CHOOSING A RESEARCH ADVISOR. The Department has established an innovative Research Course that integrates all entering graduate students into the research environment of the department as early as possible yet has the flexibility to provide students with the opportunity to explore different research areas. During your first year of graduate school, you will have the opportunity to work in the laboratories of one or more faculty members prior to choosing your thesis advisor through participation in the Research Course. At the beginning of the first semester students attend a poster session in which all faculty present available research projects. Meetings with individual faculty members are then used to decide upon an advisor for the first semester. In addition, throughout the first term a weekly seminar program (Graduate Research Awareness Seminar Program - GRASP) will provide an opportunity for you to hear from all graduate faculty about research opportunities in their groups. In addition, many faculty members conduct informal seminars and hold research group "open houses" to introduce new graduate students both to members of their group, and to current laboratory efforts. In these ways, you will become acquainted with Departmental research, learn about opportunities open to you, and initiate a partnership with a research advisor.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS. Most students take four courses during the first two semesters and two during the following year: four within the Chemistry Department and two electives outside the Department. No other formal course work is required for the Ph.D. degree in chemistry. When entering the program, a series of proficiency exams is given covering biochemistry, analytical, inorganic, organic, and physical chemistry. The results of these exams, in conjunction with your particular interests, are employed in tailoring your first year’s course of study. You and your research advisor will customize the remainder of your course work to meet your interests and give you the opportunity to expand your areas of knowledge.

CANDIDACY EXAMINATION. Early in your research career, you will select a dissertation committee comprised of your research advisor and four other faculty members. As you work toward your degree, you will collaborate with this committee to review data and monitor the progress of your research. By the end of the second year, you will have prepared for and taken an oral candidacy exam. Preparing for this milestone includes a written proposal outlining your intended research and the direction your efforts will take. After finishing all exam and course requirements, and presenting a satisfactory research proposal, you will achieve Ph.D. candidacy.

THE PH.D. IN CHEMISTRY. As your experimental work draws to a close, a "data meeting" with your committee will help you formulate the body of your thesis and review interpretations of experimental data. This important discussion, which takes place four to six months before submitting your thesis, helps provide a smooth and rapid progression to the final thesis defense. The final Ph.D. requirement is the formal dissertation that summarizes your research contributions. Following committee acceptance of your thesis, a final oral exam is conducted and the Ph.D. degree is awarded.

THE TRANSITION TO EMPLOYMENT. The Department of Chemistry will help you apply your knowledge and talents well beyond achieving the degree itself. All of Michigan’s recent graduates are either employed or have undertaken a post-doctoral position upon graduation. The Chemistry Department’s goal is to help you make the transition from the University’s academic environment to the corporate, industrial, governmental or academic environment of your choice.

The Department of Chemistry’s Career Planning and Placement Office, devoted to serving Chemistry students, coordinates an active recruitment calendar each fall. Representatives from major pharmaceutical, biotechnology and chemical companies, as well as smaller corporations and laboratories visit the Chemistry Department for on-site interviewing. The Department also maintains detailed files on research activities and career opportunities at major chemical and pharmaceutical firms, and conducts workshops in resume writing and interviewing skills.

The University sponsors a central Career Planning and Placement Office, offering you an even broader range of job opportunities. This office maintains permanent files with students’ resumes and references, and will provide materials to prospective employers. Our graduates are employed across the country by companies large and small. In addition, they have been very successful in obtaining faculty positions in major universities, teaching colleges, and national laboratories.