Graduate Studies Course Requirements
Graduate School Requirements
The graduate school requires all PhD students to complete 34 semester hours of graded (A-F) coursework beyond the Bachelor's degree. Up to nine semester hours of the requirement may be selected from non-graduate (300 or 400 level) courses not previously taken by the student. Graded seminar courses numbered 500 and above also meet this requirement. The Graduate School further requires students to complete 38 additional credit hours of non-graded (Pass/Fail) coursework. Non-graded coursework includes the credit granted for doctoral research.
Chemistry Department Requirements
The Chemistry Department graduate course breadth requirement is that all PhD students complete one 3-credit graduate (500 level or above) core course in each of two divisional areas outside of their area of specialization in addition to a core course within their area of specialization. For example, a typical fall load for an AER (Analytical, Environmental and Radiochemistry) student would be Chem 520 (Advanced Analytical Chemistry, 3 credits) satisfying the core course within the division, and two other core courses from two different divisions, selected from the list below, for example Chem 501 (Inorganic) and Chem 531 (Physical). Note that two courses in a single outside divisional area do not satisify the requirement. All chemistry graduate students are required to take one credit of Chem 590 - Introduction to Research - in the Fall of the first year. Graduate students who wish to serve as teaching assistants are also required to complete 1 credit of Chem 555 - Teaching Workshop.
Fulltime graduate students in the Chemistry Department enroll for 18 credit hours each semester. An example of a typical first year student's fall load might be Chem 520 (3 credits, Analytical Chemistry, a core course), Chem 514 (2 credits, Mass Spectrometry), Chem 518 (2 credits, Electrochemistry), Chem 590 (1 credit - Into to Research), and Chem 555 (1 credit - teaching Workshop), with the remaining 9 credits taken as Chem 600 to total 18 credits. A typical Spring semester load might be Chem 510 (3 credits, Inorganic, a core course), Chem 540 (3 Credits, Organic Chemistry), Chem 510 (2 credits, Proteomics) and 10 credits of Chem 600 to total 18 credits.
Students must be affiliated with research groups by the end of the second semester and receive course advising from their research advisor during the third and later semester. Specific course requirements for each division can be found on the divisional sites.
Approved Core Courses (Subject to Change)
Analytical, Environmental Radiochemistry
Chem 520 Advanced Analytical Chemistry
Inorganic
Chem 501 Inorganic/Bioinorganic Principles
Chem 503 Kinetics and Mechanisms
Organic
Chem 540 Organic Mechanisms
Cem 542 Synthesis/Advanced Synthesis
Physical
Chem 531 Advanced Physical Chemistry I
Chem 580 Solid State Chemistry
Chem 430 Applied Spectroscopy
Physical Biosciences