Drug Discovery and Safety: Computational Medicinal Chemistry and Toxicology
Challenging and relevant for society
Sixty per cent of all diseases are still incurable. So there are plenty of opportunities to tackle complex challenges. If you are fascinated by the idea of developing new pharmacological therapies and medicines, then this is the Master’s programme for you.
If you study Drug Discovery and Safety at VU Amsterdam, you will gain insight into drug discovery research from a unique chemical perspective. From the characterisation of molecular causes of pathology to the generation of new therapeutics to treat diseases, and from small molecules and proteins to complex diseases and medicines.
More information on this programme? Visit the website!
In the Computational Medicinal Chemistry and Toxicology specialisation, you will utilise state-of-the-art computational approaches to study new molecules and to predict their properties and interactions with biological molecules. You will explore the fascinating structures of proteins and other drug targets, using methods such as molecular docking, molecular dynamics, ab initio studies and free-energy calculations. Even before a molecule has been created and tested, you will be able to predict whether it is likely to have medicinal applications.
The Master’s in Drug Discovery and Safety is a two-year programme. This specialisation will be part of your first year of study.
The Computational Medicinal Chemistry and Toxicology specialisation contains compulsory (core) and track-specific courses (30-36 EC), a major research project (42-60 EC), a literature thesis and colloquium (12 EC), ethics and academic skills portfolio (6 EC) and there is an elective space for a minor research project, a traineeship abroad or at a local company, and optional courses (6-30 EC).
The Computational Medicinal Chemistry and Toxicology specialisation offers several research topics to choose from. You can conduct research in the field of molecular and computational toxicology or medicinal chemistry, e.g. the docking of ligands in GPCR or cytochrome P450 enzymes, or develop new tools to calculate free binding energies.
More information on this programme? Visit the website!
This Master’s programme opens up a whole range of career opportunities
The most obvious ones are in medicinal research, the pharmaceuticals industry and hospital laboratories, but there are also plenty of opportunities within research institutes and governmental agencies. Graduates in Drug Discovery and Safety have excellent employment prospects and can generally expect to earn a good salary.
About 50% of VU Amsterdam graduates pursue a career in research. Within the university or a research institute, you can be employed as a PhD student, but with your Master's degree, you can also work as a researcher at a pharmaceutical company.
You can also obtain a job as a consultant or a manager. These jobs can mainly be found in the pharmaceutical industry, in government agencies and in drugs inspectorates. Entering a carreer in science journalism is also possible. You can combine your knowledge of the pharmaceutical sciences with insights into communication processes.
If you choose the Science Education specialisation in your second year, you can become involved in improving science education, both as a teacher and in other positions in the academic world.
More information on this programme? Visit the website!
In order to gain admission to the Drug Discovery and Safety Master’s programme, you will need to have at least a Bachelor’s degree from an accredited research university including at least three full years of academic study amounting to a minimum of 180 ECTS or equivalent. We do not require a GRE or GMAT test score. A Bachelor degree obtained at an applied university or higher vocational education (HBO in Dutch) in most cases does not grant direct access to the programme (only exceptionally high ranking students stand a chance of admission).
Specific requirements for the Drug Discovery and Safety Master’s programme
You can gain direct admission to the Master's programme Drug Discovery and Safety with a Bachelor's degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences or Chemistry. If you hold a Bachelor's degree in a related subject like Biomedical Sciences*, it is possible that you will first be required to first bring your knowledge up to standard in a number of areas, depending on both the specialization in your Bachelor's and the Drug Discovery and Satefy specialization you apply for. The decision on how you should compensate for any gaps in your knowledge will be taken in consultation with the Master's coordinator of your specialisation.
Mastering of the material highlighted in the matrix is judged by grade(s) obtained for key courses in the respective field. The Master’s coordinator will determine if you meet these requirements.
General English language proficiency requirements
VU Amsterdam requires all applicants to take an English test. You can, however, begin your application without having the test results. Exceptions are made for students who have completed a Bachelor's or Master's in Canada, USA, UK, Ireland, New Zealand or Australia.
The minimum English language proficiency requirements for admission to this Master's programme are:
In order to gain admission to the Drug Discovery and Safety Master’s programme, you will need to have at least a Bachelor’s degree from an accredited research university including at least three full years of academic study amounting to a minimum of 180 ECTS or equivalent. We do not require a GRE or GMAT test score.
The Master’s programme in Drug Discovery and Safety is open to students:
Mastering of the material highlighted in the matrix is judged by grade(s) obtained for key courses in the respective field. The Master’s coordinator will determine if you meet these requirements.
More information on this programme? Visit the website!
More information on this programme? Visit the website!
T | +31 20 59 89898 | |
E | international@vu.nl |
Amsterdam
Medicine & Health Sciences
Master of Science
English
winter semester - September
Full-time
Duration of study: 2 years
Tuition fees EU: 2168 EUR / year
Tuition fees Non EU: 15320 EUR / year
Amsterdam
Medicine & Health Sciences
Master of Science
English
winter semester - September
Full-time
Duration of study: 2 years
Tuition fees EU: 2168 EUR / year
Tuition fees Non EU: 15320 EUR / year
Masters portal for Germany: www.master-and-more.de
Masters portal for Austria: www.master-and-more.at