Chemistry

Opportunities for graduate studies

The Department of Chemistry offers master of science and doctor of philosophy degrees. You can obtain a master's degree in chemistry with a concentration in analytical, industrial, inorganic, organic or physical chemistry, or in chemistry education. The chemistry education and industrial chemistry specializations are targeted to teachers and industrial employees, and the department has classroom-based and online programs in each area. Thesis or dissertation research in any concentration is possible except in industrial chemistry. Evening and Internet classes are available.

Research emphases include computational chemistry, spectroscopy, electrochemistry, materials chemistry, molecular dynamics and kinetics, organometallic chemistry, nuclear magnetic resonance, organic synthesis and mechanisms, thermochemistry, catalysis, and forensics. Interdisciplinary research opportunities are available and highly encouraged.

Research laboratories are in the new 107,000-square-foot Chemistry Building and the 63,000-square-foot Science Research Building. The department maintains a wide range of instrumentation to facilitate sophisticated graduate research, including research in computational chemistry, chemical analysis, mass spectral analysis, materials and surface characterization, nuclear magnetic resonance, UV-vis-IR and laser spectroscopy, and X-ray structure determination. Ph.D. staff members in X-ray crystallography, NMR and computational chemistry provide additional expertise and maintain and administer sophisticated departmental equipment.

Admission requirements

For admission into the master's and doctoral chemistry programs, you must meet the admission requirements of UNT's Toulouse School of Graduate Studies and the program's specific requirements.

The graduate school requires:

• a bachelor's degree from an accredited four-year college or university
• a minimum GPA of 3.0 on the last 60 undergraduate semester credit hours, 2.8 on all undergraduate course work or 3.4 on any completed graduate degree

International students whose native language is not English need a minimum score of 550 on the Test of English as a Foreign Language. Official transcripts or test score reports are documentation that the requirements have been met. For exceptions to these requirements, access UNT's graduate catalog online at www.unt.edu/catalog or contact the graduate school.

U.S. applicants apply directly to the Toulouse School of Graduate Studies. International applicants apply to the Office of International Admissions. However, to speed up the application process, the department recommends that you send a copy of all application materials to the chair of the chemistry department's Graduate Affairs Committee. The department has no formal admission deadline, but early application is encouraged because of the limited number of available teaching assistant positions.

The chemistry graduate degree programs also require you to have:

• a minimum 3.0 GPA on the last 60 undergraduate semester credit hours
• a minimum GRE score of 391 (verbal) and 555 (quantitative)
• two letters of recommendation

Achieving minimum scores does not guarantee admission into the program. Program admission is competitive. Generally, higher scores are required for financial assistance.

Degree requirements

M.S. degrees

Analytical, inorganic, organic or physical chemistry

In seeking a master's degree in one of these areas, you will plan a program with the assistance of the advisory professor and the advisory committee. You must present credit for at least 30 semester hours while maintaining a B average in all formal chemistry course work. The chemistry department requires completion of three of the four core courses (analytical, inorganic, organic and physical), one of which must be in your area of research, with an average grade of at least a B. You must write a thesis describing the research and defend the thesis at an oral examination administered by the advisory committee.

Chemistry education

This program is designed primarily for pre-service or in-service education professionals who desire to enter a graduate program. With the aid of the chemistry education adviser, you will choose a 30-semester-hour program including a thesis or a 36-semester-hour program without a thesis. A minimum of 18 hours of formal course work in chemistry is required.

Industrial chemistry

This degree is available if you have a specific interest in a selected area of applied chemistry. Degree requirements are determined by consultation with the Graduate Affairs Committee. The program leads to a non-thesis degree requiring 36 semester hours of formal course work, including at least 18 hours in chemistry. Supplemental non-chemistry courses must include at least 12 hours and must be approved by your committee. You are also required to hold an industrial position in order to receive on-the-job training.

Ph.D. degree

For the Ph.D. degree, you are required to complete core courses in three of the four traditional areas of chemistry (analytical, inorganic, organic and physical), including your area of research. You must complete three additional advanced courses, including at least two offered by the chemistry department. A B average or better in these six courses must be maintained. Research must culminate in a written dissertation of demonstrable scientific merit. The department requires that at least one paper from your Ph.D. work be accepted in or submitted to a refereed journal by the time of the oral defense.

After completion of the formal course work, foreign language or computer science requirement, and doctoral candidacy exams (CHEM 6010), you will apply to the Toulouse School of Graduate Studies for admission to Ph.D. candidacy. This should be done at least one year prior to your final defense.

Financial assistance

Teaching assistantships and research fellowships are available to qualified graduate students. Teaching assistants receive a $1,637 monthly stipend and a comprehensive health insurance package as state employees. In some cases, health insurance is provided on a research assistantship. Teaching and research assistants pay in-state tuition.

New chemistry doctoral students may be considered for graduate school fellowships that can provide as much as $20,000 for the first year of study and a guarantee of departmental funding for two additional years. Similarly, new master's degree students are eligible for first-year fellowships of $10,000. You must be nominated for these fellowships by the department. Only early applicants can be considered.

New graduate students who have participated in Ronald E. McNair Post- baccalaureate programs are eligible for McNair Fellowships that pay $12,667 for the first year and one semester of graduate study. Contact the graduate school for information about the McNair Fellowships.

Facilities

Significant computing resources are available within the department via the Center for Advanced Scientific Computing and Modeling (CASCaM), including multiple state-of-the-art computer clusters located within the department's four server rooms. These resources are used for extensive quantum chemistry and molecular modeling applications. UNT also provides several computer clusters for research. All computers can be reached through the campus' wireless network and accessed from off-campus facilities. The department also houses the Computational Chemistry Instructional Laboratory (CCIL), which provides you with hardware and software resources and computational chemistry expertise.

The Department of Chemistry maintains an inventory of commonly used chemicals and laboratory supplies. A full-time master glassblower repairs and fabricates scientific glassware and assists in designing special glass apparatuses. The chemistry and biology departments share an electronics shop that contains a large supply of electrical items and commonly used equipment including oscilloscopes, voltmeters and amplifiers. Shop personnel repair instruments in the department and aid in the design and maintenance of specialized equipment for individual research groups.

Library system

The UNT libraries contain printed books, periodicals, electronic databases, maps, documents, microforms, audiovisual materials and a large and growing number of electronic journals and books. Among the electronic journals and books are all American Chemical Society and Elsevier journals and the literature-search program SciFinder. The Science and Technology Library holdings emphasize biology, chemistry, computer sciences, library science and physics and also have an outstanding collection in mathematics. Catalogs for other major research libraries throughout the world can be searched electronically and documents can be ordered through UNT's interlibrary loan department.

Through the Tex-Share program, administered by the Texas State Library, UNT has borrowing privileges with academic and public libraries throughout the state. UNT libraries also hold membership in the Center for Research Libraries, giving you access to unique materials no longer available in other libraries around the country.