Introduction. The Department of Chemistry offers programs of study leading to the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in chemistry. Financial assistance in the form of research and teaching assistantships is available to qualified students. The size of our Department encourages close personal contact among students and faculty, and leads to the treatment of each student as an individual with his or her own special needs. The program is very flexible and interdisciplinary work is encouraged. We seek to make graduate study a highly satisfying experience.
Application for Admission. Applications for admission to the graduate program may be obtained from the Graduate School, or you can apply online there.
Further information may be obtained from
Professor Raymond Fort Jr
Graduate Coordinator
Department of Chemistry
University of Maine
Orono, ME 04469
(E-mail: rcfort@maine.edu)
[PLEASE NOTE: Professor Fort is graduate coordinator ONLY for the Department of Chemistry; contacting him about study in other departments will delay your receiving the information you need!]
A copy of the Graduate School Bulletin may be obtained from:
The Graduate School
2 Winslow Hall
University of Maine
Orono, ME 04469
Entrance Examinations. Every entering graduate student must take qualifying examinations during the week prior to the first semester of classes. Examinations measure the students' undergraduate preparation in analytical, inorganic, organic, and physical chemistry, and are used to guide placement of students in the proper courses. By the end of the first year, each student must demonstrate undergraduate level competence in three of these four areas. In unusual cases, the student's advisory committee may waive part of this requirement.
Coursework. All students are required to take at least two core courses, usually in their area of research specialization. Core courses are offered in analytical, inorganic, organic, physical, and wood chemistry. [Click here for a description of the Department's course offerings.] All course registrations are made in consultation with the student's advisor and advisory committee. At least 17 hours of the total required for a particular degree must be classroom hours; the remainder comprise course credit for research activity. In addition, each student is expected to attend all scheduled Department colloquia and seminars, and to give one subdisciplinary seminar each year except the first.
Comprehensive Examinations. Ph.D. students must take a series of written comprehensive examinations over a nine-month period, usually during their second year of graduate study. Three examinations must be passed within five attempts. The student's advisory committee will choose the examinations from a list of examinations in various areas offered during the year. After passing the comprehensive examinations, the student prepares an original research proposal, not closely related to his or her research. The proposal is written in the format of a national granting agency, such as NSF, and is defended in an oral presentation before the advisory committee and the general faculty of the Department.
Research. Each student must complete sufficient research to be able to write a thesis (M.S.) or dissertation (Ph.D.) of publishable quality. The dissertation particularly should give evidence of an exhaustive study of a specialized field, and should be an authoritative statement of knowledge on the subject, as well as an original contribution to modern chemistry. In the work leading to, and in the preparation of, the thesis or dissertation, each student is advised by a committee consisting of the individual faculty member directing the work and at least two (M.S.) or three (Ph.D.) additional faculty. This committee is selected by the student in consultation with his or her research advisor, and is subject to approval by the faculty of the Department and the Dean of the Graduate School. All students must select a research advisor and advisory committee by the end of the first semester of graduate study, and thereafter meet with the committee at least once each semester.
Financial Support. Students are supported by teaching assistantships, fellowships, or research assistantships (the last provided by the research advisor). Every student is good standing will be supported for two and one-half years for an M.S. and four and one-half years for a Ph.D. by some combination of Department and grant funds. An additional semester of support may be granted by the Graduate Committee of the Department on petition by a student and his or her advisor. The current stipend for a teaching assistantship is $14,000 for 12 months; a full tuition waiver, and half the cost of the mandatory health insurance are included. Many second- and third-year students are supported by their advisors on research assistantships, which range in value up to $20,000 per year. A number of faculty also participate in IGERT programs in sensor science and Functional Genomics which offer fellowships with stipends up to $30,000 per year.
It is the policy of the University of Maine to comply with applicable laws prohibiting discrimination on the grounds of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, handicap, or veteran's status. The University's policy shall include, but not be limited to, the requirements of Executive Order 11246 and 11375, as amended in Department of Labor, Office of Federal Compliance Programs, 41 CFR, Part 60-2, October 20, 1978; the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, as amended; Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended; and Section 402 of the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974.
What this means to the Department in plain English is that we welcome applications from good people of every kind!
|
|