Admissions, Financial Aid

Students who wish to apply for the graduate program in chemistry and biochemistry should have a strong undergraduate record in chemistry or a closely related discipline. Applicants are required to take the General Graduate Record Examination (GRE) and are strongly recommended to take the GRE subject exam. Applicants must complete two applications, one to the department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and a second one to the Graduate College. The departmental Application Forms are provided on this site. The Graduate College Application form is available through their web site.

All entering graduate students who remain in good standing are ensured of financial support for four years. This support usually comes in two forms: teaching assistantships and research assistantships. The current 12-month support for entering students (as of Fall 06) is $20,624 for the first year.

Teaching Assistantships involve half-time assignment to the teaching laboratories and recitation groups in general, organic, physical, biochemistry or analytical courses. Teaching assistants are responsible for laboratory instruction and grading. Contact hours range from six to eight hours per week.

Research assistantships are provided in the individual research groups. Most of these are awarded to graduate students who have demonstrated satisfactory progress during the first year or two of studies. These assistantships provide half-time appointments for the purpose of working in the research laboratory, usually of the student's research director. Generally, about half of our graduate students are supported by research assistantships and half by research assistantships.

In addition, new and continuing graduate students may qualify for various merit-based special awards. For example, entering students may be offered a Graduate College Fellowship that pays an additional $5,000 per year plus tuition and some professional development funds for four years. Students applying for admission to our graduate program will be automatically considered for such awards and no separate application is needed. Several teaching and research awards, typically ranging from $250 to $2,000 are also given each year to students who have excelled in their Teaching Assignment and/or research activities.