How can you make a flexible solar cell that can be fixed to anything? How can you build a molecular-scale motor? These are some of the fascinating questions that you will try to answer as a chemist.
Chemistry is the study of molecules and how they interact. As a
chemist equipped with this knowledge, you can produce new
substances and materials or devise solutions for all sorts of
problems.
Chemistry is a broad discipline with many parallels with other
science subjects such as physics, mathematics, astronomy and
biology. If you are interested in exploring the interfaces with
those subjects, you can do so in Groningen! You can expand your
knowledge of chemistry and discover and apply new materials.
Chemistry in Groningen is the home of 2016 Nobel Prize winner
Ben Feringa, who has won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his
research on a light-driven rotary molecular motor.
Working on the environment, medicines or new foods …
What will you choose?
As a chemist you will have excellent career prospects. There are openings in a variety of areas, such as business, health care, environmental inspection and education.
Chemists are often involved in the development of new medicines, or in the search for new synthetic materials with special properties. Another path is the creation of a more sustainable world through solutions for generating energy, for example using sunlight or motion.
| CoursesCourse Catalog > |
|---|
| Biochemistry and Biotechnology |
| Concepts of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering |
| Inorganic Chemistry |
| Linear Algebra & Multivariable Calculus for Chemistry |
| Maths for Chemistry and Chemical Engineering |
| Molecules: Structure, Reactivity and Function |
| Organic Chemistry 1 |
| Physical Chemistry 1 |
| Practical Course: Synthesis and Analysis |
| Spectroscopy |
| Sustainability Projects |
| Transport Phenomena |
Course examples within the Smart materials specialization: Molecular Design, Soft Molecular Materials, Trends in Polymer Science
Course examples within the Sustainable Chemistry and Energy specialization: Physical Organic and Photo-chemistry, Green and Photochemistry, Electrochemistry and Energy
Course examples within the Chemistry of life specialization: Bio-energy, Metabolism and Bioresources, Chemical Biology, Cellular Chemistry
The Groningen science and engineering programmes stand out for their academic excellence. The work pace in the first year is generally high and the courses' contents are demanding. The first year curriculum concentrates on laying a sound basis for our engineering and natural science disciplines. This allows our students to choose their specialisations already in the second year of the Bachelor's programme.
Please be advised that students of the Faculty of Science and Engineering are expected to adhere to our Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policy, ensuring seamless integration of personal electronic devices for academic purposes. For more detailed information on our BYOD policy, please visit our webpage.| Programme options |
|---|
| Smart Materials (specialization) Within this specialization you will search for 'smart' materials, for example those who produce electricity or can change temperature. |
| Chemistry of Life (specialization) Within the specialization Chemistry of Life you study how molecules in living organisms execute chemical processes. |
| Sustainable Chemistry and Energy (specialization) Within the specialization Sustainable Chemistry and Energy you use chemistry to enhance sustainability and to produce clean energy. |
Exchange: All our science and engineering programmes offer study abroad possibilities at a number of partner institutions. Our partners include top-100 universities in Europe (for example in Germany, UK, and Sweden) and in the USA, China, South-East Asia, and South America. Our exchange programmes have a typical duration of one semester and count toward your final degree.
wiskunde B + natuurkunde
wiskunde B + natuurkunde + scheikunde
wiskunde B + natuurkunde + scheikunde
| Specific requirements | More information |
|---|---|
| language test |
Language proficiency certificate for English (except for applicants with a Dutch pre-university education (VWO) as well as the exemptions listed on the language exemptions webpage). More info: https://www.rug.nl/fse/programme/admissions/bsc/language |
| other admission requirements |
Before you apply! When you cannot fulfil the vwo requirement, due to deficient profile or if you want to be admitted on the basis of a successfully passed first year of HBO or colloquium doctum, you need to submit an additional admission request via the Admission Board Bachelor programmes. Please go to this website for more information. Please note! The admissions procedure is independent of the matching procedure. Information about the matching procedure can be found here |
| Type of student | Deadline | Start course |
|---|---|---|
| Dutch students | 01 May 2025 | 01 September 2025 |
| EU/EEA students | 01 May 2025 | 01 September 2025 |
| non-EU/EEA students | 01 May 2025 | 01 September 2025 |
| Specific requirements | More information |
|---|---|
| previous education |
Secondary education equivalent to Dutch pre-university education (vwo) is required. A list of qualifications that are considered equivalent to pre-university education in the Netherlands can be found here: https://www.rug.nl/education/application-enrolment-tuition-fees/admission/procedures/application-informatie/with-non-dutch-diploma/entry-requirements/bachelor-entry-requirements/vwo-equivalent-qualifications If you have any questions concerning admission to the programme, please contact our Admissions Office: https://www.rug.nl/education/application-enrolment-tuition-fees/contact/ |
| additional subject |
Sufficient background knowledge in Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry is required. The Admissions Board will determine whether your background knowledge in these subjects is sufficient to start the Bachelor's degree programme of your choice. |
| language test |
You will need to submit proof of English proficiency in accordance with the requirements of the Faculty of Science and Engineering. Please find our English language requirements (exemptions, IELTS, TOEFL, Cambridge and more) on this page: https://www.rug.nl/fse/programme/admissions/bsc/language |
| other admission requirements |
Please note! The admissions procedure is independent of the matching procedure. Information about the matching procedure can be found here |
| Type of student | Deadline | Start course |
|---|---|---|
| Dutch students | 01 May 2025 | 01 September 2025 |
| EU/EEA students | 01 May 2025 | 01 September 2025 |
| non-EU/EEA students | 01 May 2025 | 01 September 2025 |
| Nationality | Year | Fee | Programme form |
|---|---|---|---|
| EU/EEA | 2024-2025 | € 2530 | full-time |
| non-EU/EEA | 2024-2025 | € 19300 | full-time |
| EU/EEA | 2025-2026 | € 2601 | full-time |
| non-EU/EEA | 2025-2026 | € 19800 | full-time |
Practical information for:
A commercial function, doing research or optimize factories: when you have finished this programme many options are open to you. Graduates usually have no problem finding a job, whether that is in the Netherlands or abroad.
After the Bachelor's programme you can move on to one of the Master's programmes in Chemistry, Biomolecular Sciences or Environmental Sciences, or the Top Master's degree programme in Nanoscience.
Look for an international commercial position, become a researcher – there are many paths open to you with a degree in Chemistry! Most students find a job soon after graduating, in a wide range of occupations.
If you want to work as a researcher, you can do this at a university, but also in industry. For example, you could work in medical and biochemical research, and there are plenty of opportunities in the food and the synthetics industries. In general, graduates progress to a management position after a couple of years.
If you're not interested in a research career, you could work as a manager or adviser in the business world at a multinational or at a non-governmental organization. Some graduates also work as inspectors.
Stratingh Institute for Chemistry
Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials
Basic research on materials is directed towards unraveling the relations between the properties that determine their functionality and their chemical composition and structure. The quest for in-depth understanding of these constitutive relations often leads to unexpected boundaries signifying fundamental gaps in our knowledge. Although the structure-property relationship is in itself a truism, the actual linkage between (micro) structural aspects in a material and its physical/chemical properties is elusive. The reason is that various properties are determined by the collective behaviour of molecules, atoms and electrons and their behaviour may be extremely non-linear on different time and length scales.
The classic materials triangle concerns an integrative approach in the three aspects of structure, property and chemical composition. The Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials adds an extra dimension to this traditional view by an unconventional linkage to the field of biomolecular sciences, which includes the design aspects as well.
Research groups: Computational Physics , Materials Science , Micromechanics , Nanostructured Materials and Interfaces , Optical Condensed Matter Physics , Polymer Chemistry and Bioengineering, Photophysics and opto-electronics, Physics of Nanodevices, Polymer Chemistry and Bioengineering, Quantum Interactions and Structural Dynamics, Solid State Materials for Electronics , Surfaces and Thin Films , Theoretical Chemistry , Theory of Condensed Matter
Groningen Biomolecular Sciences and Biotechnology Institute (GBB)
Engineering and Technology institute Groningen
(ENTEG)
Research at the Engineering and Technology institute Groningen (ENTEG) is organized in five research groups in Product- and Process Technology and Discrete Technology.
Research groups: Transport Phenomena , Discrete Technology &
Production Automation , Green Chemical Reaction Engineering ,
Product Technology, Smart Manufacturing Systems
ESRIG - Energy and Sustainability Research Institute Groningen
Although ESRIG is a Research Institute, bundling strengths leads to new educational possibilities as well in the Master phase the Energy and Environmental Sciences (EES) programme has been operational for several years, under responsibility of IVEM and CIO. At present, this programme offers two tracks: The IVEM track ("Energy and Environmental Sciences"), and the CIO-track ("Experimental studies of greenhouse gases and climate history"). The IVEM track will be extended by elements of SSG research. The CIO-track will be enforced and broadened by the other experimental groups inside ESRIG.
In the Bachelor phase the curriculum of Physics and Chemistry will start with an "energy and environmental" track from the year 2010-2011 onwards. As ESRIG is the central institute for this subject, ESRIG scientists take the lead in both the track design and the actual teaching.
Research groups: Centre for Isotope Research , Geo-energy , Combustion Technology , Centre for Energy and Environmental Sciences , Ocean Ecosystems , Science and Society group
Study BSc Chemistry at the University of Groningen
New insights by researching what exactly went wrong
Chemistry is about everything around you. That is why it suits me well: I have always wanted to know why things are the way they are. The more you ask, the more detailed the answers become.
I love solving complex puzzles and this is exactly what we do here in this degree programme. I also really enjoy putting the theory that we learn into practice in the lab myself. Sometimes the experiments do not go as planned, but you can also get new insights by researching what exactly went wrong.
I am now in my second year and after the summer, I will go to Hong Kong to continue studying chemistry course units there. After that, I want to finish my Bachelor's degree, and I definitely want to subsequently follow a Master's programme. Eventually, I would love to do a PhD because I really think that research is the most interesting thing that there is.
Road to the 2016 Nobel Prize
You will be issued a study advice at the end of both your first year of study. You can expect a positive study advice if you have earned at least 45 ECTS credit points (out of a total of 60 ECTS, most course units are 5 ECTS). If you have earned fewer than 45 ECTS and are issued a negative study advice, you will not be allowed to continue your degree programme.
You will receive a preliminary study advice in December to make sure that you know where you are. Please contact your study advisor as soon as possible if you have any questions about the Binding Study Advice system.
