PhD and MA requirement at the UB Department of Chemistry
The Ph.D. degree is primarily a research degree. The majority of a student's time will be devoted to original research suitable for publication in the chemical literature. The Department recognizes the importance of this aspect in a graduate student's development, and has established requirements which will help stimulate the creativity necessary to perform first-rate chemical research.
For the Ph.D., six graduate level lecture courses are required during the first two years of full-time study. Of these courses, three must be one semester introductory "core courses" selected from the four traditional areas of chemistry (see Graduate Course Offerings in Chemistry). The three additional courses will be chosen in consultation with the student's research advisor. A 3.00 grade point average in lecture courses is required.
During the fifth semester of graduate study, Ph.D. students are required to prepare a written Research Synopsis summarizing research progress to date and future research plans. An oral examination with the student's Ph.D. Committee is used to evaluate the student's research potential. The student's creativity is stimulated by writing and orally defending a Research Proposal. This proposal is not related to the student's thesis research but involves the identification of and a proposed solution to a problem from the chemical literature.
As previously mentioned, the majority of a Ph.D. student's time is spent on creative research. At the conclusion of the work, a dissertation must be written and orally defended before the Department. The Department does not have a language requirement for the Ph.D.
Two options are available to persons seeking the M.A. degree. A student may wish to perform original research and submit a thesis in addition to completing four graduate lecture courses.
Alternatively, a degree without a thesis will be granted to persons completing six graduate lecture courses and a supervised project. There is no language requirement for the M.A.
Graduate courses in UB Department of Chemistry Core Courses 501 Organic Chemistry for Graduate Students 503 Inorganic Chemistry for Graduate Students 505 Physical Chemistry for Graduate Students I 506 Physical Chemistry for Graduate Students II 507 Analytical Chemistry for Graduate Students I 508 Analytical Chemistry for Graduate Students II Elective Courses30 elective courses in various fields of chemistry.
Other Required Courses for Ph.D. Study 598. Graduate Research Proposal and Synopsis. 599. Supervised Teaching. 700. Thesis Guidance. 710-741. Graduate Research. 760. Selection of Thesis Research. 811-841. Graduate Seminar.