Requirements for a PhD degree in Chemistry

Degree Verification: A bachelor’s degree or master’s degree from an accredited U.S. college or university or a similarly recognized international university is required for admission to and completion of a PhD degree.
GPA and Minimum Grades: Graduate students are required to maintain at least a 3.0 GPA for degree-program courses. More than one C grade or grades of C- or lower will not be accepted for a chemistry graduate degree.
Coursework Validity: Coursework over eight years old at the time of degree completion may not be used for a graduate degree unless it is revalidated.
Matriculation Start Semester: A PhD degree must be completed within eight years of entering the degree program. Additional time may be requested by the student’s committee and submitted to the Vice Provost of Graduate Studies for review.
Course Number Acceptability: The Program of Study for a PhD degree must include at least 18 semester credits at the level of 6000 or above.
Credits in the following areas are not acceptable in a degree program: foreign languages (unless included in an approved Program of Study), continuing graduate advisement, individual home study, military science, and courses numbered below 5000. A maximum of 12 credits of 5000-level coursework are permitted.
Research Credits: A minimum of 12 dissertation research credits is required if the student has an MS degree, and a minimum of 18 is required if the student has a bachelor’s degree.
School of Graduate Studies Forms: Approval of all academic forms required for PhD students by the School of Graduate Studies including the Supervisory Committee Approval form, Program of Study, Application for Candidacy, Appointment for Exam, Authorship & Copyright, Format & Style, Title Page, and Graduation Application.

Chemistry Course Requirements

The Program of Study is approved by the student’s supervisory committee. A total of 30 credits is required for students entering with an MS degree, 60 credits is required for students entering with a bachelor’s degree. The PhD degree requires a minimum of 10 credits of coursework. Of the 10 coursework credits, six must be graduate-level courses from outside the student’s chosen area of specialization. All chemistry students are required to register for CHEM 7800 annually. CHEM 7800 credits are not included in the 10 credits of coursework total.

Each division (analytical, inorganic, organic, and physical) has established a list of core courses for students specializing in that area.

In addition to the core courses, electives are taken to fulfill the 10 credits of coursework requirement as directed by the student’s committee. Elective credits may be selected from courses with any prefix at the level of 5000 or above with supervisory committee approval.

Chemistry - PhD

Download as PDF

Program Overview

Program Requirements

Program Learning Outcomes

Program Learning Outcomes