Program Overview

Program Overview

The Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry is a 75 semester credit hour program beyond the baccalaureate degree. The program is designed to be completed by full-time students enrolled in a minimum of 9 semester credit hours of approved graduate level courses per semester.

Faculty

The Department of Chemistry faculty includes:

• Professors:
  • Kenneth J. Balkus Jr.
  • Ray H. Baughman
  • Rockford K. Draper
  • John P. Ferraris
  • Inga H. Musselman
  • Bruce M. Novak
  • A. Dean Sherry
  • Mihaela C. Stefan
  • Jie Zheng
• Associate Professors:
  • Jung-Mo Ahn
  • Michael C. Biewer
  • Sheena D'Arcy
  • Gregg R. Dieckmann
  • Sheel Dodani
  • Jeremiah J. Gassensmith
  • Warren J. Goux
  • Gabriele Meloni
  • Steven O. Nielsen
  • Paul Pantano
  • John W. Sibert IV
  • Ronald A. Smaldone
• Assistant Professor:
  • Jiyong Lee
• Professor Emeritus:
  • Richard A. Caldwell
• Visiting Professor:
  • Jinming Gao
• UT Dallas Affiliated Faculty:
  • Yves J. Chabal
  • Lev D. Gelb
  • Manuel Quevedo-Lopez
  • Walter E. Voit
  • Amy V. Walker
  • Anvar A. Zakhidov

Objectives

The program is normally pursued by full-time students enrolled in a minimum of 9 semester credit hours of approved graduate level courses per semester.

Course Requirements

For a PhD student, the three core courses and CHEM 6389 must be completed successfully within the first two semesters of enrollment. In addition to these 12-semester credit hour course requirements, students seeking the PhD degree must take two upper-level elective courses, at least one of which must be offered by the Chemistry/Biochemistry Department, that are approved by the student's faculty research advisor and the Chemistry graduate advisor. PhD students are expected to complete these six required courses within the first two years of their enrollment. CHEM 8V99 is also required as part of the preparation of the dissertation. Additional elective courses may be taken with approval of the student's faculty research advisor and the Chemistry graduate advisor. Well-prepared students may request substitution of portions of the course requirements from the Committee on Graduate Studies in Chemistry. At least three organized courses must be taken at The University of Texas at Dallas.

Qualifying Examination

All PhD students must take the qualifying examination in the fall of their second year in the graduate program after successful completion of their three core courses and CHEM 6389. Students seeking the PhD degree are required to write, present, and defend an original research proposal (Qualifying Examination). A one-page outline (double-spaced) abstract presenting an overview of the proposal will be provided to members of the student's committee for approval. A written report (15 pages) should be submitted to each member of the committee at least one month before the public presentation. In addition to providing valuable experience to the student, this exam is used to assess the student's originality and skills in organizing an effective approach to solving a novel problem. The results of this examination will be one criterion upon which admission to doctoral candidacy will be judged.

Research

Students have the option of completing a thesis master's degree as part of their doctoral candidacy preparation, unless this requirement has been satisfied at the time of admission. The doctoral research project may be conducted in the same laboratory as the master's degree research or, in order to gain a broader research experience, in another laboratory. A manuscript embodying a substantial portion of the PhD dissertation research accomplished by the student must be submitted to a suitable professional refereed journal prior to the public seminar and dissertation defense. A public seminar, successful defense of the dissertation, and its acceptance by the Supervising Committee and the Graduate Dean conclude the requirements for the PhD.