Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry

Admission Requirements

The applicant must meet the School of Graduate Studies’ current minimum general admission requirements as published in the graduate catalog.

  1. A baccalaureate degree with a major in chemistry or allied fields.
  2. Undergraduate credit in mathematics through integral calculus.
  3. One year of physics.
  4. Satisfy the School of Graduate Studies’ English Language Proficiency requirements as published in the graduate catalog.

Degree Requirements

Students seeking the Doctor of Philosophy degree at the University of North Dakota must satisfy all general requirements set forth by the School of Graduate Studies as well as particular requirements set forth by the Chemistry Department.

The degree of Doctor of Philosophy with a major in chemistry is a research degree and is conferred only in recognition of high achievement in independent scientific research and scholarship.

A candidate for the Ph.D. degree with a major in chemistry must complete a research problem in one of the four fields of chemistry. The scope of the doctoral dissertation will be such as to require the equivalent of at least one full-time academic year of research. Some doctoral research will require a substantially longer time. This research is expected to make a significant contribution to the candidate’s chosen field of chemistry. When the major professor decides that the candidate has satisfactorily completed the research problem, the candidate, in accordance with the regulations of the University, is required to prepare a dissertation covering the research.

  1. Completion of 90 semester credits beyond the baccalaureate degree
  2. Maintenance of at least a 3.0 GPA for all classes completed as a graduate student.
  3. Required Courses:
    1. Two (2) credits of CHEM 509 Graduate Seminar
    2. Nine (9) credits of 500-level courses from one of the three specific major sequences listed below:
      Analysis and Applications
      CHEM 541Analytical Spectroscopy3
      CHEM 542Electrochemical Methods3
      CHEM 543Chromatography3
      Synthetic
      CHEM 511Advanced Inorganic Chemistry3
      CHEM 512Organometallic Chemistry3
      CHEM 520Advanced Organic Chemistry I3
      CHEM 521Advanced Organic Chemistry II3
      CHEM 522Advanced Organic Chemistry III3
      CHEM 475Materials Chemistry3
      Theory
      CHEM 530Chemical Thermodynamics3
      or PHYS 543 Statistical Physics
      or CHE 509 Advanced Chemical Engineering Thermodynamics
      CHEM 531Chemical Dynamics3
      CHEM 532Quantum Mechanics in Chemistry3
      or PHYS 539 Quantum Mechanics
    3. Three (3) credits of CHEM 519 Special Topics in Chemistry
    4. Scholarly Tools: Up to 9 credits of foundational classes, either from other Departments (subject to approval by the student's advisory committee) or those listed below:
      CHEM 466Fundamentals of Physical and Biophysical Chemistry3
      CHEM 454Inorganic Chemistry II3
      CHEM 333Analytical Chemistry3
      CHEM 361Problem Solving in Organic Chemistry I1
      CHEM 362Problem Solving in Organic Chemistry II1
      CHEM 510Intermediate Inorganic Chemistry3
    5. Nine (9) credits of elective courses (at least six must be 500-level Chemistry courses; three of these nine must be taken in divisions other than the major). Some of these credits may be replaced by Scholarly Tools as described above if deemed appropriate.
    6. CHEM 599 Research 55-57 credits
    7. CHEM 999 Dissertation 10-12 credits

    8. Passing of the Comprehensive Exam is required. To advance to Candidacy, the student must also file a Topic proposal.