Overview

Graduate School Requirements

The graduate school requires all PhD students to complete 34 semester hours of graded 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 curriculum for organic/bioorganic is flexible and will vary based on each student’s previous course experience and career goals. The organic/bioorganic degree has the following requirements in addition to those of the graduate school and the department of chemistry:

  1. A research adviser must be chosen by the end of the second semester of the first year. It is appropriate and encouraged to ask a faculty member for a chance to have a short rotation in his or her laboratory.
  2. The Preliminary Examination: The preliminary examination consists of a written examination and an oral examination. The written examination is scheduled on the second Saturday after completion of the second year of course work (Spring Semester). This examination will test general background in the chemistry of biological systems as well as areas related specifically to the student's area of specialty, including current literature. As an aid to students preparing for their preliminary examinations, a suggested reading list may be obtained from the each faculty member on the students committee. The dissertation committee will write and grade the examination. Defense of a written research proposal will form the basis of the oral examination. This proposal will be presented to the student’s dissertation committee and may be in an area related to the student's dissertation research, but must extend beyond the expected scope of the dissertation and be original. This requirement must be met by the end of the sixth semester, but preferably by the end of the second year. The oral exam satisfies part of the Graduate School requirements.
  3. Each student must present one seminar each year. The first year seminar will be literature-based; thereafter, seminars must focus on dissertation research.
  4. The final examination consists of the presentation and defense of the student's dissertation. This presentation will be conducted in the form of an open public seminar, which will be immediately followed by a closed meeting with the dissertation committee.

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