Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry

The Ph.D. in Chemistry degree exposes students to various methods and techniques for research. The department maintains instrumentation enabling atomic, molecular, cellular, and small animal studies. 

Degree Requirements

The Ph.D. in Chemistry requires 84 credits beyond the bachelor’s degree. A prior master’s degree may be transferred for up to 30 credits without specific course descriptions. The remaining 54 credits must include at least: 

  • a minimum of 30 dissertation credits (CH960)
  • 12 credits of technical electives
  • up to 6 credits of unrestricted electives from other relevant Departments with approval from their advisor
  • 3 credit course of PRV961 after passing the qualifying exam

Up to one-third of additional course credits may be transferred with the approval of the Program Director and the Office of Graduate Academics & Student Success, provided they have not been used to obtain another degree. 

Language Proficiency:  

Students must fulfill the English proficiency requirements as advised by the Office of Graduate Education.

Research Seminars and Student Presentations

Ph.D. students are required to attend research seminars. Students failing to meet this requirement may be put on probation at the discretion of the faculty.

PhD students after passing their qualifying exam must give a presentation annually at the CCB PhD Presentation Day.

Qualifying Exam 

The qualifying exam is an oral examination that must be completed by the end of the 4th semester of full-time study. The policies and regulations governing the qualifying exam are described in detail in the Chemistry and Chemical Biology Program Graduate Student Handbook

Dissertation 

Students must complete a minimum of 30 credits of CH 960 Dissertation/Research. The dissertation must demonstrate the student’s mastery of the associated topic area, it must exhibit sound research methodology and it must make a unique and substantial contribution to an area of research.

Dissertation Defense

The final Ph.D. dissertation is usually defended at the end of the fourth year of full-time study.  The policies and regulations governing the doctoral dissertation are described in detail in the Chemistry and Chemical Biology Program Graduate Student Handbook.

Exceptions

The faculty reserve the right to make exceptions to any of the rules and procedures described above in order to promote and preserve the health of the doctoral program and to ensure each student’s prompt and effective progress through the program.

 

Elective Options

To complete the course requirements for the Master's and Ph.D. degree, a student will choose technical electives from the list of available courses as specified above for the Master's in Chemistry and Chemical Biology. The technical electives  can be applied to a certificate program such as Drug Discovery or Analytical Chemistry. Students can take electives within a concentration –  Analytical Chemistry, Organic Chemistry or Physical Chemistry – as specified below.

Note: students can take up to 6 credits of unrestricted electives from other relevant Departments with approval from their advisor.

Analytical Chemistry

CH 550Spectra and Structure

3

CH 561Instrumental Methods of Analysis

3

CH 660Advanced Instrumental Analysis

3

CH 662Separation Methods in Analytical and Organic Chemistry

3

CH 666Modern Mass Spectrometry

3

Biology

BIO 507Applications of Statistics in Biomedical Engineering and Health Sciences

3

BIO 509Clinical Research Methodology and Design

3

BIO 526Cancer Biology

3

BIO 568Computational Biology

3

BIO 583Physiology

3

BIO 584Pathophysiology

3

BIO 586Immunology

3

BIO 682Biochemical Laboratory Techniques

3

BIO 683Microscopy Imaging in Biological Systems

3

BIO 684Molecular Biology Laboratory Techniques

3

BIO 687Molecular Genetics

3

BIO 690Cellular Signal Transduction

3

Organic and Inorganic Chemistry

CH 550Spectra and Structure

3

CH 580Biochemistry I - Cellular Metabolism and Regulation

3

CH 581Biochemistry II: Biomolecular Structure and Function

3

CH 582Biophysical Chemistry

3

CH 610Advanced Inorganic and Bioinorganic Chemistry

3

CH 640Advanced Organic andHeterocyclic Chemistry

3

CH 646Chemistry of Natural Products

3

CH 685Medicinal Chemistry

3

Physical Chemistry

CH 520Advanced Physical Chemistry

3

CH 582Biophysical Chemistry

3

CH 620Chemical Thermodynamics and Kinetics

3

CH 664Computer Methods in Chemistry

3

CH 669Applied Quantum Chemistry

3