Master of Science in Chemical Sciences (MSCB)

The Master of Science in Chemical Sciences (MSCB) is a thesis-based program with tracks in Chemistry and Biochemistry. The MSCB offers a flexible curriculum, individually tailored to the student's background and research interests. The program is 33-credit-hours of coursework with research opportunities in all areas of chemistry and biochemistry, from synthetic organic chemistry to enzymology. Current research areas include the traditional sub-discipline areas of chemistry and biochemistry as well as interdisciplinary areas such as chemical biology, astrochemistry, and materials science including nanochemistry. Ongoing projects are funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), the National Institutes of Health, the Research Corporation for Scientific Advancement, and the Petroleum Research Fund. The MSCB will prepare students to think in an interdisciplinary fashion about problems in chemistry, biochemistry and many other related areas of study. This program is designed to allow students to complete course work and thesis research within two academic years.
 
Qualified students admitted to the program will be awarded a teaching assistantship, helping to instruct undergraduate students in general chemistry lab classes. This award includes a tuition waiver and a stipend of $12,000 for the first 10 months in the program. They will take graduate courses, attend seminars and begin their work with potential research mentors on projects that demonstrate the interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary nature of inquiry in the chemical sciences. In the second year, students will work closely with their mentors on their thesis projects. 

Successful candidates will have completed requirements for the bachelor degree in a college accredited by a recognized regional accrediting association within the U.S., or in an equivalent institution outside the U.S. (accredited by a recognized accrediting agency) that has been authorized to operate by their respective governments either as agencies of the government or as private (nongovernmental) organizations. Successful candidates will have taken the Quantitative Reasoning and Verbal Reasoning sections on the Graduate Record Examination (GRE). Successful candidates will typically have a grade point average of at least 3.0 (on a 4.0 scale).

Adequately prepared applicants must demonstrate core competency as reflected by the record of undergraduate coursework in biology, chemistry, physics and mathematics, with a degree focus in one of these areas. The core includes 8 semester hours of physics with labs, 16 hours of general and organic chemistry with labs, 8-9 hours of math including calculus, and 8-20 hours of upper level chemistry and/or biochemistry and/or biology. It is important that the record reflects adequate preparation at the undergraduate level in order to succeed in the MSCB. An applicant who is deemed deficient in one or two courses by the admissions committee may be admitted into the program under the condition that the missing undergraduate courses be taken in addition to the graduate program requirements; these will not count toward the degree and are not eligible for the tuition waver.

The deadline for applications for the Fall 2013 semester is April 1, 2013. We anticipate that six students will be accepted into the inaugural class, with the number of entering students increasing to approximately 10 in later years. 

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