Analytical

• Must be a full-length research article (no communications, letters, or review articles)
• Acceptable publication date range: 2020-2026

Biological

(Pending update for 2026)

2025 requirements: Any primary research article published from 2021-2025, subject to committee approval. The committee will check the paper to make sure it has substantial content and a number of techniques that can be covered in the exam. 

Chemical Education

• must be published within the last five years (acceptance date of publication must be no later than 2020). 
• is highly recommended to be featured in the Journal of Chemical Education or Chemistry Education Research and Practice, but other science education/learning science journals such as Science Education, Journal of Research in Science Teaching, and Journal of the Learning Sciences are permitted
• must be a research article (not a literature review, commentary, or laboratory experiment). 

Inorganic

• The division recommends that students select an article published within the last 5 years
• The article cannot be a review or perspective and must contain an original research contribution
• Students must consult with their advisor on the paper selection and obtain advisor approval before uploading

Organic

• The article must be no more than 4 years old
• Published in a journal with an impact factor above 3
• Either a full research article or communications; review articles are not recommended
  • Researchers should select a topic of interest and/or directly related to their research topic but not one that is published by their own group
• Students should bear in mind that the focus of the presentation must be on the chemistry of the topic.

Physical

(Pending update for 2026)

2025 requirements: The basis of the first-year oral examination is a journal article that is related to your research topic and has been jointly selected by you and your advisor. If you have not already done so, please promptly consult with your advisor regarding the selection of your article. When selecting your article, please note that short communications (such as Science or Nature papers) often do not make good exam papers because they don’t expose core coursework concepts. Students should focus on a full-length paper in a discipline-specific journal.

Multidisciplinary

please select your paper in consultation with your advisor