Program of Study (all students)
The course of study of each student is planned with a departmental advisor in consultation with the Graduate Committee. Each student follows a program of study consisting of courses in chemistry and in related fields consistent with the research program and professional objectives.
Attainment Examinations
All students are required to pass American Chemical Society graduate- level examinations in organic and physical chemistry and either inorganic or biochemistry by the end of the first full year of study. Students may opt to discharge the requirements for subdisciplines in which a failing grade was received on the first trial by enrolling and passing with a grade of B or better the appropriate undergraduate or remedial course(s) under the advisement of the Director of Graduate Studies. Once this latter option is chosen, the student's grade in the course(s) will be the sole determinant of the attainment requirement. Failure to pass the required attainment exams by the end of the first full year of study or to pass the remedial course after one attempt will constitute grounds for academic dismissal.
The Foreign Language or Research Tool Requirement (all students)
Students may fulfill this requirement by either a) Foreign Language Attainment or b) Research Tool Attainment.
Foreign Language Attainment
The approval of the foreign language is based upon the requirement that there is a sufficient body of chemical literature in the chosen language for there to be merit in understanding the language. The language chosen shall not be the student's native language. Prior Graduate Committee approval of the language is required except for German, French, Russian, and Japanese.
Research Tool Attainment
To fulfill this requirement, the student should submit in writing to the Graduate Committee the prospective research tool with a justification for its choice. The Graduate Committee will rule on the acceptability of the research tool and outline the procedure required for demonstrating its competency. Competency in a research tool must be demonstrated to an examiner authorized by the Graduate Committee to evaluate students in each research tool area. Chm 511A or B, Chm 526, Chm 544, Chm 561 or Chm 570 may be used to satisfy the research tool requirement, with the approval of the Director of Graduate Studies, but may not additionally be counted toward the course requirements. If Chm 544 is taken to fulfill core course requirements, it may not be used to fulfill the research tool requirement.
