Chemical Synthesis for a Healthy Planet (EPSRC CDT) (Taught)

The information provided on this page was correct at the time of publication (November 2025). For complete and up-to-date information about this course, please visit the relevant University of Oxford course page via www.graduate.ox.ac.uk/ucas.

The EPSRC CDT in Chemical Synthesis for a Healthy Planet (CSHP CDT) is a four-year course focused on training the next generation of synthetic chemists to tackle emerging and future challenges in Human Health, Energy & Materials, and Food Security.

Delivered jointly by the Universities of Oxford and York, the CSHP CDT programme comprises taught courses and a substantive research project. Student cohorts will work together in a four-month training period at both Oxford and York, before embarking on their main PhD projects. These substantive projects will be based at either the Department of Chemistry in Oxford, or the Green Chemistry Centre of Excellence at York.

Our CDT brings together over forty academics across two universities, ten industrial partners that have been substantially involved in the design of the programme and will co-develop and co-supervise PhD projects, and ten SMEs who will offer complementary expertise and training opportunities.

The CDT begins with a four-month taught course, based predominantly in Oxford, which will equip students with the contemporary tools and knowledge in sustainable chemical innovation that will be needed for substantive research projects. Training modules, alongside team-building challenges and personal development activities provide training to appreciate the links between synthetic chemistry and the physical, ecological and human systems of the planet, nurturing the capacity to think and work across discipline boundaries. During the taught course, the entire cohort will spend two weeks at the Green Chemistry Centre of Excellence at the University of York, to receive bespoke expert training in 'Sustainability in Synthesis'.

At the conclusion of the 16-week taught course, the students join the research groups for their substantive projects, which they will have chosen prior to the start of their course. These can focus on any of the three global challenges of Human Health, Food Security, and Energy and Materials.

During all four years of the course students also receive a tailored programme designed to broaden their research and professional skills, including an industrial placement opportunity.