Requirements and Regulations for Graduate Degrees
Revision 11/2002. This document has been approved
by the Department.
Table of contents:
Graduate Student Responsibility
All graduate students will be provided with a current
copy of this document.
The student is responsible for becoming familiar
with the content of this document
and for following the specific
requirements and regulations outlined.
Student Advisement
Placement Examinations
During the week before the beginning of classes,
each admitted student is given four written
examinations (ACS standard or equivalent examination) in the four divisions
of chemistry: analytical,
inorganic, organic,
physical (biochemistry
might be taken in lieu of one of the above). The results of these examinations
are used to place the student in appropriate
courses and to advise the student regarding
any deficiencies
to be corrected.
Every student is required to earn at least three passes in these four exams
(a passing grade is set at 50th percentile
according
to the ACS standard tests) as part of their satisfactory
progress in the program. Students admitted into the doctoral
program who fail to earn three passes at the first try can
take a remedial courses in each
failed subject and earn a grade of ‹AŠ which
will be counted as a passing grade. Alternatively,
these students can retake the exams in the
failed subjects within the first year and pass
in up to two more tries. At the end of the first year, students in the
doctoral program are expected
to accumulate
at least three passes in these examinations; and students who fail to do so
will be transferred to the master‰s program. For students admitted into
the Master‰s program, it is required that they take a remedial course
in the failed subject. Therefore, we
strongly encourage and expect
beginning students to review the appropriate undergraduate material before taking
these examinations.
Introduction to Research
Techniques
All graduate students must register for Chemistry 592, Introduction
to Research, during the first fall semester
in residence.
Advisement
At the beginning of the first semester in residence,
each admitted student will meet with the Graduate
Advisor to plan the semester's course work
and register for classes. Each
student must select a research
director, preferably during the first semester,
but no later than the end of the second semester.
After selecting a research
director, the student must obtain the advise
and approval of the research director
for course registration. The Graduate Advisor
may approve registration in the research director's
absence.
Assistantship Support
Continuation of assistantship support is contingent
upon the student making satisfactory progress
toward a degree. In addition, continuation
of teaching assistantship support depends upon
satisfactory performance
of assigned duties. The graduate school has
established time limits for financial support.
Minimum Registration
All students admitted to the department will register for a minimum of 9 credit-hours
every semester in residence except
during the first semester, summer sessions, and while registered for Chem 601
only. In the first semester, the students must register for a minimum of 6 credit-hours,
and in every summer session, a minimum of 3 credit-hours.
Registration for less than this requirement is not considered
satisfactory progress toward a degree.
Master's Degree Requirements
Each student must fulfill the requirements
of both the Graduate School
and the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
to be awarded a Master of Science
degree in Chemistry. The student is responsible for knowing these requirements
and fulfilling them in a timely manner.
The departmental requirements and procedures
for the Master's program follow. For the convenience
of the student, a summary of the Graduate
School's
requirements are also included here, but the
student should also consult the graduate catalog
for the complete requirements.
Admission to the Master's Program
Students are admitted to the master's program by the graduate school
only upon recommendation of the Department
Admissions Committee. Qualified students who wish ultimately to obtain a Ph.D.
degree are encouraged to apply for direct
admission to the doctoral program.
Research Director
and Graduate Committee Selection
Each student must select
a research director
and graduate committee no later than the end
of the second semester in residence.
The student should obtain a Graduate Advisor selection
form and must interview at least four faculty
members before selecting a research
director and assembling a graduate committee.
Each faculty
member interviewed should initial the selection
form. After selecting a research
director, the student, in consultation
with the research director,
should select a graduate committee
and request each member of the committee
to serve. The members of the committee indicate
their willingness to serve by signing the selection
form. This request to form a committee is approved
by the department Chairman or by the Graduate Advisor if delegated by the Chairman.
The committee shall consist
of: the research director
(chairman of the committee),
at least one member of the major division other than the research
director and a member outside the major division.
The chair of the Department of Chemistry and
Biochemistry, if not otherwise appointed, is
an ex-officio member of every graduate committee.
Master's committees do not require a member
from outside the department, but students transferring into the doctoral
program must add an outside member to the committee.
An additional member or members may be appointed to the committee
if desired by the student or research director.
Graduate Committee Functions
The committee will meet as soon as possible
after being appointed to plan the student's program of study. It is the student's
responsibility to see that the committee is
formed and that this initial meeting is scheduled
within six months after the date the student has chosen
a research director.
At this time the progress and program form is completed
and filed with the Graduate Advisor. The committee
will meet whenever necessary (but at least
once per year) to (1) review the student's
progress in courses and suggest and approve
changes in the program of study, (2) evaluate
the student's progress in research and make
appropriate recommendations and (3) determine
whether the student should continue toward
a degree. If continuation is denied, the committee
must notify in writing the department Chairman of the reasons for this denial.
After the student completes the program of
study, a research project
and a thesis, the committee will read and evaluate
the thesis and conduct
a final oral examination.
Research Tools
The department requires no specific
research tools. A student's graduate committee,
taking into account
the student's background and the needs of the
research area, may require that the student
acquire one or more research
tools (e.g., foreign language, computer programming,
statistics, etc.).
It is the student's responsibility to see that any research
tool requirement is completed before scheduling
the final oral examination.
Formal Coursework Requirement
Each student must complete
the courses specified
by the student's graduate committee in the
program of study. Generally, these will include
the courses specified
by the major division for master's degree students. (See Appendix I.)
The minimum course requirement for Master‰s
students follows the ‹2+1Š format. All master's students must take for
credit at least two courses
(six semester hours) within the student‰s major field (courses
listed in Appendix I) and at least one (three semester hours) from outside the
major field. Chemistry 451 and certain
400-level courses outside the department may
be used to meet this requirement. Chemistry 594, special
readings, cannot be used to meet this requirement.
A student's graduate committee may increase
any of these departmental course requirements.
For a student working in a cross-divisional
area, the committee will design an appropriate
program of study in consultation with the Graduate
Advisor and the faculty of the divisions involved.
Each student for graduation must earn at least
30 credit hours at the 400- or 500-level. At
least 15 of these 30 hours must be at the 500-level. These 15 hours include
500-level credit graded S/U such
as Chem 592, 597, 598, and 599. At least 21 of these 30 hours must be formal
coursework with grades of A, B, or C. These
21 hours include 400-level coursework
within or without the department.
First Year Evaluation
The faculty, meeting as a committee-of-the-whole,
will review the progress of all graduate students at the end of their first
year in residence. For students in the master's
program the faculty can:
1.
recommend petitioning the Graduate
School
to allow direct entry to the doctoral
program (accelerated
entry option). Such petition can
be made anytime after one semester in residence.
2.
recommend continuation
in the master's program with option to petition the Graduate
School
to grant a master's degree equivalency. When
granted, this allows the student to apply to enter the doctoral
program after completing all degree requirements
except writing and defending a thesis.
3.
recommend continuation
in the master's program with option to petition to enter the doctoral
program after completion of a master's thesis.
4.
recommend continuation
in a terminal master's degree program.
5.
request that the Graduate School
terminate the student from the program (giving cause).
Seminar
A student in the master's program must attend weekly departmental seminars
and must earn one credit hour of Chemistry
595 by presenting a graded departmental seminar.
Grade Point Average
All students must maintain at least a 3.00 GPA
The Graduate School
places any student whose GPA falls below 3.00
on academic
probation. Any student who is on academic
probation and has been on academic
probation for at least one academic
term and who has accumulated
six or more hours of C or its equivalent unbalanced
by A in 400- or 500-level courses will be dropped
from the Graduate School. An overall GPA of
at least 3.00 in all graduate work included
in the master's degree program is required before that degree can
be awarded.
Research and Thesis
A research project
is required of all graduate students. A student in the master's program must
earn at least 3 but not more than 6 credit
hours of thesis (Chemistry 599) and at least 8 credit
hours total in research and thesis (Chemistry
596, 598 and 599). Master's degree research
(Chemistry 596) is limited to 6 credit hours
and cannot be taken until at least 9 credit
hours of graded coursework in the department
have been completed. The results of the student's
research must be presented in the form of a
thesis acceptable
both to the student's committee and to the
Graduate School.
Extended Registration
A student who has completed all master's degree
requirements with the exception of writing
a thesis, and who is in the process of writing
a thesis, must register for Chemistry 601 (1 to 12 credit
hours per semester) until the thesis is completed
and defended.
Final Oral Examination
A student in the master's program must schedule
and pass a final oral examination (defense of thesis). Copies of the thesis
must be presented to members of the student's graduate committee
at least one week before the examination.
Doctoral Degree Requirements
Each student must fulfill the requirements
of both the Graduate School
and the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
to be awarded a Doctor of Philosophy degree
in Chemistry. The student is responsible for knowing these requirements and
fulfilling them in a timely manner.
The departmental requirements and procedures
for the doctoral program follow. For the convenience
of the student, a summary of the Graduate
School's
requirements are also included here, but the
student should also consult the graduate catalog
for complete requirements.
Admission to the Doctoral
Program
A student with a baccalaureate
degree may be admitted to the doctoral program
by the Graduate School
if recommended by the Department Admissions
Committee. Students admitted to the Master's program may transfer to the Doctoral
program via the Accelerated
Entry option or the Master's Equivalency if
approved by the Faculty of the department at
the student's first year review and by the student's master's committee.
(See the Graduate School Catalog for definitions
of these terms and descriptions of the procedures.)
Admission following completion of a Master
of Science
degree in this department is possible if approved by the faculty
of the department.
The Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry
strongly encourages students who have obtained
undergraduate degrees in this department to apply for admission to doctoral
programs elsewhere. It is in the student's best interest to broaden his or her
education. However, students who have received
an undergraduate degree in our department may be admitted to the doctoral
program under exceptional circumstances
if approved by the faculty as a whole.
Research Director
and Graduate Committee Selection
Each student must select
a research director
and graduate committee no later than the end
of the second semester in residence.
The student must obtain a selection form provided
by the Graduate Advisor and interview at least four faculty
members before selecting a research
director and graduate committee.
Each faculty
member interviewed should initial the selection
form. After selecting a research
director, the student, in consultation
with the research director,
will select a graduate committee
and request each member of the committee
to serve. The members of the committee indicate
their willingness to serve by signing the selection
form. This request to form a committee is approved
by the department Chairman or Graduate Advisor. The committee
shall consist of the research
director (chairman),
at least one member of the major division other than the research
director, a member outside the major division,
and a member outside the department. The committee
must have a minimum of five members. The chair
of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry,
if not otherwise appointed, is an ex-officio
member of every graduate committee. An additional
member or members may be appointed to the committee
if desired by the student or research director.
A student entering the doctoral program from
the master's program may either establish a new graduate committee
or keep the existing committee (provided it
is properly constituted for the doctoral program).
Graduate Committee Functions
The committee will meet as soon as possible
after being appointed to plan the student's program of study. It is the student's
responsibility to see that the committee is
formed and that this initial meeting is scheduled
within six months after the date the student has chosen
a research director.
At this time the progress and program form is completed
and filed with the Graduate Advisor. The committee
will meet whenever necessary (but at least
once per year) to (1) review the student's
progress in courses and suggest and approve
changes in the program of study, (2) evaluate
the student's progress in research and make
appropriate recommendations, and (3) determine
whether the student should continue toward
a degree. If continuation is denied, the committee
must notify in writing the department chair
of the reasons for this denial. For students admitted to the doctoral
program without a master's degree, the committee
may require the preparation and defense of a master's thesis even if previous
approval of directly pursuing a Ph.D. degree
has been given by the faculty. After the student
completes the cumulative
examination series and an original research
proposal, the committee will administer the
preliminary oral examination (see below). After the student completes
the program of study, a research project,
and a dissertation, the committee will read
and evaluate the dissertation and conduct
a final oral examination (see below).
Research Tools
The department requires no specific
research tools. A student's graduate committee,
taking into account
the student's background and the needs of the
research area, may require that the student
acquire one or more research
tools (e.g., foreign language, computer programming,
statistics, etc.).
It is the student's responsibility to see that any research
tool requirement is completed before scheduling
the preliminary oral examination.
Formal Coursework Requirement
Each student must complete
the courses specified
by the student's graduate committee in the
program of study. Generally, these will include
the courses specified
by the major division for doctoral degree students.
(See Appendix I.)
The minimum course requirement for doctoral
students follows the ‹2+2Š format. All doctoral
students must take for credit at least two
courses (six semester hours) within the student‰s
major field (courses listed in Appendix I)
and at least two courses (six semester hours)
from outside the major field. Chemistry 594, special
readings, cannot be used to meet this six hour
requirement. Courses taken while in the master's program may be applied to these
department course requirements. A student's
graduate committee may increase
these course requirements.
For a student working in a cross-divisional
area, the committee will design an appropriate
program of study in consultation with the Graduate
Advisor and the faculty of the divisions involved.
First Year Evaluation
The faculty, meeting as a committee-of-the-whole,
will review the progress of all graduate students at the end of their first
year in residence. For students in the doctoral
program the faculty can:
1.
recommend continuation
in the doctoral program.
2.
recommend transfer to a terminal master's degree
program.
3.
request that the Graduate School
terminate the student from the program (giving cause).
Seminar
A student in the doctoral program must attend
weekly departmental seminars and must earn three credit
hours of Chemistry 595 by presenting departmental seminars. These seminars include
one based on the current literature, the second
on the topic of an original research
proposal, and the final seminar on the student's own research.
Only the last two seminars are required of students entering the doctoral
program with a recognized master's degree or
who have presented an acceptable
seminar in the master's program of this department before transferring to the
doctoral program.
Grade Point Average
All students must maintain at least a 3.00 GPA. No course
in which the grade is below C counts
toward the Ph.D. degree; however, the grade does count
in the student's GPA.
Preliminary Examination
Each student in the doctoral
program must pass a preliminary examination before being advanced
to candidacy.
The first portion of the preliminary examination is given cumulatively.
The second portion of the preliminary examination
is the preparation and oral defense of an original research
proposal. The preliminary examination process
generally will begin in the second year of
full time study or its equivalent beyond the baccalaureate
and will be completed within a period of no
more than three regular academic
semesters (summers not included).
Cumulative Examinations
Ten cumulative examinations are scheduled
each calendar
year with four examinations in each fall and
spring semester and two in the summer session. Students must begin taking cumulative
examinations at the start of their second calendar
year or immediately upon admission to the doctoral
program if one calendar year has already been
completed in the master's program. Students
must declare their intention to begin taking
these examinations to the Coordinator of Cumulative Examinations at least one
week before taking their first examination. Thereafter, examinations must be
taken consecutively.
Generally, all cumulative examinations are
taken in the major division. In the case of
a cross-divisional student, the graduate committee
will establish a schedule by which
the examinations are to be divided between divisions. The established schedule
must be followed by the student.
Cumulative examinations may be written, oral, or take-home examinations. All
divisions will give their written examinations simultaneously at a time and
place posted at least ten days in advance.
The subject of an examination may be announced
in advance at the discretion
of the faculty member preparing the examination.
Each examination will be prepared, graded,
and recorded by one member of the faculty
who will determine the pass-fail line on that examination. Each
division will determine the faculty member
responsible for each scheduled
cumulative examination.
Each student must pass four (4) examinations
in no more than ten (10) consecutive
trials in order to continue for the doctoral
degree. The student is not liable for any examinations during any time when
not enrolled in school. If a cumulative
examination is not available at the scheduled
time for any reason, the examination will be rescheduled,
using a date and time that is within seven days of the originally scheduled
examination and which is convenient
to the students' schedule.
The faculty member responsible for grading
an examination will give the results of the examination in writing to the Cumulative
Examination Coordinator. The Cumulative Examination Coordinator will notify
each student taking the examination whether
the examination was passed or failed. Copies of this notification
will be sent to the Graduate Advisor, the Research
Director, and the student's file.
Research Proposal and Preliminary
Oral Examination
The preparation and defense of an original research
proposal serves as the second portion of the
preliminary examination. For this portion, there exists a Proposal Evaluation
Committee (PEC) to consist of the student's
entire graduate committee save for the member
from outside the department. The department chair,
if serving on the graduate committee as an
ex-officio member, will be a non-voting member
of this PEC. Initial work on the proposal should be initiated when the student
begins taking cumulative examinations, as the
first draft of the written proposal (see below) must be submitted to the PEC
before the end of the student's second calendar
year.
The student chooses the topic
for an original research proposal. The topic
must be approved by the Proposal Evaluation Committee (PEC) at a meeting in
which the student outlines the proposal idea.
The topic may use the techniques
of the student's research project,
but must not be an extension of the project.
The proposal must be original with the student.
After obtaining approval of the topic, the
student will prepare a written proposal in accord
with the prescribed format. (See Appendix II.)
During preparation, the student may obtain advice
and suggestions from any faculty member but
the proposal itself must be original with the student.
The student must complete preparation of the
proposal and submit it to the PEC before January of his or her third calendar
year. The committee is allowed
one week for evaluation of the proposal. The evaluation will include
at least one meeting of the PEC. The evaluation shall be by a numerical
score from 1.0 (lowest) to 4.0 (highest). An
average score of 3.0 shall be required to pass.
The scores will be accompanied
by a written review by each voting PEC member.
If the score is less than 3.0, the proposal
must be revised and resubmitted within 30 days. The re-evaluation will follow
the same procedure as described
above. Only one re-submission is allowed. A second
failure will be reported in writing by the PEC to the Department Chair and to
the Director of Graduate Studies. The latter
will request that the Graduate School
terminate the student from our doctoral program.
In most cases, the students will be eligible
for a Master‰s degree.
Copies of the final approved proposal must be provided to all members of the
student's graduate committee at least one week
before the date of the preliminary oral examination.
Within 30 days of receiving notification
of a passing grade, the student shall schedule
a preliminary oral examination (defense of the proposal). This oral defense
shall consist of a formal open seminar at which
the student will present the proposal for credit
as Chemistry 595. After questions from the general audience,
the student's graduate committee will conduct
an oral examination of the student. The grade for Chemistry 595 is based on
the oral presentation and is independent of the oral examination.
Only one attempt is allowed to pass the preliminary oral examination (defense
of the research proposal). However, if the
committee cannot
decide whether to pass or fail the student
at the end of the scheduled examination time,
they may vote to continue the examination at
a later date. Only one such continuation
is allowed. The decision of the committee
to pass the student or to continue the examination
must be made with a majority vote of the committee.
The student, the department chairman, and the
director of graduate studies will be notified
by the chairman of the graduate committee
in writing on the next working day after the examination whether the result
was Pass, Fail, or Continue. If a continuation
is required, it must be scheduled no earlier
than 30 days and no later than 90 days after the original oral examination date.
Research and Dissertation
A research project
is required of all graduate students. A student in the doctoral
program must earn at least 32 credit hours
in research and dissertation (Chemistry 598
and 600). A minimum of 24 hours must be dissertation credit
(Chemistry 600). The results of the research
must be presented in the form of a dissertation acceptable
both to the student's committee and to the
Graduate School.
Admission to Candidacy
Formal admission to Ph.D. candidacy
is requested after the student passes the preliminary examination as described
above and has satisfied all other preliminary requirements including
the research tool requirement (if any) and
the graduate school residency
requirement. The graduate school requires a
residency of 24 credit
hours on campus as a doctoral
student in a period not to exceed four calendar
years with no more than 6 hours of deferred dissertation credit
applied. The request for admission to candidacy
is made by the Chairman of the student's graduate committee
to the Dean of the Graduate School
through the departmental Director of Graduate
Studies.
Extended Registration
A student who has completed all doctoral
degree requirements with the exception of writing
a dissertation, and who is in the process of
writing a dissertation, must register for Chemistry 601 (1 to 12 credit
hours per semester) until the dissertation is completed
and defended.
Final Oral Examination
A student in the doctoral program must schedule
and pass a final oral examination (defense of dissertation). The student will
present a departmental seminar for credit (Chemistry
595) based on the results of the research.
After questions from the general audience,
the student's graduate committee will conduct
an oral examination of the student. The grade for Chemistry 595 is based on
the seminar presentation and is independent of the oral examination. Copies
of the dissertation must be presented to members of the student's graduate committee
at least one week before the seminar and examination.
Appendix I
Divisional Courses Eligible for Degree Requirements
Analytical
Chem 531(3), Chem 532(3), Chem 535(3), Chem 539(3), and Chem 569(3)
Organic
Chem 541(3), Chem 542(3), Chem 543(3) and Chem 549(3)
Physical
Chem 560(3), 561(3), Chem 562(3), Chem 564(3), Chem 569(3), and Chem 468(3)
Materials
Chem 575(3), Chem 579(3) and Chem 479(3)
Appendix II
Recommended Format for the Original Research
Proposal
- Specific
Aims - limit one page
- Significance
- limit three pages
- Background - limit five pages
- Experimental Design and Methods - limit eight pages
- Biographical Sketch
- limit two pages
- Literature Cited - no page limit
- Proposal should be double spaced
and font size should be at least 12 points.
Comments and questions related to departmental information to: chemistry@chem.siu.edu
Comments and questions related to web server: webmaster@science.siu.edu
SIUC / College of
Science
/ Chemistry & Biochemistry
/graduate student guidelines
URL: http://www.science.siu.edu/chemistry/graduate/requirements.htm
Last updated: April 7, 2003
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