Dec 22, 2024

2024-2025 Graduate Catalog [Current Academic Year]

Chemistry [M.S.]

Location(s): In-person/hybrid

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This program offers in-depth chemistry education for people in chemistry-related industries or governmental positions. It is also suitable for those who wish to receive formal training before entering the job market or pursuing a doctoral degree.

This is a STEM-designated program (see OPT Extension).

Program Admission

Admit Terms and Deadlines

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis; students may start the program in the Fall. See Application Deadlines.

In special cases, students may start coursework during the Winter semester. Applicants should contact the department before selecting “Winter” on their application.

Minimum Graduate School Requirements

For full admission, applicants must have 1) Earned a four-year baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited U.S. institution or an equivalent degree from a non-U.S. institution, 2) a minimum cumulative undergraduate grade point average of 2.7 on a 4.0 scale, or 3.0 in the last half of the undergraduate program. Conditional admission may be available to applicants not meeting minimum admission requirements.

Program Requirements

Applicants must also meet the following program requirements. Requirements may be more stringent than the minimum graduate school requirements.

An undergraduate degree with a major or a strong minor (approximately 25 hours) in chemistry.
Undergraduate Coursework
- One year of calculus-based college physics (PHY 223 /PHY 224 ) and calculus.
- Advanced undergraduate courses in organic, physical, and analytical chemistry and inorganic or biochemistry.
- The graduate coordinator will ascertain competency and the need for remedial work in deficient areas. Students who do not meet the minimum academic admission requirements may be admitted conditionally to the MS in Chemistry degree program and will be expected to complete the conditions by the end of the first year.
Submission of Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) general test scores required for all applicants.
Applicants will write a one-page statement on their motivation and rationale for seeking admission to the program. This statement should describe their academic background and articulate how this program relates to their professional goals.

Application

Your application will be submitted using GradCAS, a Centralized Application Service (CAS) hosted by Liaison. After reviewing the admission requirements, please review the application instructions and select the appropriate application.

- Go to 2023-2024 GradCAS to apply to a program beginning in Summer 2024, Fall 2024, or Winter 2025.

- Go to 2024-2025 GradCAS to apply to a program beginning in Summer 2025, Fall 2025, or Winter 2026.

Domestic Applicants Domestic applicants are required to submit only the transcript from the institution granting their bachelor’s degree if either of the following criteria is met: 1) Lists 30 or more credit hours with an overall GPA of 3.0 or over OR 2) Lists 60 or more credit hours with an overall GPA between 2.7 and 2.99. Within the application, follow the instructions to submit an official transcript. The University may ask applicants to submit additional transcripts after applying.

International Applicants Before applying, applicants must review the international application/process deadlines at emich.edu/international as they may differ from general program requirements.

For additional information regarding the application process, please see Graduate Admissions or International Admissions.

Department Information

Chemistry 541 Science Complex, 734.487.0106

Harriet Lindsay, PhD, Department Head

Advisor Information

Deborah Heyl-Clegg, PhD, Graduate Coordinator, 541C Science Complex, 734.487.2057

Undergraduate Courses for Academic Deficiencies

Students are expected to meet the requirement of an undergraduate granted ACS Chemistry Degree. If not, they must take courses to meet their deficiencies during their first year of graduate studies (by the time they have earned 18 credit hours).

THESE COURSES CAN BE REQUIRED FOR STUDENTS WITH ACADEMIC DEFICIENCIES BUT WILL NOT COUNT TOWARDS CREDITS IN THEIR PROGRAM OF STUDY TO EARN A MASTER’S DEGREE

CHEM 361 Fundamentals of Physical Chemistry 4 hrs
CHEM 371 Organic Chemistry I 3 hrs
CHEM 372 Organic Chemistry II 3 hrs
CHEM 373 Organic Chemistry Laboratory 3 hrs
CHEM 432 Advanced Inorganic Chemistry 3 hrs
CHEM 451 Biochemistry | 3 hrs
CHEM 452 Biochemistry || 3 hrs
CHEM 461 Chemical Thermodynamics and Kinetics 3 hrs
CHEM 465 Advanced Physical Chemistry 3 hrs
CHEM 481 Instrumental Analysis Lecture 3 hrs

Degree Requirements: 30 hours

Students in this program follow either the Thesis Plan or the Non-Thesis Plan, each requiring satisfactory completion of a minimum of 30 hours of graduate credit.

All students must take one-credit hour courses in information retrieval and safety in addition to distribution requirements of three graduate chemistry courses in various disciplines.

Required Courses: 3 hours

CHEM 630 Safety, Ethics, and Literature 3 hrs

Distribution Requirement Courses: 7-9 hours

Students will complete 7-9 hours, including at least one course from three of the areas below.

l. Analytical
CHEM 581 Advanced Analytical Chemistry 3 hrs
II. Inorganic/Environmental
CHEM 535 Structure and Reactivity of Inorganic Compounds 3 hrs
III. Organic
CHEM 571 Advanced Organic Chemistry 3 hrs
IV. Physical
CHEM 561 Quantum Chemistry and Spectroscopy 2 hrs
CHEM 562 Statistical Mechanics and Chemical Kinetics 2 hrs
V. Biochemistry:
CHEM 555 Neurochemistry 3 hrs
CHEM 556 Cell Signaling and Disease 3 hrs
CHEM 557 Medicinal Chemistry and Drug Design 3 hrs
CHEM 558 Chemical Biology 3 hrs
VI. Polymer
CHEM 566 Physical Chemistry of Polymers 2 hrs
CHEM 575 Advanced Organic Polymer Chemistry 3 hrs

Thesis or Non-Thesis Track: 18-21 hours

Non-Thesis Plan:

In consultation with their graduate advisor, students will select 19-21 credit hours in Chemistry (see the list of Restricted Electives below).

Students in the non-thesis plan may complete up to six hours of research credit CHEM 697 /698 /699 – Research in Chemistry. For research credits to be awarded, a written report of research must be submitted to the research advisor and approved by the research mentor.

Courses used to satisfy the Distribution Requirement above may not also fulfill this requirement.

Thesis Plan:

Required Courses: 3 hours
CHEM 530 Introduction to Scientific Writing for Chemists 1 hr
CHEM 690 Directed Reading and Thesis Proposal 1 hr
CHEM 693 Seminar in Chemistry 1 hr
Restricted Electives: 16-18 hours

In consultation with their advisor students select additional chemistry coursework from the list of Restricted Electives below. A maximum of 10 hours of CHEM 697 /698 /699 may be used toward the degree in the thesis plan. Research credits must be submitted and approved by the research advisor. Courses used to satisfy the Distribution Requirement above may not satisfy this requirement.
Completed Thesis:

Thesis plan students must submit a written thesis based on original research and give an oral presentation of the research to the Chemistry Department. The Graduate School must also approve the completed thesis.

Restricted Elective Course List:

Courses selected from among graduate courses at the 500- or 600-level. Courses are selected in consultation with the graduate coordinator and the student’s thesis research director.

General Electives

CHEM 516 Atmospheric Chemistry 3 hrs
CHEM 535 Structure and Reactivity of Inorganic Compounds 3 hrs
CHEM 540 Industrial Chemistry 2 hrs
CHEM 555 Neurochemistry 3 hrs
CHEM 556 Cell Signaling and Disease 3 hrs
CHEM 557 Medicinal Chemistry and Drug Design 3 hrs
CHEM 558 Chemical Biology 3 hrs
CHEM 561 Quantum Chemistry and Spectroscopy 2 hrs
CHEM 562 Statistical Mechanics and Chemical Kinetics 2 hrs
CHEM 564 Physical-Chemical Characterization of Polymers 2 hrs
CHEM 565 Nuclear Chemistry 3 hrs
CHEM 566 Physical Chemistry of Polymers 2 hrs
CHEM 571 Advanced Organic Chemistry 3 hrs
CHEM 572 Spectrometric Organic Structure Determination 3 hrs
CHEM 575 Advanced Organic Polymer Chemistry 3 hrs
CHEM 581 Advanced Analytical Chemistry 3 hrs
CHEM 582 Archaeological Chemistry 3 hrs
CHEM 591 Special Topics 2 hrs
Any CHEM course at the 500-level or above, not already listed

Education Teaching/Research

Students interested in teaching may take the following elective courses with the approval of the Graduate Coordinator.

Laboratory Courses

Courses are offered to students who wish to advance their knowledge through laboratory courses. Students who have taken undergraduate courses of CHEM 433, CHEM 453, and CHEM 463 are not eligible to take these courses for credit towards their program of study.

Research Credits

An approved written thesis and an oral presentation of the research to the Chemistry Department is required with six to ten hours of research credit.

Cognate Courses

Zero to six hours selected from courses outside the Chemistry Department with the approval of the graduate coordinator.

Critical Graduation Information

Each graduate student is responsible for fulfilling the requirements or equivalents of the Eastern Michigan University catalog in force at the time of their initial registration or a subsequent catalog, including the one in effect at the time of their graduation.

Master’s degree requirements must be completed within six (6) years of first enrollment in the master’s degree program.

In the event a student does not complete the master’s degree requirements within six years of the date of their original registration, the student may be required to have their credits re-evaluated by the academic department(s) of their degree in keeping with catalog requirements in force during the year of their graduation.

The following are minimum requirements for all master’s degrees awarded by Eastern Michigan University. Some programs require more than the minimum in one or more areas below.

A master’s degree must require a minimum of 30 credit hours.
No more than six credits of independent study courses and no more than 12 credit hours of special topics and independent study courses combined may be applied to a graduate degree.
Residency Requirement:
- For students admitted to master’s degree programs of 36 or fewer required hours, at least 24 new graduate hours beginning the semester of acceptance and enrollment into the degree program must be earned at EMU. The remaining program requirement hours may be met through transfer or prior degree credit (EMU or elsewhere).
- For students admitted to master’s degree programs of 37 or more required hours, at least 30 new graduate hours beginning the semester of acceptance and enrollment into the degree program must be earned at EMU. Minimum degree hours must still be met for graduation. The remaining program requirement hours may be met through transfer or prior degree credit (EMU or elsewhere).
- Residency and enrollment in multiple programs: Students enrolled in multiple master’s/specialist degree programs must have 24 unique credit hours in each degree program.
Only credits from one completed graduate certificate may be applied to a master’s or specialist degree in a relevant field of study, as determined by the Graduate School and with the approval of the degree-granting academic department, and be included in the residency hours above.
Students must maintain a 3.0 cumulative GPA in all graduate-level courses taken at EMU and in their program of study to remain in good academic standing and be eligible for graduation. Students do not need to be registered for classes during the semester of graduation.
The Graduate School does not permit the use of undergraduate courses (499 and below) to meet degree requirements on graduate programs of study.
Some master’s programs require a thesis; others require a special project or internship; others require students to pass a final exam. See the Graduate School website for Thesis and Dissertation Manuals, all forms, and information about research and human subject approval. Every completed thesis or dissertation must be submitted to Digital Commons. Any form of graduate student work submitted to Digital Commons must first be approved by a faculty advisor and the Graduate School.