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Gaining experience and skills Recruiters for employers of chemists are looking for people with diverse skills including: communication skills, interpersonal skills, problem solving ability, leadership skills, technical mastery, and practical experience. They advise students majoring in chemistry to take electives in courses such as computer science, business, public speaking, and writing.

Career Opportunities

Information about Graduate School

Of the wide variety of post graduation choices that are available to students who major in chemistry or biochemistry, one option that many find attractive is that of continuing to study chemistry in graduate school. Unlike the undergraduate program, where an emphasis is placed on completing coursework, the focus in graduate school is on performing and completing an independent research project in collaboration with a thesis advisor.

Masters or Ph.D.?听

The first thing you must decide when contemplating a move to graduate work is whether a masters or Ph.D. degree is the desired goal. While the length of time required to obtain a Ph.D. (5-6 years) is considerably longer than that for a masters (2-3 years), a Ph.D. is the preferred degree for research positions in industry, academia or the government and generally commands a higher salary. For an academic position as a faculty member at a four-year college or university, a Ph.D. is a must. In addition, many schools prefer to admit students who are willing to commit several years to a Ph.D. program over those students who apply for a masters degree. Discuss your choice of which degree to pursue with your faculty advisor.

Where to Apply

A "Planning for Graduate Work in Chemistry" guide produced by the ACS Committee on Professional Training is available at听. This guide provides both domestic and international undergraduate students with advice on how to prepare for successful work in graduate school, how and when to apply for admission, and to some extent, what to expect once enrolled in graduate school. The online "ACS Directory of Graduate Research (DGRweb)" is available at听. With DGRweb students can explore research programs available in graduate departments by finding the biographical information for faculty members, their areas of specialization, titles of papers published within the last two years as well as statistical summaries on departments, including numbers of faculty, post-doctoral appointments, graduate students, and master's and doctoral degrees granted. A few reference books are available in the main office of Merkert (room 125) which list universities offering graduate programs in chemistry. These include The ACS Chemical Sciences Graduate School Finder, Peterson's Graduate Programs in Physical Sciences and Mathematics, and The ACS Directory of Graduate Research (hard copy). A number of flyers are posted on the bulletin boards in the lower level hallway of Merkert that advertise a variety of programs as well. However, chemistry professors are your best resource when seeking advice about where to apply for graduate school. Talk to one of your professors about your area(s) of interest, and he or she will be happy to recommend which schools would be most appropriate.

When should you apply?

Begin to request application forms from the desired schools in September and October of your senior year. Application deadlines are typically in January or February, but most graduate schools use a rolling admission policy and send out acceptance letters as early as February. The earlier your applications are received, the better.

Should you take the Graduate Record Exam?

All students planning to attend graduate school are encouraged to take the GRE and the chemistry or biochemistry advanced test. Although the results of these exams are not required for admission to all graduate programs, they are usually required for national fellowship applications and are often used in determining fellowship awards at individual institutions. The exams are usually taken in the fall semester of the senior year.

Standards for admission Graduate schools will look at four main areas:

• Grades
• GRE scores
• Letters of recommendation
• Research experience

The importance of letters of recommendation cannot be over emphasized. Strong reference letters from chemistry professors can bolster an application which might be weak in the areas of grades and test results. Thus, it is imperative that you introduce yourself to some of the faculty members in the department and get to know them. Evidence in your application that you have had some research experience will also make a highly favorable impression upon an admission committee. See the section on Undergraduate Research for ways to go about obtaining this experience.

Cost of graduate school

Graduate work in chemistry is almost always fully funded for the student by the university through teaching assistantships and/or research assistantships. These assistantships provide full tuition remission as well as a modest, but livable, monthly stipend. In addition, a number of fellowships are available for graduate students.