Postgraduate Science degrees with global impact

As fast-paced and rapidly changing as our world is, it’s still full of mysteries waiting to be discovered. An advanced degree in Science is key to unlocking these secrets. The best universities have faculties dedicated to Science education and research, the kind filled with facilities, researchers and grants to address many of society’s grand challenges.

But making a difference is by no means the only outcome of a master’s or doctoral degree in the sciences. Graduates have many career opportunities open to them. Whether you aspire to create the next pandemic-stopping vaccine or win the Nobel Prize in physics, seemingly limitless possibilities are in store.

Sounds like the future you’re envisioning? Consider the Faculties of Science at these top-ranked universities, each with its unique advantages for those seeking to specialise in their chosen field, boost their career prospects and drive positive change:

University of Johannesburg’s Science programmes are highly ranked by the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2024 and the Shanghai Ranking’s Global Ranking of Academic Subjects 2023. Source: University of Johannesburg

University of Johannesburg

If you seek an academic home amongst highly competent and distinguished researchers, including National Research Foundation-rated individuals and a national research chair, join the  Faculty of Science at the University of Johannesburg.

This is where you’ll find a vibrant, dynamic and diverse community working in research centres specialising in areas such as astroparticle physics, nanomaterials, nanotechnology for water, indigenous plant use, DNA barcoding, wildlife conservation, natural products, and food security. These centres include the Centre for Cyber Security, a dedicated teaching and learning facility, and a central analytical facility equipped with state-of-the-art research equipment that can perform a wide range of analyses, e.g. mass spectrophotometry (ICP-MS), optical spectrophotometry (ICP-OES), NMR, microscopy (SEM; Mineral Liberation Analyser), and X-ray analysis (SX-100 Microprobe, Jeol 733 Superprobe).

These are some of the best minds working with the most cutting-edge equipment today to develop new technologies and improve the quality of all life on earth. As a student in this faculty, you’ll work alongside them as you pursue programmes ranked highly by global league tables. In the Global Ranking of Academic Subjects, Food Science and Technology is #1 in South Africa, Earth Sciences is joint #1 in South Africa, Geography is joint #2 in South Africa and Physics is joint #3 in South Africa. In the Times Higher Education subject rankings, Physical Sciences is joint #1 in South Africa, Computer Science is joint #1 in South Africa and Life Sciences is joint #3 in South Africa.

Apply to the Faculty of Science at the University of Johannesburg today.

University of Manchester is known to be the birthplace of chemical engineering. Source: University of Manchester

University of Manchester

At the University of Manchester, discoveries are made every day at the internationally-renowned, world-changing School of Natural Sciences. Labs have discovered new, more efficient ways to develop valuable molecules. They’ve launched the world’s first in-flight emissions study using 100% sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) on a wide-body commercial passenger aircraft. They’ve led a multi-million-pound project to launch a low-orbiting satellite as part of a forthcoming SpaceX mission this coming summer.

These are just a few of the milestones of the university. Programmes are just as stellar. They offer quality teaching and provide exposure to valuable research activities. Most importantly, the school is as good at equipping students with the skills they need to become and remain employable, as it is visionary.

“This is an exciting time for the School of Natural Sciences. We have a vibrant student body, from undergraduate through to postgraduate, and a flourishing research community across a range of disciplines,” says Professor Chris Hardacre, Head of School of Natural Sciences. “We embrace interdisciplinary collaboration to further our knowledge and help tackle the most pressing global challenges.”

Programmes offered here cover Chemistry, Earth and Environmental Sciences, Materials, Mathematics, Physics and Astronomy. The Department of Chemistry Study is one of the most respected chemistry departments in the UK and Manchester is the city where John Dalton’s atomic theory gave birth to the subject in its modern form. There are many other reasons to study here: it has the top five Chemistry degree programmes in the UK (Academic Ranking of World Universities, 2020) and your degree will be from the most targeted university by the nation’s top graduate employers.

About 50% of all doctoral chemistry students in Switzerland are educated at ETH Zürich’s D-CHAB. Source: ETH Zürich

ETH Zürich

ETH Zürich’s Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences (D-CHAB) began as one of the original six “Abteilungen” at ETH’s inception in 1855. Now it boasts an international faculty of 50 professors training 1,800 students and postdoctoral fellows hailing from over 26 countries.

And it’s home to its fair share of Nobel Laureates too. Out of a total of 21 awards to researchers who have or had a connection with ETH Zurich, 10 Nobel Prizes were awarded to the field of chemistry. Kurt Wüthrich was one of them. He won the coveted award in 2002 “for his development of nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy to determine the three-dimensional structure of biological macromolecules in solution” (together with John B. Fenn, John B. Fenn, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, USA, and Koichi Tanaka Shimadzu Corp., Kyoto, Japan).

As one of the university’s largest departments, D-CHAB has five institutes and laboratories, which represent all areas of fundamental and applied research in chemistry and applied biosciences. 

These are spaces with some of the finest research and teaching facilities. For instance, the Institute for Chemical and Bioengineering (ICB) includes an Electronics Workshop and the High-Pressure Laboratory, and those in the Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences (IPW) have full access to a variety of state-of-the-art core facilities that are continuously updated, such as Microscopy, imaging and histology; chemical libraries; and PET Imaging Centre.

The cutting-edge technology and exciting research at ETH Zürich have not gone unnoticed. The latest QS World University Ranking by subject ranks Chemical Engineering at this university seventh worldwide. In D-CHAB, students can undertake a selection of programmes, including MSc Chemistry; MSc in Chemical and Bioengineering; MSc Biochemistry — Chemical Biology as of fall 2023; MSc Interdisciplinary Sciences; MSc Pharmaceutical Sciences; and MSc Pharmacy.

*Some of the institutions featured in this article are commercial partners of Study International