• Graduate Program Overview
• Graduate Faculty & Research
• Application Information
• Department Awards

• Graduate School forms and procedures

  • Degree Program
    Note: "Degree Sought" is Master of Science, "Major" is Chemistry, and "Minor" is usually Related Field.
  • UMD Grad School Petition (to add/cancel class)
  • UMN Grad School Petition (to change degree program)
  • Requesting Final Exam Forms
  • Preparing and Submitting the M.S. thesis
    See also detailed thesis instructions
  • Readmission or Change of Status
• Graduate Policies - Chemistry

The UMD Chemistry and Biochemistry Graduate Program

Plan A: Master's Degree with Thesis

Plan A is the traditional degree program in which students prepare for a career in chemistry through coursework and original research. This plan provides solid academic preparation and practical laboratory experience, and is selected by most students. Plan A students must register for 10 thesis credits, and write and defend, as part of the final oral examination, a thesis on original research.

Plan B: Master's Degree without Thesis

Plan B provides an opportunity for those whose career plans may not benefit directly from laboratory research experience to pursue an advanced degree in chemistry. Plan B students must complete an additional 10 course credits, and prepare three papers in the major and related fields.

Required Core Courses

All students are required to complete four of the following core courses.

• CHEM 5424 Advanced Inorganic Chemistry I (3 credits)
• CHEM 5524 Advanced Organic Chemistry I (3 credits)
• CHEM 5624 Advanced Physical Chemistry I (3 credits)
• CHEM 5650 Computational Chemistry (3 credits)
• CHEM 5714 Applications of Spectroscopy (4 credits)
• CHEM 5725 Advanced Analytical Chemistry I (3 credits)
• IBS 5101, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (3 credits)

Selection of a Research Advisor

Plan A students select a research advisor during their first two semesters of residence. The selection of an advisor is an important decision that can have a significant impact on a student's career direction and professional development. Because of the low ratio of graduate students to faculty, students generally have no difficulty identifying an advisor who can provide appropriate guidance in planning their coursework and thesis research.

Research and Final Thesis

For most students, the excitement and valuable experience gained from conducting original research in chemistry, and communicating the results of that research in the form of a final thesis and publication in the scientific literature, are the defining aspects of graduate study in chemistry. The M.S. chemistry program at UMD provides the facilities and environment to conduct original research that can lead to significant contributions to the science of chemistry. After selecting an advisor, each student is assigned desk and bench space in the advisor's laboratory. Students have access to department research facilities described earlier. Funds to purchase supplies and for related expenses are provided through various research grants. Typical Plan-A programs of study for students in each of the program's five areas are given below. Every Plan-A program will also include Masters Thesis Credits, CHEM 8777, and Seminar, CHEM 8184. Students completing a Plan-B Masters degree must add 10 course credits plus Seminar, CHEM 8184, to each of the programs below.

Analytical Chemistry

Major Field (14 credits)

• CHEM 5725 Advanced Analytical Chemistry I (3 credits)
• CHEM 5624 Advanced Physical Chemistry I (3 credits)
• CHEM 5714 Applications of Spectroscopy (4 credits)

Other advanced analytical course (4 credits)

• CHEM 8224 Advanced Analytical Chemistry II or
• CHEM 8750 Special Topics in Chemistry

Related Field (6 credits)

• CHEM 5524 Advanced Organic Chemistry I (3 credits)
• CHEM 5424 Advanced Inorganic Chemistry I (3 credits)

Biological Chemistry

Major Field (14 credits)

• CHEM 5524 Advanced Organic Chemistry I (3 credits)
• IBS 5101 Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (3 credits)
• CHEM 5624 Advanced Physical Chemistry I (3 credits)
• CHEM 5714 Applications of Spectroscopy (4 credits)
• graduate-level elective (1 or more credits)

Related Field (6 credits)

• CHEM 5725 Advanced Analytical Chemistry I (3 credits)
• CHEM 5424 Advanced Inorganic Chemistry I or
• CHEM 5650 Computational Chemistry (3 credits)

Inorganic Chemistry

Major Field (14 credits)

• CHEM 5424 Advanced Inorganic Chemistry I (3 credits)
• CHEM 8424 Advanced Inorganic Chemistry II (4 credits)
• CHEM 5624 Advanced Physical Chemistry I (3 credits)
• CHEM 5714 Applications of Spectroscopy (4 credits)

Related Field (6 credits)

• CHEM 5725 Advanced Analytical Chemistry I (3 credits)
• CHEM 5424 Advanced Inorganic Chemistry I or
• CHEM 5650 Computational Chemistry (3 credits)

Organic Chemistry

Major Field (14 credits)

• CHEM 5524 Advanced Organic Chemistry I (3 credits)
• CHEM 8524 Advanced Organic Chemistry II (4 credits)
• CHEM 5624 Advanced Physical Chemistry I (3 credits)
• CHEM 5714 Applications of Spectroscopy (4 credits)

Related Field (6 credits)

• CHEM 5725 Advanced Analytical Chemistry I (3 credits)
• CHEM 5424 Advanced Inorganic Chemistry I or
• CHEM 5650 Computational Chemistry (3 credits)

Physical Chemistry

Major Field (15 credits)

• CHEM 5624 Advanced Physical Chemistry I (3 credits)
• CHEM 5650 Computational Chemistry (3 credits)
• CHEM 5424 Advanced Inorganic Chemistry I (3 credits)
• CHEM 5725 Advanced Analytical Chemistry I (3 credits)
• Physics or Math (3 credits)

Related Field (7 credits)

• CHEM 5714 Applications of Spectroscopy (4 credits)
• Physics or Math (3 credits)

Likely physics and math courses to choose among:

• MATH 4230 Complex Variables (3 credits)
• MATH 4820 Applied Math - Numerical Methods (3 credits)
• MATH 5260 Dynamical Systems (3 credits)
• MATH 5270 Modeling with Dynamical Systems (3 credits)
• MATH 5327 Advanced Linear Algebra (3 credits)
• PHYS 4021 Quantum Physics II (4 credits)
• PHYS 4031 Thermal and Statistical Physics (4 credits)
• PHYS 5052 Computational Methods in Physics (3 credits)

Graduate Courses offered

Graduate courses offered by the Chemistry Department for the graduate program in chemistry are listed below. Graduate level courses offered by other programs may also be used as a component of a student's program of courses.

• CHEM 5150: Organic and Stable Isotope Biogeochemistry (3 credits) Production and chemical composition of natural organic matter (OM), diagenesis and catagenesis of OM; stable isotopic.
• CHEM 5424: Advanced Inorganic Chemistry I (3 credits) Advanced topics in inorganic chemistry including the following: Applications of Group Theory to inorganic chemistry such as molecular orbital theory and valence bond theory as well as vibrational analysis, organmetallic chemistry including structure and bonding in organometallic compounds, reactions and reaction mechanisms of organometallic compounds, and the application of organometallic compounds as reagents and catalysts in organic synthesis, other advanced aspects of inorganic chemistry, e.g. Bioinorganic Chemistry and Aspects of Material Science.
• CHEM 5524 - Advanced Organic Chemistry I (3 credits) Advanced topics of Organic Reaction Mechanisms and Aspects of Organic Synthesis
• CHEM 5624 - Advanced Physical Chemistry I (3 credits) Classical and statistical thermodynamics, chemical kinetics, other selected topics in physical chemistry.
• CHEM 5650: Computational Chemistry (3 credits) Molecular Mechanics, Quantum Mechanics, semiempirical and ab initio molecular orbital calculations, density functional theory, and selected additional topics in computation chemistry such as biochemical applications, QSAR, and ligand modeling and docking.
• CHEM 5714: Applications of Spectroscopy (4 credits) Application of spectroscopic techniques to structure elucidation, including NMR, FTIR, MS, UV-Vis, X-ray, EPR spectroscopy. Includes practical component.
• CHEM 5725: Advanced Analytical Chemistry I (3 credits) Intended for advanced undergraduate and beginning graduate students in chemistry and related fields. Augment basic coursework in wet and instrumental analytical chemistry. Topics include statistical and chemometric methods for experimental design and data analysis, electronics and computers in chemical instrumentation, and selected techniques of instrumental analysis such as mass spectrometry, inductively coupled optical emission spectroscopy and analytical gas chromatography.
• CHEM 8184 - Seminar (1 credit) Practice in preparation and oral presentation of reports on articles from the literature or on graduate research.
• CHEM 8224: Advanced Analytical Chemistry II (4 credits) Advanced treatment of selected methods in analytical chemistry.
• CHEM 8424: Advanced Inorganic Chemistry II (4 credits) Discussion of structure, reactions, and bonding in inorganic and organometallic compounds in terms of valence bond, molecular orbital, and ligand field theories.
• CHEM 8524: Advanced Organic Chemistry II (4 credits) Advanced treatment of synthetic methods and reaction mechanisms in organic chemistry.
• CHEM 8750: Special Topics (1-4 credits) Topics not available in standard curriculum.
• CHEM 8777: Thesis Credits: Master's (1 or more credits)