Degree Requirements, Chemistry

Graduate handbook information is updated and maintained by each program. Graduate handbooks are available within each program's office and online at https://utexas.box.com/v/UTAustinGraduateHandbooks. Please contact the program with concerns or questions.

One semester of Chemistry 398T is required of all candidates for advanced degrees.

Master of Arts

Master’s degree students must complete 30 semester hours of coursework, including a minor of at least six semester hours. No more than nine hours of upper-division work may be counted; these hours must be divided between the major and the minor. Candidates normally must also submit a thesis based on individual research. The thesis course may be counted as six of the 30 semester hours required for the degree. In general, two and one-half years are necessary to finish the Master of Arts. A Master of Arts degree with report is not offered, nor is a non-thesis Master of Arts.

Doctor of Philosophy

Doctoral degree students who plan to specialize in analytical, inorganic, organic, or physical chemistry must complete six courses on the letter-grade basis. The qualifying examinations are usually completed within the first 20 months in residence or before application for candidacy. Students are examined by members of the Graduate Studies Committee in their areas of concentration before admission to candidacy. While the doctoral degree program requires a minimum of 30 credit hours of coursework including the dissertation, four to five years of full-time study, or 80-105 hours of coursework, are usually required to complete program requirements.