Placement Examination

On entering the graduate programs, students are expected to demonstrate a general competence equivalent to the baccalaureate degree with a major in chemistry or to be prepared to make up deficiencies by taking appropriate courses. Proficiency is determined by placement examinations in the major subject areas of the field. A written comprehensive examination is given in each of the areas of organic, inorganic, physical and analytical chemistry, offered in the week preceding registration for each semester.

A student in the biological chemistry program must demonstrate proficiency in any two traditional subdisciplines of chemistry (organic, analytical, inorganic, physical) and a placement examination in biochemistry. A student in the materials chemistry program must demonstrate proficiency in inorganic and physical chemistry and in solid state and materials sciences. (The last topic may be replaced by taking placement examinations in both analytical and organic chemistry.)

Students who perform satisfactorily are admitted to graduate courses numbered 500 and above. Students showing deficiencies in specific areas are required to correct these deficiencies, normally by taking appropriate courses at lower levels or by passing subsequent examinations. Undergraduate deficiencies may be removed by audit (without credit), wherein all the requirements, including examinations, must be completed; the instructor provides a grade used by the departmental graduate committee in evaluating the student’s progress. To remain in the program, students are expected either to pass all placement examinations or otherwise remove deficiencies prior to the beginning of the second calendar year of study.

Course Requirements

Students pursuing the PhD in Chemistry must complete the following coursework. Most of the basic graduate courses in a student’s program should be taken during the first year of residence:

• A student is normally expected to take six to eight courses, two of which may be from the fields of physics, mathematics, biology and materials science
  • A student in the biological chemistry program must complete at least three courses in chemistry and the remainder from the fields of biological sciences and other sciences (physics, computer science, geology, mathematics or engineering), as approved by the faculty advisor, for a total of six to eight courses. 
  • A student in the materials chemistry program must complete at least three courses in chemistry, including CHEM 544, and at least two courses from the fields of materials science and engineering, geology, physics or engineering, as approved by the faculty advisor, for a total of six to eight courses.
• One semester of graduate seminar (CHEM 592)
• Two semesters of Frontiers in Chemistry (CHEM 593)

Seminar Requirement

All graduate students in chemistry attend and participate in seminars based on lectures presented by fellow students, faculty and visiting scientists. Appropriate questions from such seminars are normally incorporated in the cumulative examinations.

Exam Requirement

Proficiency in a specialized area (organic, inorganic, analytical, physical, biological or materials chemistry) is established by passing a comprehensive literature review examination (oral and written parts) and an oral examination in the area of specialization. Students are required to complete both examinations and obtain ABD (all-but-dissertation) status before the beginning of the fifth semester.

Normally, students are expected to pass the comprehensive literature review examination in the selected area of specialization before the beginning of the fourth semester. Failure to pass the comprehensive literature review examination in two attempts is normally considered sufficient reason for dismissal from the PhD program. 

Following the satisfactory completion of the comprehensive literature review, students are required to pass an oral examination in the area of specialization. Failure to pass the oral examination after the second attempt is also considered sufficient reason for dismissal from the PhD program.

For those students pursuing research in an alternative interdisciplinary area, an alternative examination option is available under the guidance of an interdisciplinary examining committee.

Research and Dissertation

Since the PhD is earned primarily on the basis of original investigative work, students begin research early in their training. The departmental graduate committee reviews each student’s progress at frequent intervals, at least after each semester of residence. The selection of an advisor and a research problem is made with the advice and approval of the committee, at the earliest date consistent with the student’s progress in satisfying the general requirements of the program and normally, not later than the end of the second semester. Thereafter, the advisor serves as the student’s advisor. The investigation is described in a written dissertation, prepared and submitted in accordance with the prescribed regulations of the graduate committee. The student is required to pass an oral examination in defense of the dissertation.