Faculty of Chemistry

Dean - Acad. Valery V. Lunin

Chemistry has been taught at Moscow University since its establishment. The founder of the university Mikhail Lomonosov, apart from being a scientist, a gifted poet and an artist, was one of the outstanding chemists of his time. It was by him that the Department of Chemistry at Moscow State University was established in 1755. Many generations of Russian chemists, some of them major figures in the history of science, have studied and taught at the Faculty of Chemistry since then.

The Faculty of Chemistry continues and develops the traditions of the leading Moscow University schools of Chemistry, widely-known and highly esteemed throughout the world. The Faculty graduates work for leading scientific centers not only in Russia but also in the CIS countries as well as in Europe and the Americas. Every year dozens of our graduates go abroad to continue their studies and to pursue scientific research; thus, 2000 alone saw over 30 of them continue their studies at graduate schools at the universities in the USA and Europe.

Today the Faculty of Chemistry comprises 16 departments representing all contemporary branches of Chemistry and corresponding to major areas our students are offered: Inorganic Chemistry, Analytical Chemistry, Physical Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, Chemistry of High Molecular Compounds, Colloid Chemistry, Electrochemistry, Chemical Enzymology, Chemistry of Natural Compounds, Chemical Kinetics, Radiochemistry, High Pressure Physics and Chemistry, Chemical Technology, Laser Chemistry, Chemistry Of Oil And Organic Catalysis, General Chemistry.

Our academic staff includes 13 academicians, 10 corresponding members of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 1 academician of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences, 74 full professors, over 200 instructors; 820 Candidate?s Degree holders and 230 Doctor?s Degree holders teach at the faculty.

Currently there are about 1000 junior and senior undergraduate students on our 5-year Specialist?s Degree program and 280 graduate students on our 3-year Candidate?s Degree program.

Regardless of their future major area, for the first 2,5 years all our undergraduates are to learn basic science and the Liberal Arts, such as Advanced Mathematics, Physics, a foreign language, and of course, the basic chemical subjects. In our curriculum the chemical subjects occupy up to 40% of the overall course time shared equally between the theoretical course and the lab practice. Special attention is paid to fundamental physical and mathematical training, up to 20% of the overall course time (twice as much as at any other Russian institution) being devoted to Advanced Mathematics, Applied Mathematics, General and Theoretical Physics. Our third-year students choose their major areas and start learning the subjects specific for their fields of interest at the corresponding departments.

As early as in their first-year our undergraduates are offered four additional special programs: Computational Chemistry, Physical Chemistry, High Molecular Compounds Chemistry, and the Physical Chemistry of New Processes and Materials. These curricula lay a special stress on such subjects as Molecular Quantum Mechanics, Physical Methods in Chemistry, Kinetics and Catalysis, Adsorption and Gas Chromatography, Computational Methods and Programming, Mathematical Methods in Chemistry, Methods for Polymer Research and Analysis, Basic Principles of Polymer Production and Processing, Chemical Properties and Structure of Biopolymers.

Our graduates can pursue 2-year Master's Degree program in various major areas. Scientifically-inclined graduates can continue their studies at the graduate school.

The doors of the Faculty are open for talented, ambitious young people eager to work for their country and for Russian science.