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2025-2026 Chemistry Course Modules PDF List
SGSPA Academic Calendar
Course Registration
Click here to access a PDF list of the 2025-2026 Chemistry graduate courses.
Chemistry graduate students need to follow the course selection process outlined on the Chemistry Grad Platform: Courses and Enrolment page.
Students in other Departments should follow the instructions provided by their home department.
Registration Deadlines
Fall Course Registration Deadline: End of September (exact date TBA)
Winter Course Registration Deadline: End of January (exact date TBA)
Courses offered by cross-disciplinary departments:
- Chemical Engineering
- Biology
- Physics, Engineering Physics & Astronomy
- Biomedical and Molecular Sciences
- Environment Studies
- Mathematics
- Civil Engineering
- Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Royal Military College (RMC)
For a list of all courses across campus, check the School of Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs academic calendar
Mandatory Courses
Expand to see the description of each course.
All chemistry graduate students are required to take certain mandatory courses. Students do not need to request enrolment in these courses. The Graduate Assistant will enrol them.
Pass/Fail
An introduction to safety procedures and the safe handling of chemical compounds and equipment in the laboratory. This non-credit course is required for Chemistry and Chemical Engineering students. All other members of the Chemistry department are welcome to attend. Students must attend all lectures and exam.
Coordinator: Paul Duchesne
Based on the regular departmental seminar program offered during the fall, winter and summer, this non-credit course is to be taken every year by all graduate students. As part of this course M.Sc. and Ph.D. students must attend a minimum number of departmental seminars. In addition, Ph.D. students will present one seminar on their research prior to their thesis submission.
To achieve a Pass, students must maintain an attendance record of 75% at CHEM 802 seminars. Seminar attendance is monitored using sign-in attendance sheets. If a student does not attend the required 75%, they will get an Incomplete and in subsequent terms, the student will have to attend more seminars than the required 75% in order to reach a 75% overall attendance.
Students can also receive credit for attending seminars in other departments that are relevant to their research, typically in physics, biochemistry, environmental science, etc. To get this credit, provide a note signed by the other department's seminar coordinator.
Coordinator: Zhe She
3 units
Principles of scientific verbal and written communication in Chemistry. Topics include computer literature searching, scientific writing techniques (for research reports, journal manuscripts, and theses), oral and poster conference presentations, and communication skills as teaching assistantships. Assignments will include completion of online course modules on scientific communication from MyGradSkills.ca.
Instructors: Hugh Horton and TBA
Elective Courses
Expand to access information for the courses offered in 2025-2026. Contact the course instructor for location and times prior to the first day of classes.
Many Chemistry courses run on a 6-week schedule, with the Fall or Winter Breaks in between.
Some modules are offered concurrent with fourth year courses, so they have both a 800-level and a 400-level code. Students are allowed to take only two of these 800/400-level courses throughout their graduate program for credit.
Reminder: Chemistry graduate students are required to take six elective 1.5 unit modules, or equivalent of three full term courses (9 units), past their Bachelor's degree. Four modules must relate to the student's core research and be from courses offered by Chemistry or a cognate department. The remaining two modules can be courses that may not necessarily relate to the core research, but would be beneficial or of interest to the student (i.e. CHEM 904 Science Leadership and Management).
Fall 1 Courses: Sept 2 - Oct 12
Fall Break: Oct 13 - 17
Contact the course instructor to find out if classes may run during the Fall Break.
1.5 units
An introductory course on identification of organic and organometallic compounds using multinuclear NMR techniques. The focus will be on practical applications for those working in synthetic chemistry.
Instructor: TBA
Fall 2 Courses: Oct 20 - Dec 2
1.5 units
Advanced methods for the identification of organic and organometallic compounds using multinuclear NMR techniques. The focus will be on practical applications for those working in synthetic chemistry.
Prerequisite: CHEM 805
Instructor: TBA
1.5 units
This course explores recent advances and current trends in computational chemistry and may include review of literature, hands-on tutorials, student discussions, and presentations. Lecture topics may include machine learning, scientific software development, high-performance computing, electronic structure theory, modeling chemical reactivity, molecular dynamics simulations, chemical reactions, spectroscopy, and quantum computing.
Prerequisite: CHEM 313 or CHEM 413 or equivalent, or permission of instructor
Instructor: Farnaz Heidar-Zadeh
1.5 units
This module focuses after a brief review of ionisation techniques and current mass spectrometric equipment on novel hybrid-tandem-MS instruments and current applications of mass spectrometry in different areas of the life sciences. Topics include, but are not limited to, atomic composition determination, identification methods for proteins and determination of post-translational modifications such as phosphorylation or glycosylation now widely used in the evolving field of proteomics, studies of non-covalent biomolecule interactions and new high-throughput screening techniques as employed in drug or catalyst development.
Instructor: TBA
1.5 units
This is a combined graduate-undergraduate course.
Topics to be covered in this course include (a) luminescent/ electroluminescent compounds, (b) fullerene chemistry and (c) magnetic and electronic materials. Offered jointly with CHEM 423.
Instructor: Lucia Lee
Full Fall Courses: Sept 2 - Dec 2
3 units
This is a combined graduate-undergraduate course.
This course is a discussion of biological chemistry concepts and an introduction to the bioanalytical tools used to study them. This course focuses on the discovery, function and analysis of biomolecules which may include DNA, Peptides/proteins, carbohydrates, polyketides/fatty acids, alkaloids and terpenes. Offered jointly with CHEM 416.
Instructors: Avena Ross and Chantelle Capicciotti
3 units
The Science Leadership and Management course will be delivered over twelve 3-hour sessions to Chemistry and Physics students in either of the first two years of their PhD studies (or other graduate students with permission from the course coordinator and supervisor). The first and last four-week sessions will focus on the development and application of leadership skills, and the second four-week session will focus on the development of management skills, that are useful in scientific positions in industry and academia. Graded Pass/Fail.
Time and Location: Mondays 2:30PM - 5:30PM in NICOL RM 232
Instructor: Hugh Horton
3 units
This is an external online course offered by Laval that runs the whole semester. This multidisciplinary course main objective is to learn about the social and scientific concepts behind CO2 utilization. The participants will learn the basic chemistry of CO2 and the current ways to sequester and use CO2 at the laboratory and industrial scales. They will also learn about the impact of CO2 on society and climate change, the economic advantages of CO2 utilization and the legal and political aspects related to this modem challenge. This online course will consist of 13 lectures of 2-3 hours given by specialists in the field of CO2 utilization. They are members and collaborators of the CREATE center on CO2 utilization and are professors in chemistry, chemical engineering, geological engineering, economy and law.
Instructor: Philip Jessop
Winter 1 Courses: Jan 5 - Feb 15
Winter Break: Feb 16 - 20
1.5 units
X-ray diffraction theory, crystal symmetry and International Tables in space groups.
Instructor: Peng Wang
1.5 units
The theory and practice of scanning probe techniques, including scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) and related techniques. Applications to modern research in surface and interfacial chemistry.
Instructor: Zhe She
Winter 2 Courses: Feb 23 - Apr 6
1.5 units
A survey of materials characterisation methods with an emphasis on practical applications in materials and polymer chemistry. Techniques will include electron microscopy, scanning probe methods, photoelectron & Auger spectroscopy, cyclic voltammetry and powder X-ray diffraction methods.
Instructor: Jean-Michel Nunzi
1.5 units
The practical aspects of x-ray diffraction analysis, including data collection, structural solution and refinement.
Prerequisite: CHEM 860
Instructor: Lucia Lee
1.5 units
This is a combined graduate-undergraduate course.
A review of the basic reactions involving transition metal catalysts in transformations of organic compounds. Fundamental reactions such as oxidative addition, reductive elimination, migratory insertions and transmetallations will be covered. Different types of ligands and their bonding properties will also be covered. Reactions of importance to organic chemistry including hydrogenations, oxidations,cross coupling reactions, metathesis and other pertinent reactions will be covered. Offered jointly with CHEM 414.
Instructor: P. Andrew Evans
1.5 units
Enzyme mechanisms and inhibition, catalytic antibodies, stereochemical and other biological probes. Phosphoryl group transfer reactions.
Instructor: David Zechel
1.5 units
This course introduces the current topics in luminescent materials chemistry including photophysical and photochemical properties of transition metal and main group compounds, and characterization methods.The design and synthetic aspects of luminescent materials and their applications in sensing and optoelectronic devices, and photocatalysis will also be discussed.
Instructor: Kevin Stamplecoskie