The University of South Dakota

We Offer:

Master of Science  (with thesis) Doctor of Philosophy (Materials Chemistry)

While most students entering the graduate program in the Department of Chemistry have an undergraduate degree in chemistry, admission on a provisional basis may be extended to students with other backgrounds, provided their records indicate the ability to complete the program successfully.

If you are an international student, please see the Graduate School International Admissions information.

For questions regarding admission into our graduate program, please email our Associate Professor of Physical Chemistry, Ranjit Koodali at Ranjit.Koodali@usd.edu.

M.S. Program of Study

Estimated average time to the M.S. degree is two years beyond the bachelor's degree, assuming an ACS-approved degree in chemistry.

• M.S. candidates will have earned an ACS-approved B.S. or B.A. in chemistry prior to starting the M.S. program or will complete any missing requirements en route to the degree. M.S. candidates are required to pass four subdiscipline standardized exams in chemistry.
• Required course work includes:
  • CHEM 726 Advanced Organic Chemistry
  • CHEM 730 Advanced Analytical Chemistry
  • CHEM 744 Advanced Physical Chemistry
  • CHEM 752 Advanced Inorganic Chemistry
  • Two elective courses (6 credits) at the graduate level

For students pursuing a Ph.D. following the M.S. it is recommended that the elective courses be chosen from those required for the Ph.D.

• Participation in Graduate Seminar (CHEM 790, 4 credit hours) is required. Participation will include attendance at weekly research seminars (given by visiting speakers and by USD faculty and students) and a minimum of two presentations made by the  candidate. The first presentation will generally be given in the first year and will be a literature review. The second will generally be given the following year and will be based on the thesis research. This presentation must be attended by the student’s entire committee and will be followed by an oral examination.
• The M.S. candidate will be required to write and defend a research-based thesis.  

See our Graduate Catalog for Full Course Descriptions.

Ph.D. Program of Study

Estimated average time to the Ph.D. degree is five years beyond the bachelor's (assuming ACS-approved degree in chemistry) or three years beyond a master's (assuming equivalent to M.S. in chemistry at USD).   

• Ph.D. candidates will earn a master's in chemistry either prior to starting our Ph.D. program, or will earn a master's (M.S.) en route to the degree. The requirements listed below are those beyond the master's, except that courses from item 2 may be counted toward both the M.S. and the Ph.D. Before receiving a M.S. in chemistry at USD, students are required to pass four subdiscipline standardized exams in chemistry. Passage of these exams satisfies the requirement for passing “background exams.”
• Required course work consists of four courses chosen from the following list:
  
  • Synthesis and Characterization of Nanostructured Materials (CHEM 720)
  • Applications of Nanostructured Materials (CHEM 721)
  • Luminescence Spectroscopy of Materials (CHEM 723)
  • Spectroscopic Analysis (CHEM 521)
  • Polymer Chemistry (CHEM 526)
  • Solid State Chemistry and Crystallography (CHEM 722)
  • Electrochemistry (CHEM 724)
  • Solid State Physics (PHYS 539)
• Participation in Graduate Seminar (CHEM 790, 6 credit hours) is required, to include attendance at weekly research seminars (given by visiting speakers and by USD faculty and students) and a minimum of two presentations made by the Ph.D. candidate. The first presentation will generally be given in the first year after completion of the master's and will be a literature review from a field significantly different than the student’s dissertation research. The second will generally be given the following year and will be based on the dissertation research. This presentation must be attended by the student’s entire committee and will be followed by an oral examination.
• The Ph.D. candidate will pass four cumulative examinations. Each semester, the seminar program will have a particular chemistry theme. At the end of each semester a cumulative exam will be administered based on that theme.
• The Ph.D. candidate will be required to publish (or have accepted for publication) the results of his or her dissertation research in a peer-reviewed journal with national or international circulation. This must be accomplished before scheduling a defense of the dissertation and must be in a journal deemed relevant to Materials Chemistry by the student’s entire committee.
• The Ph.D. candidate will be required to write and defend a dissertation.

Second Seminar for PhD Candidates

Schedule
Ph.D. students who entered the program with a thesis-based master's in chemistry will generally present their second seminar in their second year of study.  Other students will need to complete a master's at USD before proceeding to the Ph.D.   Their first seminar will be presented in their first year of study. The next seminar will be a defense of the M.S. thesis. The next seminar, which will be considered the second seminar for the Ph.D. program, will generally be presented in the first year of study following defense of the M.S.

The purpose of this seminar is to present your intended research project and defend your research proposal. The written proposal and seminar presentation should have the following format.

• Introduction
  
  • What is the motivation for the project?  What are the central hypotheses.  Be explicit.
• Literature Review and Background
  
  • Explain how your proposal fits into the current state of knowledge. Make sure you know all of the important references.  Choose five seminal papers that span the breadth of the relevant  background and at least two others that relate most closely to your project.  Provide copies of these to your committee along with your proposal.
• Experimental Method
  
  • Describe your experimental approach to the problem.
• Preliminary Results and Discussion
  
  • Give an analysis of any preliminary data.
• What still needs to be done
• Conclusion
• Summary and prospects for ultimate success

Your committee should receive a copy of your proposal two weeks before the scheduled seminar date. Keep within a 15-page limit (double spaced, 1 inch margins, 12 point font) not including references.  The reference format should include the article title. Your entire committee must attend your seminar and oral defense and provide their evaluation to the committee chair (your advisor), the departmental chair, and the seminar coordinator.  You must receive a passing grade (A or B) on the proposal and the seminar presentation for continued support.

Research

The heart of our Graduate Program lies in laboratory research leading to the publication of a thesis or dissertation. Graduate students also have the opportunity to present their research findings at a variety of regional and national meetings.

All recent instrumentation acquisitions in the department are available to student researchers:

Financial Support

Graduate assistantships are available ($11,000-$30,000) on a competitive basis. Applications for assistantships are available from the Department of Chemistry. Awarding of teaching assistantships is based on:

• Availability
• Ability to communicate well in oral/written English
• Satisfactory performance in course work