Graduate Studies in Chemistry at UConn

Introduction to the Department 2007-2008

The Department of Chemistry has 25 faculty members engaged in basic studies in the areas of analytical, biological, inorganic, organometallic, organic, physical, polymer, and solid state chemistry. The Department, which is part of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, maintains strong ties to a number of other departments, including Biological Sciences, Physics, Mathematics and Chemical Engineering as well as the School of Pharmacy and the UConn Health Center. Many members of the Department are affiliated with the Institute of Materials Science (IMS) which offers graduate degrees in several interdisciplinary areas, such as Polymer Science, Alloy Physics, Crystal Science and Biomaterials. Membership in the IMS is open to all members of the chemistry department and offers instrumentation and technical support in areas relevant to the interests of various members of the Department.

The graduate student handbook is located here (in Adobe pdf format).

Application For Graduate Study

If you are interested in graduate study in Chemistry at UConn, you will find a preliminary interest form that we ask you to download and fill out. You may FAX or e-mail the form to Emilie Hogrebe, the Graduate Studies coordinator in Chemistry; her contact information is provided there for you. Once we have received the form, we will contact you as soon as possible. You may download this form in either Microsoft Word format or in Adobe PDF format.

For a direct link to the University of Connecticut Graduate School, where you may begin the formal application process, either online or by mail, please click here. This link will open a new browser window on your system.

We look forward to hearing from you!

Assistantships and Financial Aid

A separate page on graduate assistantships is here.

The M.S. Degree

Master’s degrees may be earned under either of two plans as determined by the advisory committee.

A Plan A Master’s degree requires at least 15 hours of course work and a written thesis describing original research in chemistry.

* Coursework - Must include at least three credit hours of independent study carrying out laboratory work or theoretical research.
* Master’s Thesis - The Advisory Committee must approve the topic and scope of the thesis required. Specifications for preparation of the thesis can be obtained at the Graduate Record Office.

A Plan B Master’s degree requires 24 credits of course work but no thesis. The advisory committee may require more than the minimum number of credits.

The candidate for a master’s degree must pass a final oral examination not later than one year after completion of course work and/or thesis. The deadlines for the conferring of the degree are: August 31 for a Summer degree, December 31 for a Fall degree and 13 days before commencement for a Spring degree.

For students interested in a career in chemical research, the Department strongly recommends a Plan A Master’s degree. The Department does not consider a Master’s degree a prerequisite for the Doctoral degree.

The Ph.D Degree

The Graduate Faculty of Chemistry requires each graduate student to take a minimum of 27 course credits of graduate work beyond the Bachelor's degree. The Department does encourage extensive work in the major area and at least nine credits in a non-major area (usually chemistry but also areas such as biochemistry, chemical engineering, pharmacy, physics, and mathematics). A student's major advisor and advisory committee will determine whether graduate courses taken after earning the Bachelor's degree but before entrance into our Ph.D. program may be counted toward the 27 credits. It is most common for 21-27 course credits to be required beyond the Master's degree, unless a student earns a Master's degree in this Department as a step toward the Ph.D. In the latter case, all graduate credits may count toward the minimum of 27 course credits for the Ph.D., if approved by the advisory committee and the Graduate Records Office.

After qualification (described below), the student must pass the General Examination, consisting of a written and an oral portion as determined by his or her selected division (Analytical, Biological, Environmental, Inorganic, Organic, Physical, or Polymer). The General Examination, described in detail below, is generally completed during the second or third year of graduate work. The Graduate School requires each Ph.D. candidate to have a competent reading knowledge of at least one foreign language appropriate to the general area of study or to earn six credits of advanced work in a related or supporting area biology, pharmacy, chemical engineering, mathematics, before completing the oral portion of the General Examination. The specific requirement appropriate for the candidate is determined in consultation with the Advisory Committee. Details concerning the Ph.D. Language Exam and Related or Supporting Areas of Study are presented below.

A Dissertation Prospectus must be filed with the Graduate School at least six months before submission of the dissertation, but preferably much earlier.

The primary requirement for the Ph.D. degree is submission of a dissertation that makes a significant contribution to the candidate's field of specialization. Specific requirements for submission of the Ph.D. dissertation are given in the Bulletin of the Graduate School

Choosing a Major Advisor and Advisory Committee

Choosing your major advisor is the most important decision, besides choosing a graduate school, that you will make during your graduate career. It is difficult to obtain frank and unbiased advice from current faculty or fellow graduate students regarding this matter. For an objective and in-depth viewpoint on choosing an advisor, see Appendix 1 of this Handbook, "An Insider’s Guide to Choosing a Graduate Adviser [sic] and Research Projects in the Laboratory Sciences" by Marshall Lev Dermer. This is an article reprinted from the Journal of Chemical Education 1993, 70, 303-305.

For choosing an Advisory Committee refer to the Graduate Catalog (Advisory System section). Note that both M.S. and Ph.D. candidates must choose an Advisory Committee (associate advisors). An Advisory Committee is chosen in consultation with the Major Advisor when not more than twelve credits of course work to be offered for the degree have been completed. The names of the associate advisors are submitted with the Plan of Study.

Academic Conduct and Professional Ethics

The Department of Chemistry expects all scientific endeavors to be conducted with the highest degree of professionalism and ethical conduct. We expect our graduate students to read and thoroughly understand information in the booklet entitled "On Being a Scientist" which is available from Emilie Hogrebe.

The Graduate School

The UConn Graduate School catalog is available here.

The General Exam

The guidelines for the general examination for all divisions in Chemistry at UConn is are available here.

Exit Interview Form

There is an exit interview form that we request graduating students complete. It is located here.