Graduate Program

Students seeking either the Ph.D. degree or M.A. degree are admitted into the graduate program. Those who are interested in teaching chemistry at the secondary level may wish to consider applying for a Master of Arts in Teaching (M.A.T.) through the Department of Education and the Department of Chemistry.

Academic programs are planned by the student and faculty advisor in accordance with the student's interests and needs. Upon arrival, students take proficiency examinations in the areas of general, organic, physical and inorganic chemistry. The results of the exams are used as a means for planning the student's first-year courses and teaching assignment. All students must pass the departmental course in chemical safety. An average of B or better is required in coursework, exclusive of research credits, in order that the student remain in good standing.

Ph.D. Requirements

72 semester hours of graduate credit in courses and research. No specific number of courses is required.
Satisfactory performance on written cumulative or candidacy examinations.
Satisfactory performance on a prethesis paper or oral presentation.
Demonstration of teaching competence.
Peparation of dissertation and dissertation research.
Satisfactory performance on a final oral dissertation defense.

The Ph.D. degree usually requires from three to five years of study beyond the B.A. degree.

Candidacy requirements
Students specializing in the chemistry subdisciplines of inorganic, biological, organic, nuclear and physical chemistry are required to pass four (4) cumulative exams during the first four semesters of residence (two years). Exams in each area are given six times a year, except where noted below. Exams are two hours long and are graded A, B, C, or NP, with A and B as passing grades; an A and C grade can be averaged to yield two passes. There are some differences in the cumulative exam procedures among the four chemistry divisions. These are described below.

To maintain standing in the inorganic program, four cumes must be passed in the first two years, with at least two inorganic cumes passed.
For students intending to concentrate in organic chemistry, cumes in the organic, inorganic and physical areas may be taken in the first year, but only organic cumes may be taken in the second year. To maintain standing in the program, four cumes must be passed in the first two years, with at least two organic cumes passed.
For students intending to concentrate in physical chemistry at least four cumes (subject to determination of the advisor) must be passed in the first two years, with at least two physical cumes passed. An "A" in another discipline may not be combined with a "C" on a physical chemistry cume to provide one of these passes.
For students in biological chemistry, four cumes must be passed in the first two years, with at least two biological cumes passed.
Cumulative exams in nuclear chemistry are given only twice each year (or as needed). In order to advance to candidacy, at least four cumes must be passed in the first two years, at least two of which must be in the area of nuclear chemistry. Grading is as for physical chemistry cumes.

Prethesis Research proposal and oral exam
Within the semester following passing of the final candidacy/cumulative exam, students concentrating in the area of organic chemistry must select a topic for an oral exam, write a one-page abstract, provide a one-page bibliography, and complete an oral presentation before their advisory committee. The subject matter of this oral exam, which will typically involve a literature survey and introductory material for the proposed thesis topic, is to be determined in consultation with the research advisor.

Students concentrating in inorganic chemistry must prepare a 30-minute chalk-talk presentation, accompanied by a one-page abstract plus a list of references, describing the problem chosen for the student's research. It is intended that this presentation should describe the problem, survey the background literature, and describe the approach proposed to solve the problem. The abstract and the list of references should be approved by the research advisor. The presentation will be given at the first meeting of the Dissertation Advisory Committee, which will take place before December 1^st of the student's second year. Committee meetings will then be held annually. It is the student's responsibility to schedule these meetings.

Students concentrating in biological chemistry will present the background to their research in the first semester of their second year. This serves as the student's first committee meeting.

Students in nuclear and physical chemistry must also pass an oral exam within the semester following passing of the final cumulative exam. In physical chemistry the subject of the oral exam is the proposed thesis research project. In nuclear chemistry the subject is to be a topic outside the student's thesis project, chosen by the student and his/her oral committee chair, who is chosen in consultation with the student's thesis committee chair. Nuclear and physical oral exams will be conducted by the student's Ph.D. advisory committee. The exam will consist of a short (20 minute) presentation by the student, followed by questions from the committee. Two weeks prior to the exam the student must submit to the committee a short (no more than 5 typed pages) written summary of the material to be covered.

M.A. Requirements

30 semester hours of credit with emphasis on coursework.
Satisfactory performance on written cumulative examinations or a final oral exam.
Demonstration of teaching competence.

The M.A. degree requires three or four semesters of study beyond the bachelor's degree.