Sustainable Chemistry Masters: Course Content

This module introduces you to the interdisciplinary concept of sustainable chemistry and a holistic perspective of chemistry along the life cycle of chemical products. Topics covered are the interrelation of and difference between sustainable and green chemistry, synthesis and evaluation of its greenness, resources and recycling, benign by design of chemicals and products, service and function of chemicals, alternative business models and international chemicals management.

In this module you learn about sources, reactions, transport, fate and effects of chemicals in air, soil and water environments and the effect of anthropogenic activities on these processes. The importance of analytical chemistry for environmental chemistry is highlighted.

This module provides an introduction to key principles of toxicology and ecotoxicology. You receive a practical overview of toxicological tests, and learn the procedure of risk assessments and risk-based decision making.

You learn the basic principles of chemo-informatics and how to build, validate and apply models for the prediction of chemicals properties and fate. You practice how to apply these models for computational toxicology predictions of new compounds as well as the evaluation of existing compounds and their environmental effects.

This module introduces the 12 principles of green chemistry and how to apply them in chemical synthesis. You discuss when and how green chemistry can contribute to improved sustainability.

You study the materials and processes required for harvest and storage of renewable energy and analyze aspects of resource use and recycling for renewable energy infrastructure.

In the module benign by design you learn the procedure of de-novo design or redesign of chemical compounds to better comply with sustainability requirements. A benign design may target improved degradability for decreased environmental persistence, increased stability for products that are applied in closed systems, or a reduction of toxicity, improved recycling and improved product performance.

This module offers insights into the availability and specifics of mineral, biological and fossil resources. You discuss the challenges of current and future use of these resources, their recycling and the establishment of a circular economy with respect to sustainability.

You learn about different tools for qualitative and quantitative sustainability assessment and practice how to apply them in the context of decision-making and policy development.

In this module, you are introduced to chemicals and environment law as well as international conventions and strategies for international chemicals management.

By viewing chemicals in terms of their function and service, you learn to think critically about alternative ways of securing these functions, including aspects of substitution on one hand, and alternative economic solutions on the other hand.

You choose a topic of your interest to integrate your combined knowledge in a project work on sustainable chemistry and reflect implications for the Sustainable Development Goals of the Agenda 2030 and the current debate on sustainable development.

In this complementary module, you reflect on your personal style of communication, are trained in responsible leadership and learn about sustainability-driven change management in corporations and organizations.

In your Masters thesis, you investigate current and future contributions of chemistry for sustainability and sustainable development in a topic of your choice. Ideas for topics can stem from any module of the programme, or may be chosen from your individual professional work context. Thesis results are presented and discussed in plenary at the end of the programme. Your final grade is composed of grades for course assignments, your thesis and the final presentation.