Applied Chemistry at RMIT

Excellence in Chemical Education Since 1899

About the RMIT Degree in Applied Chemistry

The RMIT Degree in Applied Chemistry provides an excellent background for a professional chemist working in industry. The program has a Course Advisory Committee comprised of experienced industrial chemists. This committee works with the teaching staff of the Department to continually update and develop the program. As a result the undergraduate program has more hours in the laboratory than traditional university courses and students receive hands-on training on the modern instruments used in industry. The program provides a solid grounding in Physical, Inorganic, Organic and Analytical Chemistry, with lectures and laboratory exercises in each area for all three years of the degree program. Electives offered in the final year of the program include environmental studies, polymer science, chemistry of drugs and toxins, food chemistry and free electives. On completion of this program you will be eligible for membership of the Royal Australian Chemical Institute (RACI).

Applied chemistry at RMIT - Why is it Special?

The Department of Applied Chemistry at RMIT is committed to high-quality teaching. The RMIT Applied Chemistry program offers students a superior chemistry course with many special advantages.

Program Features

Relevant Studies - chemistry education is supported by course work in physics, mathematics, computer science, biology and occupational health and safety. These courses are designed for chemistry students and take into account what is required to support the chemistry teaching and the prerequisites of the program.

Current Real World Content - research expertise in environmental chemistry, materials science, and medicinal chemistry, provides under-graduate students with the opportunity to gain special knowledge of one of these research areas as part of the third year of the program.

Applied and theory - the term "Applied Chemistry" means that we do not neglect the applications of chemistry in the real world: in the many industries using chemistry and employing chemists; in the environment; in medicine; in food; in real human problems and real-life career areas. It does not mean that there is any less attention to theory, or any less academic rigour.

More chemistry - and better - theory is supported by more laboratory time, with high-quality instruction; more training on modern instrumentation unavailable to undergraduates in many courses; and more time on career-oriented areas of chemistry such as analytical chemistry, environmental chemistry, industrial chemistry, the chemistry of polymers, drugs and toxins and food.

Committed to chemistry from the start - this is not achieved by an unreasonable student workload, but by treating chemistry students as chemistry students right from first year. They study more chemistry in first year, and the other subjects they study are especially designed for chemists.

Commitment to students - teaching is important to our staff. Students have close contact with the teaching staff, who not only take lectures but also demonstrate to students in laboratory classes. Our academic staff are accessible and supportive. Staff members build good rapport with students, and take a strong interest in helping each individual student achieve his/her potential. Most of our students consider this one of the best features of learning at the RMIT of Applied Chemistry.

Small class sizes and student mentor scheme

Third Year Projects

Honours and Postgraduate Programs - many employers now want candidates for research positions to have an Honours (four year) degree. Our Honours degree is particularly valuable and is being expanded. Admission to the fourth year is based mainly on achieving sufficiently good third year results.

From Honours you can continue on to Masters and Doctor of Philosophy degrees by research and other postgraduate programs. The Department has a good record for obtaining attractive postgraduate scholarships for our students.

Industry Collaborations

CSIRO
Department of Primary Industries (DPI), Werribee - State Chemistry Laboratory (SCL)
Alcoa
SGE
Agilent Technologies
Pharmaceutical Industry
Polymer Industry
Chemical Manufacturing Industry

Co-Operative Research Centres

CRC for Microtechnology
CRC for Polymer Research

Program Benefits

Graduates of choice - employers find our graduates particularly employable due to their high skills level, therefore our graduates have better choices.

The Applied Chemistry program will develop your teamwork, leadership, computing and problem solving skills.

This program will also develop your oral and written communication skills.