About Chemistry, BA (Hons) - at Trinity College Dublin
What is chemistry?Chemistry is a central science. Without it, many modern disciplines such as materials science, molecular biology and environmental science would not be impossible. Chemists are involved in developing novel target compounds for applications as diverse as pharmaceuticals and drugs, photo- and electroresponsive materials, and polymers and catalysts.
What will you study?As a Junior Sophister (third year student), courses will cover the three main areas:
- Inorganic chemistry - organometallic chemistry, catalysis, group theory, bio-inorganic chemistry, spectroscopic methods, inorganic polymers
- Organic chemistry - organic synthesis, spectroscopy, heterocyclic chemistry, reaction mechanisms, amino acid and peptide synthesis
- Physical chemistry - macromolecules and interfacial chemistry, spectroscopy, quantum chemistry, kinetics, electrochemistry, thermodynamics, chemisorption and catalysis
In addition there are courses on environmental chemistry, programming, maths and physics, and you have the option of taking supplementary courses from other disciplines.
Lectures are complemented by laboratory classes in which, in addition to more sophisticated preparative chemistry, you will be able to carry out your own spectroscopic analysis and computer-based modelling.
In the Senior Sophister (fourth) year, lectures consist of core fundamental subjects and an extensive range of optional courses. The practical component of this year is an extended research project which you will carry out in Michaelmas term. This may be done in Trinity or in an advanced industrial or academic laboratory abroad.
Career opportunitiesThe chemical and pharmaceutical industries, which contribute some 20% to Ireland's exports, are excellent employers of Trinity graduates. Patent offices, government advisory and information services, libraries, public analytical laboratories, schools and third level institutions all employ chemists. Or you may decide to carry out postgraduate research leading to a higher degree. Other equally successful routes graduates have taken in the past include careers in the business and financial services sectors, and in management.
