Chemistry, M.S.
Develop advanced research skills that prepare you for a variety of careers.
About the Master of Science in Chemistry
The Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry in the College of Liberal Arts offers the M.S. in Chemistry. It is useful for careers requiring chemistry knowledge applied over a variety of settings such as patent law, government work, national defense, and private industry.
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Program Information
Program Type
Master's Program
Area of Study
Sciences, Mathematics, and Technology
School
Duration
2 years
Degree
M.S. in Chemistry
Program Location
Required Credit Hours
30
M.S. in Chemistry Program Details
APPLICATION DEADLINE: Review begins in December and deadline on April 1
The Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry welcomes student applications with the following materials.
- Complete the Graduate School’s Online Application.
- Pay the application fee ($60).
- Submit official transcripts.
- International applicants whose first language is not English may be required to submit scores from an acceptable English language proficiency test.
- Upload Supplemental Application materials for the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry to the link provided on the application.
- Statement of purpose: outlining your background, career aspirations, and motivation for graduate studies
- Three letters of recommendation: provide contact information for three recommenders
To be admitted to a graduate degree program in full standing, a student must have completed a B.S. degree in chemistry with an average grade of B. Exceptionally qualified students who have not completed a B.S. degree in chemistry but have a degree in a related field (such as biology, engineering, physics, pharmacology, or pharmacy) may be admitted. However they should expect to present a clear case in their personal statement for admission. Additionally, they should expect to be provisionally admitted until specified conditions are satisfied such as prerequisite coursework or other expectations.
Students in the M.S. in Chemistry complete 30 credit hours.
- 18 credit hours of core chemistry courses
- Chem 700: Intro to Graduate Research
- 1 credit hour of Chem 659: Masters Seminar
- 1 credit hour of 750: Area Seminar
- 6 credit hours of Chem 697: Thesis
All M.S. students must take one CORE COURSE from each of four of the five specialty areas. Core courses for each area are:
Speciality Areas |
|---|
| Analytical Chemistry (Chem 512, 514, 519) |
| Biochemistry (Chem 534, 771) |
| Inorganic Chemistry (Chem 544, 701, 702) |
| Organic Chemistry (Chem 527, 528) |
| Physical Chemistry (Chem 531, 532, 536) |
A cumulative average of not less than B is required in the core courses. A minimum grade of B is also required in each course in the student’s area of specialization. These course and credit requirements are minimum requirements and may not be satisfied with remedial courses. Specific requirements for individual students in excess of the minimum may be imposed by the adviser and the student’s advisory committee.
Each student makes an initial oral presentation, which may be either a research seminar or a literature seminar to the department. They produce a written thesis of the student's research results along with an oral defense.
See all Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry Courses in the Course Catalog.
Teaching and research assistantships are available to qualified applicants. They are $25,000 per year minimum for 12 months.
Students with a graduate assistantship funded in the department receive a scholarship that covers some or all of the tuition and non-residency fee, if applicable, for regular semesters and subsidized health insurance.
The Graduate School’s financial aid webpage lists a variety of funding possibilities, including summer support and a recruiting fellowship program that promotes academic excellence and access to graduate education to groups who are historically underrepresented.
The Science Library, housed in the Thad Cochran Research Center adjacent to Coulter Hall, contains more than 20,000 chemistry books and journals and subscribes to more than 140 chemistry research journals.
The department also benefits from the presence of several other on-campus research programs and facilities, including the
- Mississippi Center for Supercomputing Research,
- National Center for Physical Acoustics,
- National Center for Natural Products Research,
- School of Engineering.
Nano-Bio ImmunoEngineering Consortium (NIEC) has established two state-of-the-art research suites at the university. The research core facilities are intended to 1) give researchers access to high-dollar instrumentation that is beyond the scope of support of individual labs, 2) provide the necessary infrastructure to perform cutting-edge research projects at UM, and 3) enable researchers to develop their biomaterials from initial physicochemical characterization all the way through to preclinical efficacy testing. The two core suites (i.e., Biomaterials Characterization and Biomolecular Analysis) are outfitted with major instrumentation.
What does Chemistry look like on the job market?
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FAQ: Admission to the M.S. in Chemistry
For admission in full standing to either the M.S. or Ph.D. programs, applicants must have completed a baccalaureate degree in chemistry or a closely related subject.
All applicants should have completed the following undergraduate core requirements before enrollment in the graduate program:
- Organic Chemistry I & II
sophomore-level - Physical Chemistry I (Thermo & Kinetics)
junior-level - Analytical Chemistry (Quantitative Analysis)
sophomore/junior-level - Physical Chemistry II (Quantum) courses
junior-level - Instrumental Analysis courses
senior-level - Inorganic Chemistry courses
senior-level - Biochemistry I courses
senior-level
Applicants who have not completed the above core requirements may still be admitted on a case-by-case basis. However, these students are required to remedy all deficiencies.
The Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry does not have a minimum TOEFL, IELTS, etc. score for admission; it is set by the International Office and Graduate School.
See the Graduate School's requirements:
English Language Proficiency Requirements
Additionally, all TAs will be required to be evaluated for their English proficiency in a separate assessment.
The department offers Teaching Assistantships to qualified applicants. The stipend is at least $25,000 for 12 months. There are also honors fellowships for highly qualified applicants and minority fellowships available through the graduate school.
Please find more information here:
- For full consideration of your application for Fall admission, please have all of your materials submitted by December 1 of the previous year.
- The deadline from the Graduate School is April 1, but offers are likely to have already been made by early Spring.
We require three (3) letters of recommendation and one (1) statement of purpose outlining your background, career aspirations and motivation for graduate studies.
Contact information for the letters are entered during the online application. The statement of purpose is uploaded directly during the online application process.
Apply online through the Graduate School:
You can check on the receipt of your GRE, transcripts, and for international students, the TOEFL score through the Graduate School’s website:
Your application is not complete and cannot be reviewed for admission until the Graduate School has received official scores and transcripts.
The Department then reviews the applications, makes admissions decisions and Teaching Assistantship offers.
If all of your official documents have been received by the graduate school, you can check on the progress of your application in the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry via email:
The Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry is located in Coulter Hall on the Oxford, Mississippi campus.
No, you do not need to secure an advisor before applying. All students are admitted independent of any potential research advisor. However, seeing what research is ongoing and contacting those faculty members can be useful in crafting your application materials, but securing a commitment is not required.
- McNair Scholars do not have to pay the application fee per Graduate Student policy.
- Former Ole Miss Physical Chemistry REU students also do not have to pay the application fee; they should contact the department about setting this up.
We’re Here to Help!
If you have any questions about the M.S. in Chemistry, don’t hesitate to get in touch!
Ryan Clifton Fortenberry
Associate Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry
Video: Get to Know the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry
Hear firsthand from students and faculty about the Chemistry program.
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