PhD in Chemistry

If you are keen to explore the world of science that is central to the connection between natural sciences and physics, engage in extensive research and find out new avenues, then, PhD in Chemistry might suit your career aspirations. Having to engage in independent studies, broadening your skill base and engaging in experiments in the laboratory for long periods of time, in a PhD curriculum, you would study different principles of Thermodynamics, advanced levels of Organic and Inorganic Chemistry, Mathematics, etc. With the knowledge of these core areas of the subject, you would understand the application of these fundamental principles to real-life practical processes. Let us take a look at the scope of pursuing a PhD in Chemistry.

Course	Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry
Duration	3 – 6 years
Eligibility Criteria	Masters Degree
Admission Process	Entrance Test
Top Entrance Exams	UGC – NET, GATE, CUCET
Average Fees	INR 80k – 3 lakhs
Average Salary	INR 15 lakhs – 20 lakhs
Job Options	Staff Scientist, Chemistry Professor, etc

About PhD in Chemistry 

PhD in Chemistry is a doctoral degree in one of the branches of Science that span over a period of 3-6 years. It is a detailed academic study and research and completes with the submission of an academic thesis on the subject that you engaged in research with. Moreover, these days there are a large number of innovative research projects that have been adopted such as the interface of Chemistry with Biology and Medicinal Sciences, Sustainable Energy, and Catalysis, amongst many others.

Moreover, the popular subjects studied over the course of your program include Computational and Theoretical Chemistry, Biochemistry and Organic Synthesis, Magnetic Resonance and Structural Chemistry, Biochemistry, Bioinformatics, Nanoscience, Biotechnology, Molecular biology, Microbiology, Genetics, Gene Expression, etc.

Eligibility Criteria 

A PhD in Chemistry requires one to be committed to research and development and sometimes spend days at a stretch in the laboratory. Being a rigorous curriculum taught over a period of 3-6 years, a doctorate degree involves fierce training and education. Apart from these, there are a few things that one needs to pay heed to while seeking admission to this course. Some of these are: 

• Senior Secondary Certificate or its equivalent from a recognised education board. 
• A bachelor’s degree in Chemistry/Biochemistry or a related field of your specialization from an accredited institution.
• A master’s degree like MSc Chemistry, MSc Biochemistry from a recognised university.
• English Language Proficiency Test: IELTS, TOEFL or PTE score
• Proven evidence of work experience, if needed.

PhD in Chemistry: Admission Process

To get admitted into any top universities like IIsc Banglore, IIT Kharagpur, IIT Bombay, etc offering a Ph.D. chemistry, students need to sit for entrance exams. The admission process continues with a personal interview, and if they score well, they can also get a scholarship. Given below are the basic steps:

Step 1: Application – To get admission to any college for Ph.D. in Chemistry, students first have to fill out the form for the course through either online or offline mode. 

Step 2: Entrance Exams – If students are aiming to get to admission in top universities, the entrance exams are extremely necessary. 

Step 3: Results – Keep a thorough check on the exam results. After the results have been declared, the admission process will continue. 

Step 4: Interview and Enrollment – After qualifying for the exam, the university will take an interview either online or offline by calling the students to the university campus.

PhD in Chemistry Top Colleges in India 2022

The table is given below listed the top-ranked colleges for Ph.D. in Chemistry in India with their NIRF rankings: 

NIRF Ranks	College	Entrance Exam	Average Fees (INR)	Average Salary
1	Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore	JAM/JEET scores	35,200	10 LPA
4	Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay	GATE/UATE/UGC-NET score, written test, and personal interview	73,000	20.34 LPA
5	Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur	Written test followed by an interview	28,900	30 LPA
6	Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur	Entrance Based	64,050	22 LPA
8	Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee	GATE/GPAT/UGC-NET/JRF scores, and interview	28,500	13.16 LPA

PhD in Chemistry: Entrance Exams

Some universities have their own exams like Lovely Professional Universities has LPUNEST and the main national level exams conducted for this course are the UGC – NET, and GATE. There is also CUCET which is the common entrance for central universities.

PhD in Chemistry: Entrance Exams Syllabus

The syllabus of the entrance exam of this course depends upon three main topics: 

Inorganic Chemistry	Physical Chemistry	Organic Chemistry
Main Group Elements & their Compounds: Allotropy, Synthesis, Structure and Bonding, Industrial importance of the compounds.	Approximate methods of quantum mechanics: Chemical applications of group theory; symmetry elements; point groups; character tables; selection rules.	Asymmetric synthesis: Pericyclic reactions – electrocyclization, cycloaddition, sigmatropic rearrangements, and other related concerted reactions. Principles and applications of photochemical reactions in organic chemistry. Structure determination of organic compounds by IR, UV-Vis, 1H & 13C NMR, and Mass spectroscopic techniques.
Transition Elements and Coordination Compounds: Structure, bonding theories, spectral & magnetic properties, reaction mechanisms.	Statistical thermodynamics: Nernst equation, redox systems, electrochemical cells; collision and transition state theories of rate constants; unimolecular reactions; enzyme kinetics; salt effects; homogeneous catalysis; photochemical reactions.	Principles of stereochemistry: Organic reaction mechanisms involving addition, elimination, and substitution reactions with electrophilic, nucleophilic, or radical species. Determination of reaction pathways. Common named reactions and rearrangements – applications in organic synthesis.
Inner transition elements: Spectral and magnetic properties, redox chemistry, analytical applications.	Basic principles of quantum mechanics: Postulates; operator algebra; exactly-solvable systems: particle-in-a-box, harmonic oscillator and the hydrogen atom, including shapes of atomic orbitals; tunneling.	Principles of stereochemistry: Organic reaction mechanisms involving addition, elimination, and substitution reactions with electrophilic, nucleophilic, or radical species. Determination of reaction pathways. Common named reactions and rearrangements – applications in organic synthesis.
Characterization of inorganic compounds by IR, Raman, NMR, EPR, Mossbauer, UV-vis, NQR, MS, electron spectroscopy, and microscopic techniques.	Molecular spectroscopy: Rotational and vibrational spectra of diatomic molecules; electronic spectra; IR and Raman activities	Organic transformations and reagents: Functional group interconversion including oxidations and reductions; common catalysts and reagents (organic, inorganic, organometallic, and enzymatic).
Bioinorganic chemistry: Photosystems, porphyrins, metalloenzymes, oxygen transport, electron-transfer reactions; nitrogen fixation, metal complexes in medicine.	Colloids and surfaces: Stability and properties of colloids; isotherms and surface area; heterogeneous catalysis.	Concepts in organic synthesis: Retrosynthesis, disconnection, synthons.
Organometallic compounds: Synthesis, bonding and structure, and reactivity.	Chemical thermodynamics: Laws, state and path functions and their applications; thermodynamic description of various types of processes; elementary description of phase transitions; phase equilibria and phase rule; thermodynamics of ideal and non-ideal gases, and solutions.

Ph.D. in Chemistry: Top Universities

Enlisted are the best universities to pursue a Ph.D. in Chemistry with their corresponding areas of specialization: 

University	Specialization
Universidade in Chemical Science & Technology, Spain	Ph.D. in Chemical Science & Technology
Hong Kong University of Science & Technology	Ph.D. in Nano Science & Technology
Rochester Institute of Technology	Ph.D. in Microsystems Engineering
Brno University of Technology	Ph.D. in Chemistry and Technology of Foodstuffs
University of Pardubice, Czech Republic	Ph.D. in Chemistry & Technology of Inorganic Materials
UAE University	Ph.D. in Chemistry
The University of Texas at Dallas, USA	USA
Charles University Faculty of Science, Prague	Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry

Top Universities for PhD in Chemistry 

Access to the top of the range research equipment and facilities like X-ray diffractometers, scanning tunnelling microscopes, electron microscopes, mass spectrometers, and high-field nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrometers, the best universities around the world have a lot to offer. Which is why we have curated a list of renowned universities around the world taking into consideration the top 5 countries to study Chemistry that might be perfect for you.

• California Institute of Technology
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• Princeton University
• Harvard University
• Yale University
• University of Glasgow 
• John Hopkins University 
• University of Kent 
• McGill University 
• University of Cambridge 
• University of California, Berkeley 
• University of York 
• University of Essex 
• University of Montreal 
• The University of Edinburgh 
• The University of Manchester 
• Cornell University 

Job Prospects & Salary

Read on to find out the below-mentioned job options with the respective average salaries after pursuing a Ph.D. in Chemistry: 

• Research Scientist – Ranges around INR 8.7 lakhs
• Principal Scientist – Ranges around INR 20 lakhs
• Assistant General Manager – Ranges around INR 20 lakhs
• Business Consultant – Ranges around INR 30 lakhs
• High School Principal – Ranges around INR 4.7 lakhs

Career Prospects 

Progressing into the branch of Chemistry would allow you to explore multifarious opportunities that would refine your skills and make a good living. Working with different chemical research centres, industries such as plastic and polymer factories, forensic labs, food packaging and processing firms along with the beverage and liquor industries hire chemists at a large scale. You may also make a career in Medicinal Chemistry and work towards finding new cures and medical testing and manufacturing. You can consider the following profiles after pursuing a PhD in Chemistry:

• Scientist 
• Medical Technologist 
• Research Instructor 
• Professor 
• Cytologist
• Material Science
• Pharma Assistant
• Biochemist
• Agricultural Chemist
• Clinical Research Specialist
• Medical Technologist
• Radiologist
• Toxicologist 
• Food and Flavor Chemist
• Water Quality Chemist
• Production Chemist
• Product Officer
• Research & Development Manager
• Scientific Data Entry Specialist
• Safety Health and Environment Specialist
• Quality Controller

FAQs

With a PhD in Chemistry, you can get a postdoctoral position where you continue to research. Many individuals decide that academia is not for them and use their teaching, financial sector, or trading skills. If you have any inhibitions in finding a path to your career aspirations, Leverage Edu can guide you towards it and boost your career.