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CHEM-PHD - Chemistry (PhD)
Overview
Program Overview
Chemistry is about the nature of matter, how to make it, how to measure it, how to model it. In that sense chemistry really matters; it is essential to explaining all the real world. It holds the key to making new drugs, creating new materials, and understanding and controlling material properties of all sorts. It is no wonder then that chemistry is called the "Central Science." Traditionally, it is divided into subdisciplines, such as organic, inorganic, physical, biological, theoretical, and analytical, but these distinctions blur as it is increasingly appreciated how all of science, let alone chemistry, is interconnected.
A deeper understanding of chemistry enables students to participate in research and studies involving biotechnology, nanotechnology, catalysis, human health, materials, earth and environmental sciences, and more. Together, faculty, postdoctoral scholars, graduate and undergraduate students actively work side by side developing new probes of biological molecules, modeling protein folding and reactivity, manipulating carbon nanotubes, developing new oxidation and polymerization catalysts, and synthesizing organic molecules to probe ion-channels. The overarching theme of these pursuits is a focus at the atomic and molecular levels, whether this concerns probing the electronic structure and reactivity of molecules as small as dihydrogen or synthesizing large polymer assemblies. The ability to synthesize new molecules and materials and to modify existing biological structures allows the properties of complex systems to be analyzed and harnessed with huge benefit to both the scientific community and society at large.
Director of Graduate Studies
Free Form Requisites
Process to Candidacy
Graduate students are eligible to become formal candidates for the Ph.D. degree after taking the department placement examinations, satisfactory completion of most of the formal lecture course requirements, and satisfactory progress on a dissertation research project determined by passing a progress report with one's thesis committee. There is no foreign language requirement for the Ph.D. degree. Admission to candidacy for the Ph.D. degree must be done before July of the second year of graduate registration.
Placement Examinations
Each new graduate student must take placement examinations upon entrance. These consist of three written examinations of two hours each in the fields of inorganic, organic, and physical chemistry, and cover such material as ordinarily is given in a rigorous one-year undergraduate course in each of these subjects. Students concentrating in biophysical chemistry or chemical physics must take examinations in biophysical or chemical physics, physical chemistry, and organic or inorganic chemistry. Students concentrating in chemical biology must take examinations in biophysical, organic chemistry, and physical chemistry or inorganic chemistry. All placement examinations are given the week before instruction begins in Autumn Quarter, and must be taken at that time. Each new graduate student meets with a member of the graduate study committee to define a program of courses based on results of the placement examinations.
General Requirements
After taking the departmental placement examinations, students select a research advisor by interviewing members of the Chemistry faculty. An Application to Start Research form is submitted to the Department as research begins under the supervision of the advisor. All students in good standing are required to start research by the end of February, during Winter Quarter of the first year of graduate registration.
Candidates for the Ph.D. degree are required to participate continually in the department colloquium (course Department Colloquium) and in the division seminar of the major subject (course Organic Chemistry Seminar, course Inorganic Chemistry Seminar, or course Physical Chemistry Seminar).
Candidates for advanced degrees must have a minimum grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 for all Chemistry lecture courses as well as for all courses taken during graduate study. Required courses must be taken for a letter grade. Most course work ends in the second year of studies, and students will then focus on full-time dissertation research.
Students may major in organic, chemical biology, physical, biophysical, chemical physics, or inorganic chemistry. All graduate students are required to take six graduate-level lecture courses (course numbers greater than 199) of at least 3 units each in chemistry or related disciplines (e.g., biochemistry, electrical engineering, mathematics, chemical engineering, chemical and systems biology, physics, materials science), to be selected in consultation with their research advisor and the Graduate Study Committee. All six courses must be taken for a letter grade. At least three of the six courses must be taken within the Chemistry Department. A minimum of four courses should be completed by the end of the first year.
Course Requirements for entering classes beginning with 2018-19
Course List | ||
Units | ||
|---|---|---|
All students must complete: | ||
Research Progress in Chemistry (in the second year) | 1 | |
Chemistry Research Seminar Presentation (in the third year) | 1 | |
Chemistry Research Proposal (in the fourth year) | 1 | |
Students majoring in physical or biophysical chemistry or chemical physics must also complete: | ||
Advanced Physical Chemistry (in the first year) | 3 | |
Advanced Physical Chemistry (in the first year) | 3 | |
Course Requirements for entering classes prior to 2018-19
Requirements for students who entered Stanford prior to 2018-19, please consult the Bulletin matching the year of matriculation (i.e., starting at) Stanford.
Continuous enrollment in course Research in Chemistry is expected after the student has chosen a research supervisor.
Post-Candidacy
Before candidates may request scheduling of the University oral examination, clearance must be obtained from the dissertation advisor and an academic review meeting made with the Student Services Manager for the Department of Chemistry.
During the period in which a dissertation is being read by members of the faculty, candidates must be available for personal consultation until the dissertation has received final department approval.
Program Policies
Advising Expectations
The Department of Chemistry is committed to providing academic advising in support of graduate student scholarly and professional development. This advising relationship entails collaborative and sustained engagement with mutual respect by both the advisor and advisee.
The advisor is expected to meet at least monthly with the graduate student to discuss on-going research.
There should be a yearly independent development plan (IDP) meeting between the graduate student and advisor. Topics include research progress, expectations for completion of Ph.D., areas for both the student and advisor to improve in their joint research effort.
A research advisor should provide timely feedback on manuscripts and thesis chapters.
Graduate students are active contributors to the advising relationship, proactively seeking academic and professional guidance and taking responsibility for informing themselves of policies and degree requirements for their graduate program.
If there is a significant issue concerning the graduate student’s progress in research, the advisor must communicate this to the student and to the Graduate Studies Committee in writing. This feedback should include the issues, what needs to be done to overcome these issues, and by when.
For a statement of University policy on graduate advising, see the Graduate Advising section of this bulletin. Academic advising by Stanford faculty is a critical component of all graduate students' education and additional resources can be found in the Policies and Best Practices for Advising Relationships at Stanford and the Guidelines for Faculty-Student Advising at Stanford.
Learning Outcomes
Program Learning Outcomes
The purpose of the master's program is to further develop knowledge and skills in Chemistry and to prepare students for a professional career or doctoral studies. This is achieved through completion of courses, in the primary field as well as related areas, and experience with independent work and specialization.
The Ph.D. is conferred upon candidates who have demonstrated substantial scholarship and the ability to conduct independent research and analysis in the field of chemistry. Through completion of advanced course work and rigorous skills training, the doctoral program prepares students to make original contributions to the knowledge of chemistry and to interpret and present the results of such research.