The Ph.D. program in Chemistry and Biochemistry provides students with the opportunity to work on exciting research projects in multiple areas of Chemistry and Biochemistry, including projects in water quality and purification, drug discovery and delivery, biofuels, and the chemistry of astrophysical ices.  The program consists of both coursework and an independent research project under the guidance of a faculty mentor and has been designed to accommodate both full-time and part-time students.  Students in the program will be expected to conduct an original research project and communicate their findings to the greater scientific community.
Admission Requirements
The Chemistry and Biochemistry Ph.D. program is intended for students who have completed an undergraduate program of study in chemistry, biochemistry, or a related field.

• Applicants are expected to have a B.S. degree with a minimum GPA of 3.00 and acceptable GRE and TOEFL scores (if applicable).
• Applicants with a B.S. degree in other physical or life science related fields and with a strong chemistry or biochemistry background (coursework through their third year of undergraduate study) may be accepted provisionally, and may be required to successfully complete coursework in deficient areas, some of which may not be applicable towards Ph.D. course requirements.
• Interested students should submit a completed GMU Graduate Application, three letters of reference, official reports of general GRE examination scores, TOEFL examination scores (if applicable) and a personal/goals statement outlining their general research interests and career plans.

Degree Requirements
The Ph.D. program in Chemistry and Biochemistry requires a minimum of 72 credits, distributed among the following categories of courses: core courses (12 credits), research concentration (9 credits), seminar (3 credits), electives (24 credits) and dissertation proposal and dissertation research (24 credits).
Core courses: All students are required to take 12 credits of core courses.

Course Number and Name	Credits
CHEM 814: Advanced Bioorganic Chemistry	3
CHEM 821: Theory of Analytical Processes	3
CHEM 833: Physical Chemistry and Biochemistry	3
CHEM 891: Doctoral Scientific Critique, Writing and Presentation	3

Research concentration courses: Students are required to select 9 additional Chemistry credits (3 courses) beyond the core in one of three research concentrations.  The purpose of the research concentration courses is to provide the students with an in-depth theoretical foundation in their chosen area of expertise. Research concentration courses are selected in consultation with the student’s research advisor.

Research Concentration	Allowed Courses
Analytical and Environmental Chemistry	CHEM 554, 620, 624, 625, 651 and 728
Biochemistry	CHEM 567, 613, 646, 660, 661, 662, 665, and 767
Physical Chemistry and Spectroscopy	CHEM 614, 617, 633 730, 732, 733, 735 and 736

Elective courses: Students will select an additional 24 credits of coursework in the general elective category. These represent graduate courses that can be applied towards the degree requirements with the approval of the dissertation advisor and the program director.  Elective credits may be taken within the major (CHEM) or outside the major. Elective courses may be multidisciplinary (outside the Chemistry and Biochemistry Department) to provide additional training in areas where identified deficiencies exist or broader perspectives are needed, and may include courses in disciplines such as math, physics, bioinformatics, and biology.
Dissertation Proposal and Research:  With the approval of the dissertation committee, the student will enroll in Dissertation Proposal (CHEM 998) and Dissertation Research (CHEM 999). The dissertation research should represent a significant contribution to the appropriate scientific field(s), and it should be deemed to represent a body of work that is publishable in refereed, scientific journals.  At least 12 of the 24 credits required in this category must be in the form of CHEM 999.  Students become eligible to register for CHEM 999 after they have advanced to candidacy.

Coursework Evaluation, Research Proposal, Qualifying Exams and Advancement to Candidacy
Advancement to candidacy of a student may be approved following the completion of a minimum of 30 credits of coursework, including all core and research concentration courses. In order to ensure that all coursework requirements have been met, students must submit a coursework evaluation form to the program director for approval in order to continue to advancement to candidacy. Students must earn a minimum GPA of 3.00 in the core courses.  Students must advance to candidacy within six years of entering the program. In addition to coursework, the following additional requirements must be met for advancement to candidacy.

• The student will be required to prepare a detailed written proposal describing the dissertation research, and the format and content of the proposal must be approved by the dissertation committee.
• The student must successfully complete separate written and oral qualifying examinations prepared and administered by members of the dissertation committee. A student may be granted a second and final attempt at the written and oral qualifying exams if the first attempt is unsuccessful. The dissertation committee will make this decision in consultation with the student.
• The written portion of the qualifying examination consists of a series of questions prepared by each committee member based on previous coursework and the proposed research project. Successful completion of the written examination should be followed by the oral portion within one month. The purpose of the qualifying examinations is to make sure the student is proficient in both theory and depth of chemical knowledge and is ready to continue forward with the dissertation project.
  
  
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