The Department of Chemistry offers Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy graduate degree programs. Both degree programs include course work and research as described below.
Our outstanding graduate faculty directs over 150 graduate students and 20 postdoctoral associates in research that results in approximately 100 publications per year. Faculty research groups represent the spectrum of chemistry, including analytical, inorganic, organic, physical, and biochemistry as well as interdisciplinary research. Funded research in excess of $4.8 million per year from external sources provides outstanding laboratories facilities and support for advanced graduate students as research assistants, thereby allowing them to concentrate more fully on their thesis research.
Graduate students in the Department work closely with faculty research advisors in order to acquire the skills to become independent researchers and problem solvers. The faculty has been recognized by a number of prestigious awards over the past few years. Please view our research faculty page for more information.
A devoted staff and excellent support facilities aid the research of the faculty and students. The research laboratories of the Department are housed in two buildings constructed in the late 1960's. Because of the growth of the research effort of the Department, a new chemistry research building, to be completed by the end of 2006, will house some current and new research groups.
Study in the Department of Chemistry is formally organized in the traditional sub-disciplines of analytical, inorganic, organic, physical and biochemistry, but there are numerous overlaps both within the Department, such as organometallic and biophysical chemistry, and with other departments, such as molecular biology and molecular physics.
Entering graduate students typically spend much of their first year acquiring a base of advanced knowledge about chemistry before they concentrate on research in a more highly specialized field (in pursuit of their Ph.D. degree). Study can involve coursework, seminars, consultation or informal study with individual professors.
Entering students take a series of placement examinations, based on undergraduate material typical of programs approved by the American Chemical Society, in analytical, inorganic organic, physical, and biochemistry. Students are required to show proficiency in three of the five areas by achieving a score of 50 percentile. Scores less than 50 percentile indicate a deficiency that must be remedied by taking a 400- or 500-level course. Students are required to remedy deficiencies in their first year. Such an approach is designed to assure a good background for taking specialized courses and successful accomplishment of thesis research. The Graduate Advising Committee directs the candidate's course work in the period before a thesis advisor has been selected.
Departmental guidelines for the Ph.D. require a minimum of 9 credit hours in lecture courses at the 500-level in the area of specialization and 3 credit hours in different fields of chemistry outside this area. Chemistry graduate students usually take additional courses, particularly special topics courses, during their time in the Department. A description of graduate chemistry course offerings in all areas of study can be found in the link Graduate Course Work.
Six departmental exams on advanced specialized topics, the cumulative exams, must be passed during the first three years. Nine such exams are offered each year. Two exams must be passed before the end of the second year of the program and the remaining exams must be passed by the end of the third year. Candidates are encouraged to take the examinations regularly upon entering the program and are required to do so after two semesters in residence.
Individual research is the major component of Ph.D. training. All students select an advisor after meeting with the faculty in their area of interest as well as attending presentations by the faculty. When the research work is well underway, the candidate chooses a research committee that will review the progress toward the Ph.D. This committee will advise the student through the completion of research and thesis composition, and will then act as the examination committee as required by the Graduate College. The results of the research are presented in a seminar to the examination committee as well as members of the Department and the public. Finally the examination committee questions the candidate in a closed session before approving the thesis.
The M.S. program provides professional training beyond the baccalaureate. Entering students take a series of placement examinations, based on undergraduate material typical of programs approved by the American Chemical Society, in inorganic, organic, and physical chemistry. Students are required to show proficiency in each of these three areas by achieving a score of 50 percentile. Scores less than 50 percentile indicate a deficiency that must be remedied by taking a 400- or 500-level course. Students are required to remedy deficiencies in their first year of study. In selecting their course work (with the help of the Graduate Advising Committee), students remedy any deficiencies in their backgrounds and then take advanced courses to broaden their knowledge. A total of 32 hours of graduate-level courses is currently required; at least 24 of the 32 hours must be within the Department of Chemistry. At least four lecture courses must be taken at the 500 level. The selection of these courses depends upon the interest and career objective of each student and on areas of strength and deficiencies in the student's background. A description of graduate chemistry course offerings in all areas of study can be found under Graduate Course Work. Thesis research courses may be included in an M.S. program, but no more than a total of 8 semester hours of thesis research, independent studies and seminar courses may be credited toward the M.S. degree. A master’s thesis must be presented and approved when credit hours in thesis research are used to fulfill the 32-credit-hour requirement for the M.S. degree.
Dear Prospective Applicant,
Thank you for your interest in the graduate program of the Department of Chemistry at UIC. We have a research faculty of 25, 15 postdoctoral research associates, and a diverse group of over 140 graduate students who study problems in biochemistry, analytical, inorganic, organic, and physical chemistry. For detailed information regarding our current research, please access our faculty page. Then click on the individual faculty pictures to review their research.
If you have decided that UIC is the university at which you would like to pursue your graduate education, we would welcome your application. All of the following items would be needed:
| • Application for Graduate Study. • Application fee ($50 for U.S. citizens; $60 for international applicants) • Original transcript and proof of degree • Application for Graduate Appointment • Personal Statement of research background and professional goals • Three letters of recommendation (see discussion below) • GRE general test report (see discussion below) • GRE subject test report (see discussion below) |
The Application for Graduate Appointment form, which is separate and distinct from the Application for Graduate Study, includes space for your Personal Statement. However, your Personal Statement can be submitted as a separate document. Click here for Application for Graduate Appointment form.
If you are an international applicant, you also need to provide:
| • Certified English translation of your transcript and degree certificate • TOEFL report (see discussion below) |
In order to facilitate the application process, we ask that you submit your Application for Graduate Study on-line as noted above. All paper documents should be mailed directly to the Department of Chemistry and we ask that you send all paper documents together in one envelope to:
| Graduate Coordinator Department of Chemistry (M/C 111) University of Illinois at Chicago 845 W. Taylor Street, Rm. 4500 SES Chicago, IL 60607-7061 U.S.A. |
It is very important to note that only original or certified copies of your academic records are acceptable. Your transcript and proof of degree must be attested by the Registrar or Deputy Registrar or Assistant Registrar of your university in original ink (not photocopied). All academic documents and the envelope in which they are enclosed must bear the original signature and seal of the Registrar or Deputy Registrar or Assistant Registrar of your university.
Letters of recommendation must be written by professors or employers who can accurately comment on your academic and research ability. All letters should be signed by the authors and accompanied by completed departmental Letter of Recommendation Cover Forms. All the envelopes in which your letters of recommendation are enclosed should be sealed and signed by the author over the seal.
Please ask ETS to send reports of your GRE general test, GRE subject test in chemistry, and TOEFL report to UIC. UIC’s institutional code is 1851, and our departmental code is 0301. Because it sometimes takes three months for the GRE scores to reach us, you can help us by enclosing a photocopy of your test reports with your application. GRE scores provide a measure of your academic progress and are also necessary information in order to be considered for a possible future fellowship.
The minimum TOEFL score required by the University of Illinois at Chicago is 213 for the computer-based test. For the TOEFL iBT test, a minimum total score of 80 is required with minimum sub-scores as follows: Writing 21; Speaking 20; Listening 17; Reading 19. Note that the total score has been set higher than the sum of the sub-scores.
Please note that the TOEFL examination is not required for students who have completed at least two academic years of full-time study in a country where English is the native language and in a school where English is the language of instruction within five years of the proposed date of enrollment at UIC.
The deadline to receive all application materials for international students applying for the Fall 2008 semester is February 15, 2008 The deadline to receive application materials for U.S. citizens and permanent residents who wish to apply for Fall 2008 dmission is March 15, 2008.
Most first-year graduate students in the Chemistry Department are supported through teaching assistantships. The level of support for students who will enter in the Fall of 2007 is approximately $22,000 for 12 months. Students are considered for research assistantships (support from a research grant), after they are established in a research group and have demonstrated substantial research ability. In addition, all graduate students holding teaching or research assistantships are exempted from tuition and the service fee. The remission of tuition and service fees is equivalent to approximately $9,600 per year for residents and $25,000 per year for non-residents.
At the beginning of each calendar year, the Graduate College awards a limited number of University Fellowships based on an all-campus competition to outstanding applicants. These awards, which carry an annual stipend of $20,000 and a tuition and service fee waiver, depend primarily on the academic promise and scholarly achievement of the applicant. If you are applying for the Fall semester and wish to be considered for a University Fellowship, please be sure to submit your application and all supporting documents before January 1, 2008
We look forward to receiving your application and appreciate your interest in doing graduate work in chemistry at the University of Illinois at Chicago. If you need any clarification or additional information, please send your questions to chemgrad@uic.edu .