ERASMUS TCCM – THEORETICAL CHEMISTRY AND COMPUTATIONAL MODELLING
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
The Theoretical Chemistry and Computational Modelling (TCCM) Master is an initiative of 25 European institutions from 6 different European countries that aims to:
- Establish a European standard for research-oriented studies in TCCM.
- Prepare experts in the use and development of computational techniques in molecular sciences, to work with innovative pharmaceutical, petrochemical and new-materials industries.
- Prepare students for doctoral studies in Chemistry, Physics, Life or Material Sciences.
- Promote international mobility of research students.
- Offer to students from a wide range of countries (including non-European ones) a highly qualified title at the post-bachelor level.
- The master can be accessed by students having a Bachelor in Chemistry, in Physics or in Material Science or any equivalent level if authorized by the legislation of the corresponding European Country. Other scientific bachelors can be accepted, provided the student takes complementary levelling courses, under the supervision of his local Tutor.
STRUCTURE
The master is structured in two years (M1 and M2):
- Study Program Structure and characteristics of the first year (M1)
The first year of the Master is arranged locally at the member University, but it has the basic same structure in all Institutions of the consortium. In the first year the student must attend courses and pass related exams for 60 ECTS credits. These courses will provide the student with the background necessary to follow the second year of the Master, which has a marked International research character.
In M1, the student assessment in each course is the sum of:
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- the continuous evaluation of the teachers responsible for the weekly tutorial sessions
- the result obtained by the student in the associated examination.
In the continuous evaluation (item a) the teacher takes into account
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- the ability to solve questions and/or numerical problems
- the active participation in the discussions of the tutorial sessions
- the capacity to propose new problems or interesting questions to be analyzed or discussed.
- For the particular case of the Programming Module, the assessment is a function of the amount and quality of the codes produced. Particular attention is devoted to the appropriate documentation of the codes.
To pass from M1 to M2 the students should pass all the modules (30 compulsory and 30 eligible or semi-optional ECTS). If a student fails in some of the compulsory or semi-optional modules he/she will have a second chance to pass them. After a second failure the student is not allowed to continue the Master. If the student fails in an eligible module, he/she has the option of either passing it in a second attempt or choosing a different eligible module. If the student takes the second possibility, he has only one attempt to pass the module.
- Study Program Structure and characteristics of the second year (M2)
The second year of the Master (M2), mostly international, is devoted to courses and research activity in advanced aspects of Theoretical Chemistry and Computational Modelling, corresponding to a total of 60 ECTS credits.
In M2, the performance of the students is continuously assessed by the local tutor through the weekly tutorial sessions and the evaluation of the solutions to the questions/problems carried out by the teachers of the Intensive Course.
In addition the reports the students write at the end of the 10 weeks of home work following the Intensive Course are also evaluated by the International Committee of the Master. During the period devoted to the research activity associated with the Master Thesis, each student presents at least two seminars or progress reports of his research activity, one at the beginning of the research period and one at the moment of completing the period at the host Institution. His ability to organize the material and his oral skills are taken into account for the final evaluation. A Master Thesis illustrating the research project is produced and defended at the end of the Master at the home university.
ADMISSION CRITERIA
The requirements to be accepted in the TCCM Master are:
- Bachelor in Chemistry, Physics or Material Science [1] or any equivalent level if authorized by the legislation of the corresponding European Country. Other scientific bachelors can be accepted, provided the student takes complementary levelling courses, under the supervision of his/her local Tutor.
- Internationally recognized English proficiency certificate equivalent to a TOEFL score of at least 213/500, 65/120 or 513/677, an IELTS score of at least 6, First Cambridge Certificate or B2.
The same criteria apply to students coming from European and from third countries.
For students coming from third countries or having a Bachelor different from those mentioned above, the possession of the following (or equivalent) subjects at the level of the Chemistry Eurobachelor needs to be certified:
- Chemical Bonding, Atomic and Molecular Structure and Intermolecular Interactions, General Physics, Mathematics, General Physical Chemistry, Thermodynamics and Kinetics, Spectroscopy.
Some deficiencies may be remedied through the levelling course. However, if there are deficiencies in more than two of the aforementioned areas, the applicant will not be accepted.
[1] Students in the last year of any of these Bachelor studies can apply. However, they will be definitely accepted only if they successfully finish their Bachelor studies before the 1st of September of the Academic Year in which they wish to start the Master Courses.