Doctor of Philosophy (Chemistry)

Program Requirements

Students are required to complete a minimum of 12 units in coursework and a thesis.

Coursework

A minimum of four 3-unit graduate-level courses, to be approved by the Graduate Advisory Committee and/or the supervisory committee.
CHEM 502 - Departmental Research Seminar
- All PhD students are required to register in CHEM 502 in the fall and winter terms for the first three years of their program. Students must attend a minimum number of 502 seminars and submit evaluations of these, to receive credit for the course.
- All PhD students are required to present a seminar to the Department on a topic other than their research program. Normally the seminar is presented in the second year of the program, and it must be completed prior to the end of the third year.

Thesis

Registration in 900-level THES. Students must present the results of their research in thesis form and orally to an examining committee, and as a seminar to the Department as a whole.

Candidacy Examination

PhD students must pass an oral examination in subjects relevant to their field of research, normally no later than the end of May of their third year.

Ethics Requirement

The Chemistry Graduate Curriculum Committee recommends the following courses be taken to satisfy the ethics requirement

Plagiarism Seminar
Code of Student Behaviour Seminar
GET (Graduate Ethics Training)

Academic Standing Requirement

In order to continue in the PhD program, a student must achieve a cumulative GPA of 2.7 or greater in the first year, and must maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or greater in the second and subsequent years.

Residence Requirement

The minimum period of residence is two academic years of full-time attendance at the University of Alberta.

Length of Program

The time required to complete the PhD degree will vary according to the previous training of the candidate and the nature of the research project; however, four years of study and research is normally required. Students with an MSc degree may be able to complete the PhD program within three years.

The maximum time to complete the PhD program as set by the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research is six years.