CGPH option 2

The requirements for advanced degrees at The Ohio State University are summarized in the Graduate School Handbook, which can be found on the Graduate School website by clicking here. All incoming students should become familiar with its contents and should use it for reference. The Graduate School Handbook rules apply to all students, and they address many areas that are not addressed in this document. All students are also bound by the Code of Student Conduct. Click here to view the Code of Student Conduct. This document summarizes specific requirements for graduate degrees in Chemistry and Biochemistry, as well as additional comments and instructions for students in our programs. In general, unless noted, the rules and policies in this document apply to students who enter in Autumn 2022 or later. 

Chemistry Program Graduate Studies Committee
Zachary Schultz, Chair
Jon Parquette, Organic Division
Abraham Badu-Tawiah, Analytical Division
John Herbert, Physical Division
Yiying Wu, Inorganic Division
Venkat Gopalan, Biochemistry Division
Josie Nardo, Chemical Education Division

Chemistry Program Graduate Studies Staff
Zachary Schultz, Vice Chair, Graduate Studies
614 292-8688 | schultz.133@osu.edu

Jennifer Hambach, Graduate Program Coordinator
614 292-8917 | hambach.2@osu.edu

Nicholas Rodgers, Graduate Admissions Coordinator
614 292-5577 | rodgers.217@osu.edu

Graduate Studies Office
202 CBEC 100 W. 18th Ave.
Columbus, OH 43210
chemgradstudies@osu.edu
Admissions 614 292-5577
Graduate Program Coordinator 614 292-8917
Vice Chair, Graduate Studies 614 292-8688 

The Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry oversees the Chemistry Graduate Program and the Biochemistry M.S. program.

The Chemistry Graduate Program confers both Ph.D. and M.S. degrees, but the program only admits students to the Ph.D. track. Students move the M.S. track typically to leave the program before completion of the Ph.D.

The Biochemistry M.S. program only admits current OSU students at this time, either on a transfer basis from another graduate program (such as the Ohio State Biochemistry Program) or from the Biochemistry B.S. degree or another related program.

The department also offers a one-year post-baccalaureate Chemistry Bridge Program as an American Chemical Society Bridge Site. The program admits students with the hope that they will transition to the Ph.D. or M.S. program at the completion of the program. There is a separate procedures document for this program. 

The Chemistry Graduate Program only admits one time per year for the Autumn semester.

Students must have a baccalaureate or professional degree (or equivalent foreign credential) from an accredited college or university, earned by the expected date of entry into your graduate program. Typically, this means a 4-year bachelor’s degree or a 5-year combined BS/MS degree. A minimum of a 3.0 cumulative GPA (on a 4.0 scale) for the last degree earned is required.

In general, the program is looking for evidence of academic aptitude especially with strong grades in core chemistry classes and advanced classes in the intended area of study, evidence of successful research experience and aptitude, evidence of strong communication skills, and evidence of perseverance, motivation, goal-oriented behavior, and other non-cognitive factors that presage success in the graduate environment. Chemistry program applicants must have taken courses in general, organic, and physical chemistry--ideally a year of each--as well as at least one course in the divisional area of interest (e.g., biochemistry for students interested in biochemistry studies, inorganic chemistry for students interested in inorganic chemistry, etc.). Consequently, most successful applicants will be Chemistry or Biochemistry majors, but that is not required as long as proper coursework has been taken.

The GRE (general or subject tests) is not required.

The minimum total TOEFL score required in order to be eligible to apply is 79 on the Internet-based test and 550 on the paper-based test. Applicants who achieve a total score of 100 and a 22 or higher on the speaking section of the Internet-Based TOEFL will be most competitive. The minimum allowable score on the IELTS is a 7.0.

Students in the Chemistry Ph.D. program who did not speak English as a first language must demonstrate spoken English proficiency at the level required for a GTA appointment, as established by the English as a Second Language Program. This can be demonstrated with a TOEFL iBT speaking score of 28 or higher, IELTS score of 8.5 or higher, or an Oral Proficiency Assessment score of 4.0 or higher. Certification must be achieved by the end of the first year of study.

TOEFL scores must be officially reported to OSU by ETS. If you are submitting scores for the IELTS, those scores must be reported to OSU directly by IELTS.

The Graduate Admissions Committee reviews and makes recommendations on each application for admission to the program. The Vice Chair for Graduate Studies has final approval on all offers of admission. 

Most graduate students in the Ph.D. program receive financial support as Graduate Associates, either Graduate Teaching Associates (GTA) or Graduate Research Associates (GRA), or as Fellows during their tenure in the department. Graduate students supported by any of these appointments may not hold additional employment of any kind without express permission of the Vice Chair for Graduate Studies. Fellowship stipends may be supplemented up to the current GTA stipend; any stipends above that level must have prior approval by the Vice Chair for Graduate Studies. 

The Graduate School sets minimum registration requirements of eligibility for GA and Fellowship appointments (see section 9.1 of the Graduate School Handbook). Students supported by GA should read section 9, Appendix E and Appendix F of the Graduate School Handbook. 

A graduate student’s activities in the department are typically a combination of study and work. In general, GA appointments are 50% effort, meaning they will typically require about 20 hours per week. In rare cases, GAs may be appointed for up to 75% effort. Graduate appointments are salaried (i.e., not hourly) positions paid on a fixed calendar set by the Graduate School. It is common and permissible for salaried positions to require orientation or training even if it does not fit within the normal window of work hours. In a salaried position, the employee is agreeing to do a particular job, but he or she is not compensated for the exact hours the work is carried out. There is no overtime. TAs are considered exempt under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) as educators, and the Labor Department has asserted that other relationships like RA and fellowship are principally training and that no employer-employee relationship exists. The department provides appointments so that students do not have to find other outside employment to afford graduate school, and we also are able to provide employment that is relevant to students’ studies and builds students’ resumes in the area of study. The department does everything possible for students to be able to complete TA duties in 16-18 hours per week while classes are in session, because we want students to be able to focus on studies as much as possible. Graduate appointments are continuous throughout the year (i.e., there is no “break” between Autumn, Spring, or Summer terms). 

Departmental policies regarding appointments include: 

(1) Students with a GPA below 3.00 are considered in poor academic standing and may be denied GA appointments by the Graduate School.

(2) Students who qualify directly from the first-year oral exam are required to advance to candidacy by the end of the Spring term of their second year. Students failing to advance to candidacy by this time must petition the Vice Chair for Graduate Studies for continuation of support regardless of the appointment type (GRA, GTA, or Fellowship appointment). A petition for an extension to the candidacy deadline will generally be accepted in the following circumstances: switching research advisors/groups prior to candidacy, an approved leave of absence from the graduate program, and birth or adoption of a child while in the graduate program. 

(3) Students required to obtain an M.S. degree as a result of their first-year oral exam are expected to complete and defend their thesis by the end of the Spring term of their second year. Students failing to defend their thesis by this time must petition the Vice Chair for Graduate Studies for continuation of support regardless of the appointment type (GRA, GTA, or Fellowship appointment). A petition for an extension to the M.S. degree deadline will generally be accepted in the following circumstances: switching research advisors/groups prior to obtaining the M.S. degree, an approved leave of absence from the graduate program, and birth or adoption of a child while in the graduate program.

(4) Students required to obtain an M.S. degree as a result of their first-year oral exam are expected to advance to candidacy as soon as possible and certainly by the end of the Spring term of their third year. Students failing to advance to candidacy by this time must petition the Vice Chair for Graduate Studies for continuation of support regardless of the appointment type. A petition for an extension to the candidacy deadline will generally be accepted in the following circumstances: switching research advisors/groups prior to candidacy, an approved leave of absence from the graduate program, and birth or adoption of a child while in the graduate program.

(5) The Ph.D. degree is a five-year program. Students who expect to enter their sixth year of graduate training must petition the Vice Chair for Graduate Studies to receive support during all or part of their sixth year, and must have the written approval of their advisor and advisory committee in the form of a Post Candidacy Progress Report from an Advisory Committee meeting. In order to qualify for a GA appointment beyond the fifth year of study, Post Candidacy Progress Reports must be received at least one month before the start of the Autumn semester (typically, by July 15). Approval of such petitions will require the demonstration of a reasonable prospect that the degree program can be completed within one year. A petition for an extension of support beyond year five will generally be accepted in the following circumstances: switching research advisors/groups, an approved leave of absence from the graduate program, and birth or adoption of a child while in the graduate program.

(6) Department policies specify that students who have been enrolled for more than six years may not receive support as a GTA, GRA, or Fellow, from external, departmental, or other funding sources. Only in exceptional instances, which require demonstration of extenuating circumstances, will the Vice Chair for Graduate Studies consider a petition for support beyond six years. Examples of extenuating circumstances that may be considered exceptions include switching research advisors/groups, an approved leave of absence from the graduate program, and birth or adoption of a child while in the graduate program. No GTA appointment will be granted after the sixth year.

(7) Instructors evaluate their teaching assistants each term with ratings of Excellent (E), Satisfactory (S+, S, or S-), or Unsatisfactory (U). Evaluations are based primarily on overall performance as a GTA, but also include punctuality, attendance of staff meetings, and attitude toward students and staff. Students receiving an unsatisfactory (U) teaching evaluation will be suspended from their teaching appointment for one semester (excluding Summer) and must petition the Vice Chair for Graduate Studies for subsequent reinstatement. No GTA support will be available during such a suspension. Petitions to be supported as a GTA can be made at the end of the semester (excluding Summer) following the term during which the U rating was received. Any subsequent U or S- evaluations following reinstatement will lead to dismissal from the teaching program, and no further GTA support will be available. If a dGRA appointment is due at the end of the student's term in which he or she received the U, the department portion of the stipend will not be available. Two S- ratings are regarded as equivalent to one U rating.

(8) Faculty advisors are required to grade the performance of students taking research credits under their supervision (e.g., CHEM 8999) each term with ratings of Satisfactory (S) or Unsatisfactory (U). Evaluations are based primarily on overall progress in research, but also include time spent in the lab, attendance at group meetings or other meetings set by the advisor, and handing in reports required by the advisor in a timely manner. Students receiving an unsatisfactory (U) grade will meet with the advisor and the Vice Chair for Graduate Studies to devise a plan to ensure future success. The Vice Chair for Graduate Studies may require a meeting of the Advisory Committee. In general, two U grades in research will result in withdrawal of support and dismissal from the program for lack of reasonable progress. 

The Graduate School requirements for the Ph.D. degree are stated in Section 7 of the Graduate School Handbook. The Chemistry Graduate Program has several additional requirements and procedures for Ph.D. students, as outlined below. 

The Ph.D. is a research degree. Students are expected to develop a broad foundational knowledge of chemistry, particularly in their subdiscipline, as well as in-depth knowledge of the area of specialization. Students should be able to evaluate scientific work critically and conduct meaningful scientific inquiry leading to new knowledge in the field. Students must be able to communicate scientific results to experts and broader audiences, and conduct research professionally, responsibly, safely, and ethically. The learning objectives of the program are outlined in Appendix A. 

Students must satisfy the course requirements of one of the divisions of the department, or a designed multidisciplinary course of study, in addition to all program requirements. Students select a major area of study when they enter the program, but with the approval of the advisor (or the Vice Chair for Graduate Studies before a permanent advisor is assigned), they may later elect to complete the requirements of a different division, or an approved multidisciplinary track curriculum. 

The purpose of coursework in the Ph.D. program is to prepare the student to take the candidacy examination and to undertake work on a significant original investigation in chemistry or biochemistry that culminates in a doctoral dissertation. Because the Ph.D. is a research degree, most coursework is taken during the first year; typically, only selected advanced subjects are taken in the second and subsequent years. Students who wish to register for a course offered by another department must obtain permission from the advisor and the Vice Chair for Graduate Studies before registering for the course. Students who register for courses outside of the department without approval will be unenrolled from those courses and will be responsible for any resulting fees imposed by the University. In general, registration in courses for recreational or avocational purposes is not permitted. 

Graduate courses in Chemistry and Biochemistry are numbered 6000 and higher. Courses that are 6000-level are foundational, 7000-level are intermediate, and 8000-level are advanced. Chemistry graduate courses are numbered xNxx, where N = 1 for analytical, 2 for biological, 3 for inorganic, 4 for organic, 5 for physical, 6 for chemical education, 7 for program requirements, 8 for seminars, and 9 for research. Graduate classes are either taught for 7 weeks (a session) for 1.5 credit hours or for 14 weeks (a semester) for 3 credit hours. 

All students must:

• Enroll in at least one (1) credit hour of CHEM 8999 Thesis/Dissertation Research under the name of their advisor each term they are in residence (including Summer terms). Students should enroll in CHEM 8998 under the name of the Vice Chair for Graduate Studies in their first term.
• Enroll in one of the CHEM 8891-8896 (1 credit hour) divisional seminar courses each Autumn and 9 Spring term
• Complete CHEM 6780 Faculty Research Presentations, CHEM 6781 Laboratory Safety, and CHEM 6782 Ethics in Scientific Research in the first year of study
• Complete at least three (3) credit hours of graduate coursework outside of their chosen division. These classes will typically come from the Chemistry or Biochemistry offerings from another major area, but they may include graduate coursework in another department with the permission of the advisor and Vice Chair for Graduate Studies. Typically, 6000+ courses in Chemistry or Biochemistry or 5000+ courses in another department would meet this requirement. Most students fulfill this requirement by enrolling in 3 credit hours of 6000-level Chemistry or Biochemistry classes outside their division in the first semester. Some divisions will allow CHEM 6790 (Scientific Writing) to count as an out-of-division course to fulfill this requirement. 

Students whose native language is not English must demonstrate spoken and written English proficiency by the end of the first year (see also Section 5). Students may be waived out of these requirements by national origin or TOEFL or IELTS score, or may demonstrate proficiency by an examination or coursework of the English as a Second Language (ESL) Program, such as the ESL Composition Placement Test, Oral Proficiency Assessment (OPA), EDUTL 5040 Exit Exam, or Oral Proficiency Certification Assessment (OPCA). Students must take all courses recommended by the ESL Spoken English Program. Students must complete any required ESL composition coursework (EDUTL 5901 or 5902) by the end of the first year. We recommend taking in-person (rather than online) versions of these classes. If you must also take a spoken English class, we recommend delaying taking composition classes. The Graduate Studies Office can help you plan the timing of these courses and petition to take composition classes after the deadline, if required. Students who do not initially achieve full spoken English certification may achieve conditional certification that permits the student to be appointed as a GTA for lab courses only. Progress toward English certification, including adequate performance in ESL classes, achieving at least conditional certification by the end of Spring semester, and achieving full certification by the end of Summer term, is considered an essential element of reasonable progress; continued enrollment will be contingent upon this progress. 

A minimum of 80 graduate credit hours (or 50 credit hours beyond the master’s degree) is required to graduate with a Ph.D. Pre-candidacy students must enroll in a minimum number of credit hours each term depending on the type of appointment. Graduate Associates (GAA, GRA, GTA) must maintain enrollment in at least 8 credit hours in Autumn and Spring and 4 credit hours in Summer. Fellows and Trainees must enroll in at least 12 credit hours in Autumn and Spring, and 6 credit hours Summer. All postcandidacy students must enroll in a minimum of 3 credit hours each term (including Summer). Summer students and post-candidacy students must obtain the permission of the advisor and Vice Chair for Graduate Studies to take more than the minimum number of credit hours. To ensure that students have reached 80 credit hours by the time of graduation, we recommend that students enroll in 16-18 credit hours during the Autumn and Spring of the first two years of study. Once coursework is completed, the balance of credit hours can be made up with CHEM 8998 or 8999.

Students should complete most coursework by the end of the first year, or the Autumn of the second year. Some classes are offered only every other year, and so may require some minimal coursework in the Spring of the second year or later. To achieve this, students should enroll in all foundational (6000-level) classes in their major area of study in the first semester. Students should typically take 9 credit hours of lecture classes in the first semester (exclusive of Chem 6780, 6781, 889x, and 8998), which generally means they should enroll in 3 credit hours of classes outside of the major area of study. Students who are required to take spoken ESL courses (e.g., EDUTL 5030, 5040, 5045, 5050, 5055, 5060) may need to enroll in one fewer Chemistry lecture class, but should stay on schedule to complete the program coursework by the end of the second year. 

In the Spring semester of their first year, students should enroll in all required advanced courses, and typically should enroll in 3-9 credit hours of lecture classes total (including electives). Some variation in these guidelines is noted below in the curricula for the major areas of study. 

Other Requirements. In addition to the program course requirements noted above and the courses from the major area curricula below, students must also:

• Join a lab at the end of the first semester and begin research in the first Spring
• Take the first-year oral exam in the first Summer
• Advance to candidacy by the end of the Spring semester of the second year or the end of the Spring semester of the third year if directed to first complete an M.S. to qualify
• Complete annual activity reports
• Complete annual post-candidacy progress reports at the end of the fourth year and beyond
• Give a public research presentation by the end of the fourth year
• Write and defend a dissertation

Although the program does not have a publication requirement, publication of peer-reviewed research is strong evidence of a substantial contribution to the field and an essential component of the research enterprise. Publication expectations differ in different areas of chemistry. Students should discuss these expectations with their advisor and advisory committee. Similarly, presenting posters or oral presentations at venues outside the university, such as regional, national, and international conferences, develops essential skills and provides networking opportunities. Students should discuss conference presentation expectations with their advisors.