Course Summary
Cheminformatics is the use of computational techniques to solve chemistry, pharmacology and toxicology problems. Students will understand and apply a range of computational tools to address toxicological questions in preparation for a career in in silico toxicity prediction in the pharma, industry, consultancy, academia and government. The course is delivered over one year by the disciplines of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Mathematics and Chemistry.
College Link
Career Sectors
This course prepares you for working in the Career Sectors below. Follow the links to get a fuller understanding of the sectors you are preparing for.
Entry Requirements
Language skills: An IELTS score of 6.5 or greater in all categories is required.
Application Details
WHEN TO APPLY: University of Galway does not set a deadline for receipt of applications (with some exceptions). Offers will be issued on a continuous basis. Candidates are encouraged to apply as early as possible.
Next start date September 2024
Fees
€8,890 p.a. (including levy) 2024/25
Fees: Tuition
€8,750 p.a. 2024/25
Fees: Student levy
€140 p.a. 2024/25
Fees: Non EU
€23,000 p.a. (€23,140 including levy) 2024/25
Postgraduate students in receipt of a SUSI grant—please note an F4 grant is where SUSI will pay €4,000 towards your tuition (2024/25). You will be liable for the remainder of the total fee. A P1 grant is where SUSI will pay tuition up to a maximum of €6,270. SUSI will not cover the student levy of €140.
Postgraduate fee breakdown = Tuition (EU or NON EU) + Student levy as outlined above.
The Student
Career Interests
This course is typically suited for people with the following Career Interests. If these interests do not describe you, this course may prepare you for work you may not find satisfying.
Investigative
The Investigative person will usually find a particular area of science to be of interest. They are inclined toward intellectual and analytical activities and enjoy observation and theory. They may prefer thought to action, and enjoy the challenge of solving problems with sophiscticated technology. These types prefer mentally stimulating environments and often pay close attention to developments in their chosen field.
Career Progression
It costs approximately $1bn and 10–20 years to get a drug from conception to market. While many candidate molecules enter the drug development pipeline, most will fail to become drugs, mainly due to unexpected toxicity. The failure to identify toxicity early in the development process costs the pharmaceutical industry billions of dollars in either failed clinical trials or in withdrawing drugs from the market. At the same time national and trans-national regulatory bodies work to identify the toxicity of chemicals used in food-stuffs, consumer products, industry and agriculture with the aim of building a chemically safe society. Consequently the global ADME toxicology testing market, which aims to identify potential toxicity is projected to surpass $16.2 billion by 2024. In an era when Pharma investment in research and development is falling, scientists to develop and use computational tools that better predict toxicity are at a premium. The value of these skills is further enhanced by the scarcity of training programmes to produce toxicologists with the appropriate computational skills.
Graduates from the course will be employed in the Pharmaceutical industry, the Cosmetics Industry, National and EU Regulatory bodies, Toxicology Consultancies and academia.