of their first year through the fall semester of their fourth year, students are required to enroll in CHEM 798 (Thesis Research). In the spring semester of their fourth year, students have the option to enroll in CHEM 800 (Doctoral Thesis) to defend their thesis or may choose to continue with CHEM 798, subject to approval by their supervisory committee.

Legend:
* course may be waived for NU students and can be replaced by an elective course
** Technical elective can be a non-Chemistry course selected from post-graduate elective courses offered at SSH (Biology, Physics, Mathematics), NUSOM (Biomed), SEDS (Chem. Eng.) subject to agreement with the supervisory committee.

Course Descriptions

CHEM 700 Hot Topics in Chemistry
This course introduces the students to specialized modern topics in physical, materials, organic and inorganic chemistry which are at the forefront of this discipline. The course will not only to give students a comprehensive overview of many modern areas in physical, inorganic, organic and materials science, but also to present them with some current challenges and perspectives in these fields.

The course will be delivered by 7 cycles of multidisciplinary lectures from 7 Chemistry faculty members, specific to their research interests, and covering broad topics from:
(i) Applied nanotechnologies,
(ii) Theoretical and computational approaches to design of functional and photoactive materials,
(iii) Modern aspects of applied catalysis,
(iv) Molecular spectroscopy and characterization of nanomaterials,
(v) Advanced methods of surface analysis,
(vi) Materials for sensing, environmental and biomedical applications,
(vii) Multicomponent reactions for synthesis of functional bioactive materials and natural products.

CHEM 710 Mechanistic Principles of Organic Reactions
This course explores relationships between organic chemical structures and their reactivity. Students will learn the key theoretical models developed to rationalize the reactivity of various functional groups and reactive intermediates. A particular emphasis will be given to acquiring the solid knowledge of computational, spectroscopic, kinetic and isotope labelling approaches for the mechanism elucidation. The course will be delivered through the structured independent online learning coupled with interactive problem-solving workshop sessions, where mechanisms of specific reactions such as substitutions, additions to multiple bonds, pericyclic reactions, free radical and photochemical reactions as well as molecular rearrangements will be discussed from various prospects aiming to develop broad principles governing various organic reactions.

CHEM 711 Polymer Chemistry
This is a comprehensive polymer science course which is designed to provide students with the fundamental knowledge on high molecular weight polymeric materials of both natural and synthetic origin, their properties, synthesis, functions, as well as applications, in particular in the pharmaceutical and biomedical fields. This course enables increasing students’ competence and practical knowledge on concepts of polymer chemistry required for better understanding processes and mechanisms at the core of advanced topical research of any Life Science related discipline. The first half of the course will be focusing on fundamental aspects of polymer chemistry, while the second half will be providing closer insights on polymers for pharmaceutical and biomedical applications.

CHEM 720 Spectrochemical Methods of Analysis
General concepts of encoding chemical information as electromagnetic radiation; major instrumental systems for decoding, interpretation, and presentation of the radiation signals; atomic emission, absorption, and fluorescence; ultraviolet, visible, infrared, and microwave absorption; molecular luminescence; scattering methods; mass spectrometry; magnetic resonance; automated spectrometric systems. The course is concurrent with the MSc course CHEM 520 Applied Analytical Chemistry with additional course work for the PhD students.

CHEM 722 Advanced Environmental Chemistry
The course provides an integrated description of the chemical processes and equilibrium systems that determine mobility, transport, turnover and effects of chemical contaminants in air, soil and water. It also provides an introduction to natural chemical processes in the environment. The course is concurrent with the MSc course CHEM 522 Analytical Environmental Chemistry and the BSc course CHEM 471 Environmental Chemistry and will be delivered with additional course work for the PhD students.

CHEM 730 Chemical Thermodynamics and Kinetics
This course consists of the principles in quantum mechanics, statistical mechanics, and thermodynamics and the intrinsic connection among these three foundations in physical chemistry. The interest will be mainly focused on chemical problems, both equilibrium and non-equilibrium, thermodynamics will be presented, within the frameworks of classical and quantum theories. The theory of the interactions, matter states, phase transitions, chemical chaos, and chemical kinetics mechanisms will be the main topics presented during the lectures.

CHEM 731 Design of Functional Materials
The course provides a graduate level overview of modern atomistic computer simulations used to model, understand and predict properties of technologically important materials. The emphasis is on practical use of techniques, algorithms and programs to bridge theory and applications, from the discovery of materials to their use in real-world technologies. Several laboratories give students direct experience with simulation methods as well as practical knowledge on how to use computational modeling and how to present and interpret results of simulations. Bridges from atomic to complex systems demonstrate potential of different theories to applications relevant to multiple major industries in the future, including nanotechnology and energy. The course is concurrent with the MSc course CHEM 511 Theoretical Chemistry and the BSc course CHEM 431 Computational Chemistry and will be delivered with an additional course work for the PhD students.

CHEM 733 Colloid and Surfactant Science
This is a comprehensive materials science course which is designed to increase the student’s competence and practical knowledge required to work in formulation science and technology projects. The fundamental background given by the course allows better understanding the basic principles which underpin the successful formulation of a range of consumer and industrial products. The course contains two parts, related to fundamental properties of (i) surfactants and (ii) colloids.

CHEM 740 Chemical Biology
This course will survey current topics in chemical biology and protein chemistry with a focus on concepts and tools from chemistry that are uniquely enabling biochemical discovery. Lecture topics will include protein structure, chemistry, and enzyme kinetics; protein engineering strategies; enzyme activity profiling; strategies for developing small molecule modulators of protein function; directed evolution of enzymes and their use in organic synthesis. Course delivery will combine independent learning with problem-solving workshop sessions that are based on assignments and examples derived from the modern scientific literature.

CHEM 750 Modern Inorganic Chemistry
This course is concurrent with CHEM 530 – Inorganic Structures and Reaction Mechanisms and is designed to prepare students for further research in Inorganic Chemistry and, more generally, employment is physical or materials sciences fields. The course includes advanced concepts in structure, bonding, and chemical/physical properties of inorganic compounds, understanding of which is central to the study of all areas of chemistry. In addition, the course covers the synthesis, structure, bonding, reactivity, and applications of coordination compounds. The primary emphasis will be on the fundamental reaction types, mechanisms of such reactions, methods for studying them and their relevance to important processes in industrial catalysis and synthetic chemistry.

CHEM 752 Materials Chemistry
Our technology-driven world is fueled by advances in materials chemistry with examples of application in areas such as microelectronics, sensors, catalysis, and energy technology. This course provides an overview of materials chemistry with a particular emphasis on the correlation between materials structure and their properties. In the framework of the course, we will discuss how different classes of materials are produced, why they exhibit some specific properties, and how these properties are applied in industry and manufacturing. In particular, the course covers synthesis and detailed discussion on how molecular structure and crystallinity of materials can be related to electronic, optical, magnetic, mechanical, and other useful physicochemical properties of materials.

CHEM 753 Organometallic Catalysis
This course is concurrent with CHEM 451 – Applied Homogeneous Catalysis and CHEM 532 – Organometallic Chemistry and aims to teach students the concepts in modern organometallic chemistry with an emphasis on applications of organometallic compounds in synthetic chemistry and important catalytic transformations, relevant to petroleum and chemical industries, including the synthesis of commodity and specialty chemicals. The course covers synthesis and bonding in organometallic complexes, fundamental reactions and their mechanisms, thermodynamic and kinetic considerations of complex formation, stability and reactivity, and applications of organometallic compounds to synthetic chemistry and catalysis. The later includes in-depth analysis of mechanisms of catalytic reactions, methods for catalyst separation and challenges in applying organometallic catalytic systems in industrial setting.

CHEM 780 Research Methods and Ethics
This course is designed to help students develop scientific writing skills. It provides an understanding of scientific methods and ethics, as well as practical aspects of statistics, experimental design, research methodology, laboratory safety, and bibliographic databases; in particular, the use of Reaxys, SciFinder Scholar, and other scientific databases, as well as specialized chemistry software such as ChemDraw and others. At the end of the course, students will be required to write a research paper in their chosen field.

CHEM 789 Thesis Research
This course is designed to monitor progress and develop understandings, skills, and outlooks to conduct original, independent research at the Ph.D. level. The student will develop (with the advisor’s guidance) a research plan at the beginning of the semester that will state a research problem/question/hypothesis, its background, outline a research strategy and experimental approach, method of data collection, interpretation and validation, and method of communication of the project results to others. The research plan is used as the basis for assessment of the student’s research progress.

CHEM 800 Doctoral Thesis
This course is designed to facilitate before the end of the prescribed program period or approved degree deferral period the writing and submission of the doctoral thesis for review by the thesis examiners. The thesis must be completed according to the Format and Style Guidelines of the Chemistry Department.

For more inquiries regarding the Ph.D.. in Chemistry Program, please contact Dr. Mannix Balanay, the Ph.D. program director.
In the case of general inquiries, contact Prof. Vesselin Paunov, the department chair.