| Programme Description |
Postgraduate programs in chemistry are structured such that students have options to acquire incremental knowledge, skills and attributes, while earning Postgraduate Diplomas, Master of Science degrees by course work and/or research dissertations. The program aims to mould leaders in their chosen field of study and research, whether be it in academics, industrial settings or wider society roles. They would be trained to handle ethical, social and cultural issues in the exercise of their professional duties with tact and empathy. Most of the courses and laboratory/project training modules that make up the Chemistry postgraduate programs are unique in Fiji and bridge the critical expert-level skill and training gap in Fiji. FNU as a national university aims to impart high-quality PG Chemistry education in Fiji, besides providing a benchmark and instituting a healthy competition between postgraduate chemistry education providers. Chemistry is an integral part of life in modern society. Every day we face new challenges in terms of analysis, interpretation, and demand for solutions or the development of new applications. These challenges are widespread in the food we eat, the water we drink, the air we breathe, our environment and surrounding, and the things we use, everywhere. Most of these areas require hard-core chemistry and related subject knowledge and skills. However, there exists a wide skill gap when it comes to handling such new challenges, in their scientific analysis, particularly in the local context and very often we are dependent on our neighbouring countries for help and interpretation. There is a great need for suitably trained chemistry personnel with postgraduate qualifications to serve in primary and secondary industries, government, policy planning, monitoring and supervision, quality control and quality assurance etc. Chemistry encompasses various sub-disciplines viz., Organic Chemistry, Inorganic Chemistry, Physical Chemistry, Analytical Chemistry, Nuclear Chemistry, Theoretical Chemistry, Biochemistry, Medicinal Chemistry, Materials Chemistry, Polymer Chemistry, Molecular Chemistry, Immunochemistry, Mining, Mineralogy, Hydrology, Geochemistry and Environmental Chemistry etc. Department aims to impart comprehensive quality knowledge and training in experimental skills in the wider areas of chemistry to produce postgraduates with critical thinking as well as independent planning, organization, decision making and problem-solving skills. In addition to the above, a large percentage of chemistry graduates in Fiji are employed in the teaching profession within the country and in the region. However, the quality of students produced in the school system in Fiji and Pacific Island Countries is not very encouraging as the majority of them lack basic concepts in sciences, i.e. biology, chemistry, physics and mathematics. This leads to poor quality of student input to medicine and engineering programs, thereby compromising their quality of output. Scientific knowledge is fast expanding and there exists a growing understanding that school teachers particularly those teaching Form-6 and Form-7 should acquire master-level knowledge in their subjects to be able to explain the concepts and maintain students’ interest in the science and mathematics subjects.
Aims: The aims of this programme are to:
(a) provide a wholistic education in Chemistry for graduates;
(b) establish top-quality graduate study programs in Chemistry; (c) promotes the development of the high level of research skills and education in Chemistry;
Objectives: Upon completion, the graduates will be able to:
(a) Promote the development of research skills in identifying research problems in society;
(b) Develop wholistic research skills;
(c) Acquire skills in new technology and research applicable to society and industry.
(d) Develop academic writing skills.
(e) Reading academic texts critically and effectively.
(f) Constructing and presenting bibliographies and effectively citing references. |
