Chemistry (CHM) is a modern, dynamic and diverse field that involves investigating the substances that make up our physical world and how these substances change. Chemistry touches everything we come into contact with. As a result, it is a field with connections to almost all other areas of science and engineering. For example, chemists play a vital role in developing new drugs and materials for advanced electronic devices.

Chemists are also important players in such diverse areas as genetic engineering, forensic science and the oil and gas industry. More recently, chemists have been at the forefront of the nanotechnology field and emerging green technologies, particularly in the development of sustainable energy sources.

The Department of Chemistry and Biomolecular Sciences offers modern programs that provide advanced training in the traditional areas of chemistry, such as organic, inorganic, physical, computational and analytical chemistry. The Department also has specialized options in Advanced Materials and in Ecochemistry, unique to uOttawa. In addition to incorporating classroom teaching, programs offer practical laboratory training, with a focus on individual instruction.

Students looking at sample in a lab

Options and suggested course sequences

Explore the detailed suggested course sequence

Enhance with a microprogram

Jessica Holmes
Student voices

“The program has allowed me to not only explore the various different branches of chemistry, it has also permitted me to discover other fields and diversify my knowledge.”

Jessica Holmes

— Chemistry student