Chemistry (M.S.) Program Details
Degree Requirements
❱ Required coursework
❱ Qualifying or comprehensive examination
❱ Graduate School writing proficiency requirement
❱ Graduate School Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) requirement
❱ Thesis
❱ Final oral examination/Thesis defense
Research Areas & Interests
Faculty Research Interests
A sampling of research interests
- Structural, functional, and compositional analysis of bacterial cell walls
- Bioinorganic chemistry of 1st-row transition metals
- Structural chemistry of pharmaceutically active compounds
- Physical chemistry (experiment) and spectroscopy
- Cellular trafficking and exocytosis of matrix-metalloproteinase 9 (MMP-9) in cancer progression and metastasis
- Identification and characterization of genes involved in RNA silencing (siRNA, miRNA, endo-siRNA, and piRNA) in Drosophila Melanogaster
- Probing the adsorption and orientation of
- 2,3-dichloro-5,8-dimethoxy-1,4-naphthoquinone on gold nanorods
- Application and development of liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry to characterize the peptidoglycan compositions in bacteria
- Discovery of potential therapeutic agents from insect-associated symbiotic bacteria
- Investigating the modulatory roles of small molecules in biological systems
Modern Research Facilities
Analytical Instrumentation Capabilities
Analytical Instrumentation Capabilities
- Bruker 400MHz NMR
- Agilent Accurate-Mass TOF LC/MS
- Oxford Single Crystal X-Ray Diffractometer
- GENESYS 150 UV-Vis Spectrophotometer
- Perkin Elmer Spectrum 100 FTIR
Computational Capabilities
Computational Capabilities
- Department Computer Laboratory: 6 - iMacs (6-core, intel core i5 processor, 16 GB memory)
- 1 - ACT station Linus Machine (CentOS, 44-Core, 192 GB Memory)
- Software: Gaussian16, GaussView 6, SPARTAN, MatLab, Mathematica
Program of Study*
CORE COURSES
CHEM 201 Inorganic Chemistry
CHEM 231 Advanced Analytical Chemistry
CHEM 243 Advanced Organic Chemistry
CHEM 278 Advanced Physical Chemistry I
CHEM 279 Advanced Physical Chemistry II
ELECTIVE COURSES
A sampling of elective courses
CHEM 201 Physical Inorganic Chemistry
CHEM 228 Special Topics in Spectroscopy
CHEM 229 Electroanalytical Chemistry
CHEM 235 Techniques in Analytical Chemistry
CHEM 238 Chemical Instrumentation
CHEM 251 General Biochemistry
CHEM 258 Biophysical Chemistry
CHEM 260 Surfactant Synthesis
CHEM 266 Physical Properties of Polymers
CHEM 268 Polymer Characterization
CHEM 272 Statistical Chemical Thermodynamics
CHEM 275 Quantum Chemistry
CHEM 284 Introduction to Molecular Modeling
CHEM 297 Planetary Atmospheres I
THESIS
Thesis (6 CR)
*Courses included in the sample program of study are subject to change. Students should consult with their programs regarding their required program of study.
Admission to Candidacy
Students are admitted to formal candidacy by the Graduate School when they have completed the required coursework, passed the qualifying or comprehensive examination, submitted an approved topic for research, and been recommended by the Department. Candidates must also have satisfied the Graduate School writing proficiency requirement and Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) requirement.
Graduate Funding
Graduate research or teaching assistantships may be available at the department level that provide tuition remission and/or a stipend during the academic year. All students pursuing the M.S. degree must participate in some form of teaching activity. A grade point average of 3.2/4.0 is required in order to qualify for a teaching assistantship. Research assistants and teaching assistants work no more than 20 hours a week under the program's direction, usually in support of faculty research (research assistants) or in support of assigned courses (teaching assistants).