Doctor of Philosophy with a Major in Chemistry
The Ph.D. in Chemistry provides students with in depth knowledge of a focused area of Chemistry or Biochemistry, and requires that students complete an independent, scholarly research project with results worthy of publication in the peer reviewed scientific literature. This degree prepares students for a variety of different career paths, including research and development in industry or government, intellectual property law, technical consulting and also faulty positions at universities and colleges. Course work is usually completed within the first two years of study. Students typically complete the requirements for candidacy, which consist of a series of examinations in the major area based on a reading assignments from the recent literature and an original research proposal, by the end of their second year. Later years are devoted to the completion of a research project and the publication of the results from the project. Candidates must write and defend a thesis describing their research as the final degree requirement.
All PhD programs must incorporate a standard set of Requirements for the Doctoral Degree.
| Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Coursework from areas of Specialization 1,2,3 | 6 | |
| Seminars | ||
| CHEM 8000 | Seminar in Chemistry | 1 |
| CHEM 7001 | Introduction to Research | 3 |
| CHEM 8001 | Faculty Seminar | 1 |
| CHEM 8002 | Information Resources for Chemists and Biochemists | 2 |
| CHEM 8003 | Student Seminar 2 | 2 |
| CHEM 8801 | Special Topics (Writing Effective Research Proposals and Manuscripts) | 1 |
| Doctoral Thesis 4 | 5 | |
| Doctoral Minor 2,3 | 9 | |
| Qualifying Examinations 5 | ||
| Candidacy Requirements 6 | ||
| Total Credit Hours | 30 | |
- 1
In addition, to the 9 hours of courses required for the minor, a further 6 hours of course work must be completed. These 15 hours of course work must encompass at least two areas of specialization and at least two courses must be core courses from traditional specializations (inorganic chemistry, analytical chemistry, organic chemistry, physical chemistry, biochemistry, and polymer chemistry).
- 2
Must be completed with a grade of B or higher
- 3
All courses must be letter-grade and students must have a 3.0 GPA overall and 3.0 GPA for the courses used towards the minor
- 4
Students will typically have far more credit for doctoral thesis than this.
- 5
Students must successfully complete a set of literature examinations. This is usually done in their 1st year.
- 6
To gain candidacy, students must prepare and defend in front of their doctoral advisory committee an initial thesis proposal and a summary of research progress. This is usually done before the end of their 2nd year.
GPA Requirement
- Students must have a GPA greater than 2.5 based on two or more classes that count towards the degree after their first semester in order to continue and take literature exams. Students with a GPA less than this must petition the School’s graduate program committee to continue in the program
- Students must have GPA greater than 2.7 based on four or more classes that count towards the degree after their second semester to continue in the program. Students with GPA less than will need to acquire approval to continue in the program
Other Requirements
- Annual written progress reports describing the original research
- Annual meetings with their doctoral advisory committee to review progress
- A review, six months prior to thesis defense, of the proposed contents for the thesis
- Defense of a thesis describing original research
Core and elective courses for commonly pursued traditional areas of specialization are listed below. However, alternative course combinations, corresponding to other areas of specialization, are strongly encouraged. Course combination for other areas of specialization should be developed and approved in consultation with the faculty research advisor and the director of graduate studies. Examples of other areas of specialization include Biophysical Chemistry, Chemical Biology, Computational and Theoretical Chemistry, Energy and Catalysis, Metallobiochemistry, Materials Chemistry and Nanoscience.
| Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Inorganic Chemistry Specialization | ||
| Core | ||
| CHEM 6170 | Inorganic Chemistry I | 3 |
| CHEM 6172 | Physical Methods in Inorganic Chemistry | 3 |
| Elective | ||
| CHEM 6171 | Inorganic Chemistry II | 3 |
| CHEM 6181 | Chemical Crystallography | 3 |
| CHEM 6182 | Chemistry of the Solid State | 3 |
| CHEM 6183 | Organometallic Chemistry | 3 |
| CHEM 8813 | Special Topics in Inorganic Chemistry | 3 |
| Analytical Chemistry Specialization | ||
| Core | ||
| CHEM 6271 | Analytical Chemistry I | 3 |
| CHEM 6281 | Mass Spectrometry | 3 |
| Elective | ||
| CHEM 6272 | Analytical Chemistry II | 3 |
| CHEM 6273 | Analytical techniques for chemistry and biology | 3 |
| CHEM 6282 | Chemical Sensors | 3 |
| CHEM 6283 | Electroanalytical Chemistry | 3 |
| CHEM 6284 | Environmental Analytical Chemistry | 3 |
| CHEM 6285 | Analytical Spectroscopy | 3 |
| CHEM 6287 | Scanned Probe Techniques | 3 |
| CHEM 6288 | Analytical Separations | 3 |
| CHEM 8823 | Special Topics in Analytical Chemistry | 3 |
| Organic Chemistry Specialization | ||
| Core | ||
| CHEM 6370 | Organic Reaction Mechanisms | 3 |
| CHEM 6371 | Identification of Organic Compounds | 3 |
| CHEM 6372 | Physical Organic Chemistry | 3 |
| Elective | ||
| CHEM 6373 | Organic Synthesis | 3 |
| CHEM 6381 | Advanced Organic Synthesis | 3 |
| CHEM 6382 | Computational Methods in Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry | 3 |
| CHEM 8833 | Special Topics in Organic Chemistry | 3 |
| Physical Chemistry Specialization | ||
| Core | ||
| CHEM 6481 | Statistical Mechanics | 3 |
| or CHEM 6755 | Theoretical Chemistry of Polymers | |
| CHEM 6491 | Quantum Mechanics | 3 |
| or CHEM 6472 | Quantum Chemistry and Molecular Spectroscopy | |
| Elective | ||
| CHEM 6471 | Chemical Thermodynamics and Kinetics | 3 |
| CHEM 6482 | Chemical Kinetics and Reaction Dynamics | 3 |
| CHEM 6483 | Chemistry of Electronic Organic Materials | 3 |
| CHEM 6484 | Chemistry of Optical Organic Materials | 3 |
| CHEM 6485 | Computational Chemistry | 3 |
| CHEM 6492 | Molecular Spectroscopy | 3 |
| CHEM 8843 | Special Topics in Physical Chemistry | 3 |
| Biochemistry Specialization | ||
| Core | ||
| CHEM 6571 | Enzymology and Metabolism | 3 |
| CHEM 6572 | Macromolecular Structure | 3 |
| CHEM 6573 | Molecular Biochemistry | 3 |
| Elective | ||
| CHEM 6501 | Biochemistry I | 3 |
| CHEM 6502 | Biochemistry II | 3 |
| CHEM 6581 | Protein Crystallography | 3 |
| CHEM 6582 | Biophysical Chemistry | 3 |
| CHEM 6583 | Drug Design and Discovery | 3 |
| CHEM 6584 | Contemporary Biochemistry | 3 |
| CHEM 6756 | Discovery of Signaling Molecules | 3 |
| CHEM 6760 | Biocatalysis and Metabolic Engineering | 3 |
| CHEM 8853 | Special Topics in Biochemistry | 3 |
| Polymer Chemistry Specialization | ||
| Core | ||
| CHEM 6750 | Preparation and Reaction of Polymers | 3 |
| CHEM 6752 | Polymer Characterization | 4 |
| Elective | ||
| CHEM 6751 | Physical Chemistry of Polymer Solutions | 3 |
| CHEM 6757 | Advanced Polymer Chemistry | 3 |
| CHEM 8873 | Special Topics in Polymer Chemistry | 3 |