EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES
SUMMER JOBS AND INTERNSHIPS
1500 Chemistry, 647-2858
The Chemistry Department at U-M encourages its students to spend at least one summer during their undergraduate years in a chemistry-related job. Current postings are emailed regularly and posted on this website. Each fall, our Industrial Recruiting program brings companies from all over the country into the department looking to fill positions from the pre-BS to post-doctoral level. Through this program we arrange the interviews with companies who are recruiting here, identify positions available in other department research laboratories and generally facilitate the summer job search for our students. Whether looking for an internship, or doing on campus research, it is important to plan ahead. Write your resume in in mid-summer to use for internship interviews in Septemember-November or February. Consult the ACS publication, Resume Preparation - Tips for Chemical Professionals, and use the many resources available on campus for assistance in writing your resume.
INDUSTRIAL RECRUITING IN CHEMISTRY
1500 Chemistry
The University of Michigan Chemistry Department is fortunate in having its own Indusrial Recruiting program. Each Fall, recruiters come from large and small companies throughout the United States to recruit our students. Information on each company recruiting is available in 1500 and of course from their various websites.
The Department produces an Electronic Open Résumé file each year. Companies receive this access to this resource and their representative may contact candidates directly about job opportunities. Others may ask candidates to sign up for an interview if the company is interviewing in the department. Recruiting generally begins in mid-September, with the majority of companies coming before Thanksgiving.
Résumés should be submitted to the Student Services office by mid-August (an email will go out sometime the summer before requesting these documents.) The office is happy to assist with questions on preparation of a résumé as is the Career Center at 3200 SAB. The American Chemical Society publication, Resume Preparation - Tips for Chemical Professionals, is available on the web. You may also wish to attend a workshop on résumé writing at the Career Center.The Chemistry Department sponsors the Chemistry Placement Workshop each year in the Fall for BS, MS and PhD students. Learn about resources on campus, interviewing and plant trips, Chemistry Industrial Recruiting procedures, student experiences and the professor's role in the interview process. The Recruiting Schedule is generally available at this time also.
We email and post the following:- Specific jobs from industry that come to us through either written descriptions or telephone requests
- Fellowship and scholarship information for undergraduate and graduate students
- Academic positions
- Postdoctoral opportunities
THE CAREER CENTER
3200 SAB, 764-7460
The Chemistry Placement Office is a satellite of the Career Center, 3200 Student Activities Building. Additional services in the form of counseling, workshops and a library are available there. Most companies coming to recruit chemists come directly to Chemistry, though a few may be looking for chemistry or biochemistry concentrators as well as other disciplines at the Career Center. Students are encouraged to register at the Career Center and make use of their services.
REFERENCE LETTER SERVICES
You would be wise to start a Reference Letter File at Career Planning and Placement, 3200 Student Activities Building. This is a file containing letters of recommendation which you solicit from people who know you and the sort of work you are capable of doing, such as professors and employers. When you apply for a job or to graduate or professional school, you would send a request, plus payment, for each service to the Credentials Office and they would send your letters of recommendation to the admissions office or employer you name. Phone 764-7459 for more details or to access reference letters on line.
CAREER CENTER CONNECTOR
Career Center Connector is your link to employers seeking to hire UM, Ann Arbor students for internships and permanent positions. It includes job/internship postings, on-campus interviewing opportunities, employer presentations, and job/graduate school fair information.
GRADUATE SCHOOL INFORMATION
A file of graduate school catalogs on chemistry and biochemistry programs all over the United States is kept in 1500 Chemistry for the use of our undergraduate chemistry concentrators. There is also a larger file of catalogs in the Reference Room of the Graduate Library. Normally undergraduates are encouraged to pursue studies at other universities in order to obtain a broader perspective in their discipline. A possible schedule for application to graduate school follows.
Late in junior year. Some students like to take the regular GRE exam earlier than the Advanced Subject Exam so they can focus their study on the Advanced Exam. For GRE registration and information check the website (http://www.gre.org) or to schedule call 1-800-GRE-CALL. Subject tests for 1997-98 are Nov. 1, Dec. 13 and April 4.
Summer prior to, and very early in Senior year. Talk to as many faculty and students as you can to get information about potential graduate programs that match your background and experience. You can visit with nearby schools and other people whom your faculty might recommend. Criteria for selection of graduate programs often include the ranking of the department, area of interest, geography (and recruitment technique!).
September. Put together a list of schools and send for application packets. The letter may be addressed to "Chair, Department of Chemistry" or "Graduate Admission Office, Department of Chemistry". The addresses may be found in the ACS Directory of Graduate Research and the ACS Chemical Science Graduate School Finder. Libraries usually carry these and other resource books.
Early October. All students are strongly encouraged to apply for National Science Foundation (NSF) Fellowships. Applications are available in early October; initial application due November 1. You must have taken both GRE tests by or on the October testing date. Obtain the application from Fellowship Office, National Research Council, 2101 Constitution Avenue, Washington, DC 20418, (202) 334-2872.
October/November. Take the GRE and/or the Chemistry Advanced Test. Narrow your list of schools and complete the applications. Limit your personal statement to about a page. Indicate a bit about your motivations and philosophy, experience, and some idea of what your long term goals are. Remember this is a statement of present intent, not a binding contract. You are better off understanding your options and not being able to choose rather than be ignorant of the choices.
December/January. The timing of action on your application depends on the institution. Your application to the graduate school is also an application for financial support. This support can be in the form of a Teaching Assistantship (TA), a Research Assistantship (RA) or a Fellowship. The stipends will vary from school to school.
February/March. A trip to visit the potential graduate department is a great way to compare the various schools in your narrowed field of choices. Depending on the distance, schools may compensate you for all or part of your travel, housing and meals. Students often string their trips together over Spring Break. You will get a chance to meet both faculty and graduate students in the departments you visit.
Don't hesitate to ask any and all questions. Even when you are back home, the faculty members in charge of admissions/recruitment in the graduate departments will always accept and welcome your call.
One of the best things you can do for yourself is to get independent study/research experience as an undergraduate. Many schools have an Honors or Senior Thesis as part of the undergraduate degree. A number of schools offer Pre-Matriculation programs for entering graduate students.
Apply for scholarships. You may obtain a schedule of major graduate fellowship programs from the Fellowships Office, 160 Rackham Building, 764-8119, email: FLWSHIPS@Rackham.umich.edu). On line listing is on gopherblue: U of M & Ann Arbor\ Schools & Colleges\Rackham\ Fellowships. A table of funding follows for undergraduates.
| SCHOLARSHIP/ DEADLINE |
LEVEL | QUALIFY AREA | AVAILABLE |
| Barry Goldwater Late Fall | Soph/ Junior | Math, natural science, engineering. | Honors
Office 1228 Angell Hall |
Otto Graf Early January |
Incoming Honors Seniors |
Academic performance, intellectual accomplishment, potential for superior scholastic achievement. | Honors Office |
| Beinecke Memorial Early January | Junior | Unusual ability in field, eager to pursue at graduate level. Demonstrated financial need. | Honors Office |
| Churchill Foundation Early November | Senior | Study at Cambridge Churchill College. Science, math, engineering. GRE Aptitude and Achievement scores available by deadline. US citizen. | Honors Office |
| British Marshall September 15 | Senior | Study at British University. US citizen. | Honors Office |
| NSF November 1 | Senior | National competition for graduate students in science and engineering PhD programs. | Fellowship
Office National Research Council 2101 Constitution Avenue Washington, DC 20418 (202)334-2872 |
| ONR (Office of Naval Research) Early January | >Senior | Doctoral programs in Electrical Engineering, Computers, Material Science, Naval Architecture, Aerospace/Mechanical Engineering, etc. Citizens or nationals of US. | American
Society for Eng. Education (ASEE) 11 Dupont Circle Suite 200 Washington, DC 20036 (202)293-7080 |
| Rhodes Scholarship September 15 | Senior | Study at Oxford. US citizen. | Honors Office |