Graduate students are paid while they work toward their graduate degree through scholarships, stipends and/or teaching and we guarantee a minimum stipend of $24 000/year. This will increase to $26 000/year in May 2023 and to $27 000/year in May 2024. Our department offers stipends and scholarships that are very competitive with other Canadian universities. Even if you don’t hold external scholarships such as those from NSERC, students with an admission average of 8.0/10 (A-) or higher can apply for an Admission Scholarship values at $6 000/year at the M.Sc. level and $9 000/year at the PhD level.  Admission Scholarship last for up to one year for M.Sc. students and up to four years for Ph.D. students.

Click here for all of the financial details.

The University of Ottawa ranks fifth in research intensity among Canada’s top 50 universities. Our department is one of the most research intensive chemistry departments in Canada per capita, and has an exceptionally strong track record for innovation and faculty awards:

• The uOttawa Chemistry department ranks in the top three Chemistry departments in Canada in terms of quality of research publications, according to the 2010 Academic Ranking of World Universities. Our depart was one of three Canadian Chemistry departments to rank in the 100 in the world overall.
• Since it was introduced in 2000, two of our researchers (Alper and Scaiano) have won the annual Gerhard Herzberg Canada Gold Medal, which is Canada’s top honour in all of Science and Engineering. uOttawa researchers have won three of these prizes since 2000.
• Our Professors have won the most prestigious prize in the province awarded to new Faculty, the John C. Polanyi Prize in Chemistry.  Our new faculty have won the award on 7 occasions (Scott, Fogg, Barriault, Fagnou, Goto and Bryce and Pratt), more than any other chemistry department in the province.
• Our Faculty believe that outstanding research and outstanding teaching go hand in hand. You'll have the opportunity to learn from professors at the top of their fields who are committed to training the next generation of scientists 

We have unparalleled research facilities, instruments and technical staff, dedicated to helping advance your research and your knowledge base. Highlights include:

High-Throughput Facility

The High-Throughput Facility, part of the University's Centre for Catalysis Research and Innovation, was a world first in academia. Equipped with instrumentation specifically designed to conduct high-throughput experiments, the facility enables the acceleration of research through the speedier discovery of significant trends. The presence of a full-time manager ensures that researchers can fully benefit from this outstanding resource.

NMR Facility

We have one of the best NMR facilities in the country, run by a full-time Manager who is one of its core assets. The NMR manager and his technician can help you apply the newest NMR experiments, or simply help you quickly perform routine experiments. The University of Ottawa also manages the National Ultrahigh-Field NMR Facility for Solids, which houses Canada’s only 900 MHz spectrometer (www.nmr900.ca).

Materials Characterization

Through the Centre for Catalysis Research and Innovation, the department has access to a number of cutting edge materials characterization tools:

• XPS/Auger/ISS/SIMS
• Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscrope (JEOL 7500)
• Transmission Electron Microscope – TEM (JEOL 2100F)
• Atomic Force Microscope

We also have a full time manager for these tools to help you learn and apply the techniques effectively.  Through the Physics and Biology departments, to which a number of our Faculty are cross-appointed, you will also have access to the most advanced tools for imaging biomaterials.

Computational Chemistry

The department houses a 400 CPU high performance computer cluster dedicated to computational chemistry.  We also have a full time staff computational chemist to support and expand your research project with the most advanced computer simulations.

Carleton University is the other major university in Ottawa and our graduate program is affiliated with Carleton University’s chemistry program.  The Chemistry departments at the University of Ottawa and Carleton University share graduate courses, thereby offering students from either University a wider choice of graduate courses. uOttawa graduate students have access to equipment at the Carleton Chemistry department and can use the library resources at Carleton.

Canada Research Chairs (CRC)

Canada Research Chair in Catalysis Science for Energy Applications
Tom Baker
Tier 1 (2009)

Canada Research Chair in Applied Photochemistry
Juan (Tito) Scaiano
Tier 1 (2003)

Canada Research Chair in Molecular Photonics
Albert Stolow
Tier 1 (2014)

Canada Research Chair in Sustainable Catalysis
Stephen Newman

Canada Research Chair in Chemical Biology
Adam Shuhendler

University of Ottawa Research Chairs

University Research Chair in Synthetic Organic Chemistry
André Beauchemin
(2012)

University Research Chair in Homogenous Catalysis
Deryn Fogg
(2011)

University Research Chair in Bio-Organic Chemistry
Jeffrey Keillor
(2011)

University Research Chair in Synthetic Organic Chemistry
Louis Barriault
(2006)

University Research Chair in Nuclear Magnetic Resonance
David Bryce

University Research Chair in Nanotechnology
Muralee Murugesu

BioMOLAR Network

A network of researchers in chemistry interested in the study of BiomacroMOLeculAR systems.  Find out more about our research, seminar series, and resources.

Centre for Catalysis Research and Innovation

The University of Ottawa's Centre for Catalysis Research and Innovation (CCRI) is a multidisciplinary centre working to achieve excellence in catalysis research on a global scale. The CCRI is located in a 18,000 sq. ft. facility built in 2005, and is located at the University of Ottawa's downtown campus in the heart of Canada's national capital. The CCRI boasts some of Canada's top researchers, globally recognized leaders in the areas of homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysis. Through world renowned expertise, state-of-the art facilities and partnerships with leading institutes around the globe, the CCRI provides researchers with a unique scientific environment that fosters groundbreaking research, collaboration and training of young researchers.

Chemistry Mass Spectrometry Group

The members of the Chemistry Mass Spectrometry Group employ mass spectrometry to support the exploration of chemical and biochemical research.

National Ultrahigh-Field NMR Facility for Solids

The National Ultrahigh-Field NMR Facility for Solids is a national scientific user facility managed by the University of Ottawa. Ongoing facility operations are funded by the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI), the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) and the National Research Council of Canada (NRC). This facility is seen as the most cost-effective way to provide the Canadian NMR community access to a world-leading NMR facility for advancing the science of materials and the innovative development of technologically advanced products. Funding for the establishment of the facility has been arranged through CFI, provincial agencies (Ontario Innovation Trust, Recherche Québec), Bruker Canada and NRC, with NRC providing a site for the facility in the newly renovated W.G. Schneider building, including office and laboratory space, test equipment and some ongoing support.

• The University of Ottawa Faculty of Science Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Laboratory
  Manager: Dr. Glenn A. Facey
  Telephone: 613-562-5800, extension 6077
• John L. Holmes Mass Spectrometry Facility
  A fully equipped mass spectrometry center with modern instrumentation.
  D'Iorio Hall, room 124
  Telephone: 613-562-5800, extension 6038
• X-Ray Crystallography
  Single crystal X-ray diffraction (SCXRD), powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) and X-ray fluorescence (XRF)

See also our Centres, institutes, core facilities and laboratories page, which contains information on additional equipment which is available.