Sustainable Chemical Science and Technology

Within this context, the international Ph.D. program of Sustainable Chemical Science and Technology is designed to offer specific training and research opportunities to Ph.D. students who are interested in the following areas:

• develop optoelectronic materials and their applications related to sustainable energy
• construction of supramolecular materials for recognition, self-assembly, and identification of chemical species
• new drug development related to human diseases
• understanding of disease mechanisms,
• study in cell structure and function
• development of biosensors
• green technology of organic synthesis
• energy related catalysis
• technology for environmental monitoring and therapy.

This program is a collaborative effort between Academia Sinica and National Chiao Tung University. In accordance with these research areas, the sustainable chemical science and technology program is divided into three categories, namely, sustainable materials, sustainable life science and sustainable catalyst & synthesis. The number of total students admitted to Sustainable Chemical Science and Technology Program every year is limited to twenty. The bulk of these students are international students with reasonable proficiency in the use of the English language. However, highly qualified Taiwanese students (up to 10 people) with adequate English proficiency are also considered. Students may do their thesis research with faculty whose principal appointments are associated with the National Chiao Tung University. 

A whole array of laboratory equipment and facility for teaching and research are available within the participating units. The following is a list of some examples -- device fabrication facilities: NMR Spectrometers: 200MHz, 300MHz, 2x400MHz, 500MHz,600MHz and a 300 MHz Solid state, Mass Spectrometers: GC/MS, Ion Trap, Q-TOF, ESI-TOF, Sector, MALDI-TOF/TOF, Single Crystal X-ray Diffractometer & Powder X-ray Diffractometer, Microscopes: AFM, STM, SEM, and TEM, Dip-pen Nanolithography System, EPR Spectrometer with ESEEM, ENDOR, and Time-resolved Measurements, ESCA/XPS/Auger Spectrometer, Magnetic CD, Physical Vapor Deposition System in clean room, Solar Cell Measurement System, SQUID, Ultra-high Speed Centrifuges.

Together with the above facilities, diverse expertise, and, more importantly, close collaboration among scientists and engineers of all participating units, the present graduate program provides students with an excellent opportunity to cultivate their research interest, and to develop their creativity and skills in problem defining and problem solving.

Required Courses: Courses to be taken by all students.

• Introduction to Sustainable Chemical Science and Technology (3 credit units per semester, a total of 6 credit units)
• Seminar (1 credit unit per semester, a total of 2 credit units)
• Colloquium (1 credit unit per semester, a total of 2 credit units)
• Lab Rotation (0 credit unit for two semesters, identify thesis advisor)
• Elementary Chinese(0 credit unit for two semesters, Required for all international students)

Elective Courses (Core): Select at least one course

• Advanced Organic Chemistry 
• Advanced Inorganic Chemistry 
• Advanced Analytical Chemistry 
• Advanced Physical Chemistry I 

Elective Courses

(Students with a B.S. degree must take at least 9 credit units from following list, students with a M.S. degree is not subject to this constraint.)

• Advanced Physical Chemistry II
• Advanced Physical Chemistry III
• Advanced Chemical Biology I
• Advanced Chemical Biology II
• Advanced Chemical Kinetics
• Advanced Chemical Thermodynamics
• Advanced Chemistry of Materials
• Advanced Group Theory
• Advanced Nanotechnology A
• Advanced Nanotechnology B
• Advanced Spectroscopy
• Atmospheric Chemistry and Climate Changes
• Basic Scientific Writing and Presentation in English
• Biochemical Analysis
• Chemical Thermodynamics
• Chromatography
• Computational Materials Science
• Computational Quantum Chemistry
• Computer Modeling for Drug Design
• Experimental Molecular Biophysics
• Introduction of Synchrotron & Laser Techniques in Biomedical Research
• Introduction to Molecular Imaging and Analysis
• Laser Bio/Nano Science
• Linear Algebra for Scientist
• Mass Spectrometry
• Modern Experimental Techniques – Chemistry
• Molecular Spectroscopy
• Organometallic Chemistry
• Pharmaceutical Chemistry
• Principle of Photochemistry
• Quantum Chemistry
• Research Techniques in Physical Chemistry
• Seminar on Instrumental Analysis I
• Seminar on Instrumental Analysis II
• Special Topic - Into Supramolecular Photo Science
• The Methods of Computational Chemistry
• Transferable Skills for Chemists
• Writing Skills for Chemists

Requirements

1. Formal undergraduate and graduate academic records or transcripts
2. Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores in General Test. GRE is highly recommended. However, an applicant who fails to meet this requirement may submit additional criteria for committee evaluation. The GRE Subject Test is optional and one of the following subjects: Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics, or Biology is strongly recommended. GRE substitution: If under special circumstances the test is not taken, some proof of applicant’s competency might be considered. This proof should be more than just recommendation letters and transcripts, for example, documents like the award records, exam scores of national or international level, scientific publications, etc. will be helpful.
3. Applicants whose first or native language is not English are required to submit one of following English proficiency test report (the listed scores are strongly recommended): TOEFL iBT 79, Computer-based 213, Paper-based 550, IELTS 550
4. Three letters of recommendation. Each letter comments on the applicant’s personal character, and qualifications for independent study, including intellectual ability, research potential, and scientific motivation.  One of the letters should be provided by the applicant’s advisor.
5. The admission for Students with a B.S. degree.The person has graduated from a university and has a bachelor’s degree, has five or more years of practical experience related to their field of study, and submits an example of their written work with the quality of a master’s thesis
6. Statement of purpose (plan for graduate study) in English.

   Specifically, we would like to see following items/questions being addressed.

• What area/topics do you want to study and research?
• Why do you want to study and research in this area/topics?
• How can SCST program help you pursue this research area/topics?

Scholarships

• Fellowship Support and Stipends

Fellowship will be granted for applicants who receive admission. The stipend levels are about NT$34,000/month (~USD1133/month) for the first year. Additionally, the support will be extended to two more years for those students who perform well academically. The academic performance of each student will be reviewed by the Academic Committee every year. The Committee may decide to reduce the students’ stipend level if his or her performance is less satisfactory. In subsequent years, the financial support will be provided by the student’s thesis advisor with his/her research grant. The amount of the support will be under the discretion of the advisor.