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Create new medicines from a chemical perspective

Fascinated by developing the chemistry of discovering new therapies and medicines? As a Master’s student Drug Discovery Sciences, you will approach drug research and development from a multidisciplinary perspective. You will gain insight into the molecular causes of disease, explore therapeutic strategies or focus on the design and synthesis of drug molecules. You will work across the spectrum of pharmaceutical sciences, from small molecules to complex biological systems.

Around sixty percent of all diseases lack a cure, making drug discovery one of the greatest challenges in modern medicine. Join this programme to gain the knowledge and skills to shape future therapies.

Drug Discovery Sciences offers four specialisations:

Design and Synthesis in Drug Discovery
Design and make biologically active molecules using modern synthetic methods, and characterisation techniques. Or apply molecular modelling, AI and simulations to study and optimise drug–target interactions, from virtual screening to lead refinement. Read more.

Pharmacology and Toxicology in Drug Discovery
Study how drugs act on molecular targets and how chemicals can cause cellular stress or damage. Gain hands-on experience with techniques such as cell culture, imaging and PCR to investigate drug action, safety and toxicity. Read more.

Bioanalytics in Drug Discovery
Analyse drug candidates and biological systems with advanced techniques, including chromatography, mass spectrometry, and NMR. Focus on biomarkers, drug metabolism and therapeutic monitoring. Read more.

Education in Drug Discovery
The teacher training programme leading to a secondary education teaching certificate. Read more.

VU Online Master's Event

Thursday 27 November 2025

Discover your Drug Discovery Sciences programme

You’ll focus on the chemistry aspects of early drug discovery. From the identification of new protein targets, computational design and synthesis of new molecules and radiopharmaceuticals, the affinity of a molecule towards its target and the cellular response, to the metabolism and toxicity of the molecule. You will choose an in-depth specialisation that suits your interests, while gaining knowledge in all drug discovery disciplines.

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