Doctoral Program in Chemistry

Admission Requirements

In addition to the requirements of the Graduate School, applicants must have a B.S. degree in chemistry or a closely related field with passing grades ‘C’ or better for the following courses with labs:

• 2 semesters of General Chemistry
• 2 semesters of Organic Chemistry
• 1 semester of Analytical Chemistry
• 1 semester of Physical Chemistry
• 1 semester of Inorganic Chemistry
• GRE Score*
• Three Letters of Recommendation
• A Statement of Purpose for Graduate Study

(*Students may take the Department’s entrance exam instead of the GRE)

Retention Requirements

In addition to satisfying the basic requirements of the Division of Graduate Studies, students are required to maintain a chemistry GPA of 3.00 or higher every semester. Seminar courses, dissertation courses, and other non-chemistry elective courses are excluded from the calculation of the chemistry GPA. Students whose chemistry GPA is below 3.00 will be placed on probation for 1-2 semesters to fix the deficiencies.

During the time a student’s only course work is to carry out thesis/dissertation research, an unsatisfactory progress in research during any semester, judged by the faculty advisor and the Graduate Advisory Committee, will trigger probationary status. A consecutive unsatisfactory progress will result in dismissal of the student from the program.

Repeating a Course

If a student receives a grade of “C” or lower in a chemistry core course or a course in the student’s major field of study, that course must be retaken and the student must earn a grade of “B” or better.

Degree Candidacy Requirements

After completing the lecture and seminar course requirements, students need to take and pass the comprehensive examination and defend an independent research proposal in order to become an official Ph.D. candidate. The comprehensive examination of 3 subjects must be taken and passed during the second year of study and the written independent research proposal must be prepared and defended during the third year of study or at least one year before graduation.

Graduation Requirements

The minimum number of credit hours for the Ph.D. degree in Chemistry is 60 credit hours.

• 18 credit hours from graduate Chemistry lecture courses
• 2 credit hours for Seminars
• 40 credit hours for Dissertation Research
• Teach at least 2 semesters of undergraduate courses as a teaching assistant.
• Pass Area Comprehensive Examination in three subject areas.
• Write and defend an Independent Research Proposal.
• Defend dissertation before the Dissertation Committee and public audience.
• Submit an approved dissertation for publication of five bond copies, one each to the Division of Graduate Studies, the Department, the University Library, the Faculty Advisor, and the student.

The 18 credit hours of lecture courses must include at least three out of the following five core courses for a total of at least 9 credit hours. Under special circumstances, with recommendation of the faculty advisor and approval by the program director, an elective course critical for the student’s subject of study can be used to replace one of the three core courses.

CHEM 723 Advanced Analytical Chemistry
CHEM 731 Advanced Biochemistry
CHEM 736 Physical Organic Chemistry
CHEM 741 Advanced Inorganic Chemistry
CHEM 758 Quantum Chemistry

Students entering the Ph.D Program with a M.S. Degree in Chemistry: Students who earned a M.S. degree from another institution are allowed to transfer up to three (3) lecture courses or 9 credit hours if these courses are equivalent to the JSU chemistry doctoral courses. Students who earned a M.S. degree from JSU chemistry will be required to take at least two more approved lecture courses instead of the required six lecture courses, and the passed comprehensive exams are waved. Other requirements are the same as for those entering the Ph.D. program with a B.S. degree.

Students earning a non-thesis M.S. Degree in Chemistry: Students on the Ph.D. program are given an option to obtain a non-thesis M.S. degree upon completion of the requirements for the degree candidacy for the Ph.D. program (details see “Requirements for Non-Thesis Master’s Degree”). Upon receiving the non-Thesis M.S. degree, students will continue on their Ph.D. program without interruption. All credits earned thus far will be counted toward their Ph.D. degree.

Masters’ Program in Chemistry

Admission Requirements

Applicants for the Master’s Degree Program must meet the requirements of the Graduate School.

In addition to the requirements of the Division of Graduate Studies, applicants must have the following:

1. A B.S. degree in chemistry or a closely related field with passing grades (“C” or better) in the following courses with labs:

• 2 semesters of General Chemistry
• 2 semesters of Organic Chemistry
• 1 semester of Analytical Chemistry
• 1 semester of Physical Chemistry
• 1 semester of Inorganic Chemistry

2. Three Letters of Recommendation
3. A Statement of Purpose for Graduate Study

Retention Requirements

In addition to satisfying the basic requirements of the Division of Graduate Studies, students are required to maintain a chemistry GPA of 3.00 or higher every semester. Seminar courses, dissertation courses, and other non-chemistry elective courses are excluded from the calculation of the chemistry GPA. Students whose chemistry GPA is below 3.00 will be placed on probation for one semester to fix the deficiencies.

Degree Requirements

A student pursuing a M.S. degree in Chemistry is required to complete a minimum of 30 hours with a thesis in Chemistry.

1. Within the 18 credit hours of lecture courses, students must complete at least three (3) of five (5) core courses for a total of nine (9) hour. It is possible to take some courses in related fields upon recommendation of the advisor. The core courses are:

CHEM 723 Advanced Analytical Chemistry
CHEM 741 Advanced Inorganic Chemistry
CHEM 731 Biochemistry
CHEM 758 Quantum Chemistry
CHEM 736 Physical Organic Chemistry

Students will fulfill the remaining 12 hours from Chemistry electives with no more than 11 hours in CHEM 580-Thesis Research.
2. Students are required to take two semesters of chemistry seminar for one (1) credit hour.
3. Pass the Graduate Area Comprehensive Examination in three chemistry areas.
4. The student must participate as a teaching assistant in the chemistry department for at least one semester.
5. Defend a thesis before the Thesis Committee and public audience.
6. Submit an approved thesis for publication of five bond copies, one each to the Division of Graduate Studies, the Department, the University Library, the Faculty Advisor, and the student.

Non-Thesis Master’s Degree

Ph.D. students who fulfill the following requirements will be awarded a Non-Thesis Master’s degree in Chemistry if the students apply.

1. A minimum of 36 credit hours, including at least 18 hours of approved graduate level lecture courses and two hours of seminar with a GPA of 3.00 or better. The graduate lecture courses should include at least three of the five core courses: Advanced Analytical Chemistry, Advanced Inorganic Chemistry, Biochemistry, Quantum Chemistry, and Physical Organic Chemistry.
2. Pass the Graduate Area Comprehensive Examination in three areas.
3. Pass an oral defense covering the student’s research before a committee of four faculty members.