Chemistry Department
414 E. Clark St.
Vermillion, SD 57069
phone: (605) 677-5487
fax: (605) 677-6397
mary.berry@usd.edu
DEGREE OFFERED:
Master of Science (with thesis)
Doctor of Philosophy (Materials Chemistry)
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ADMISSION: Admission into the graduate program in Chemistry at USD is gained by application to the Graduate School of the University. Full acceptance into this program requires an acceptable major in chemistry, with an undergraduate GPA of 2.7 or higher, and satisfaction of such additional requirements as may be stipulated in order to provide a course background equivalent to that of an ACS approved undergraduate major. 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.
For questions regarding admission into the Department of Chemistry graduate program please contact Ranjit Koodali, Assistant Professor, Physical Chemistry.
A complete application for all applicants must include:
A) An application form
B) $35.00 application fee
C) Three letters of recommendation
D) Two official copies of undergraduate transcripts
E) Email address if available
International Applicants should also:
F) Forward their official scores on the GRE exam
G) Complete the TOEFL exam or IELTS (for students who have not graduated from a college in the United States) and forward the scores to the department.
H) Include an Official Statement of Finances form (required for I-20)
Application materials may be obtained from the Dean of the Graduate School, University of South Dakota, 414 East Clark Street, Vermillion, SD, 57069-2390. The USD Graduate School also has a WEB page where all the application forms can be downloaded directly.
The forwarding address for the above information is:
Graduate Application
University of South Dakota
Department of Chemistry, CL 115
414 East Clark
Vermillion, SD 57069
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Program of Study for M.S. in Chemistry
Estimated average time to degree is two years beyond the Bachelors assuming 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 772/774, 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.
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PROGRAM OF STUDY FOR Ph.D. DEGREE IN MATERIALS CHEMISTRY:
Estimated average time to degree is five years beyond the Bachelors (assuming ACS approved degree in Chemistry) or three years beyond a Masters in Chemistry (assuming equivalent to MS in Chemistry at USD).
Ph.D. candidates will earn a Masters in Chemistry either prior to starting the Materials Chemistry PhD program or will earn a Masters (M.S.) en route to the degree. The requirements listed below are those beyond the Masters except that courses from item 2 may be counted toward both the MS and the PhD. Before receiving a MS 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.â€
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 772/774, 6 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 PhD candidate. The first presentation will generally be given in the first year after completion of the Masters 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 PhD 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 PhD 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 PhD candidate will be required to write and defend a dissertation.
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RESEARCH: The heart of the Graduate Program in Chemistry lies in laboratory research leading to the publication of a thesis or dissertation. Graduate students at USD 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 students researchers. These include:
200 MHz NMR Spectrometer
GC Mass Spectrometer
Chemical Microscopy Facility
Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrometer
Scanning Tunneling Microscope
Fluorescence Imaging System
Nitrogen/Dye Laser System
3 Nd/YAG Laser Systems
UV-Vis Spectrophotometers
Spectrofluorometer
Quartz Crystal Microbalance
LC-Mass Spectrometer
Atomic Force Microscope
Single Crystal X-ray Diffractometer
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FINANCIAL SUPPORT: Graduate assistantships are available on a competitive basis ($11,000-$30,000). 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, and satisfactory performance in course work.
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COURSE DESCRIPTIONS:
CHEM 521 SPECTROSCOPIC ANALYSIS
(3 credits) Classification and identification of organic compounds using spectroscopic techniques including FT-IR, FT-NMR, and MS. Prerequisite: CHEM 328.
CHEM 534 INSTRUMENTAL ANALYSIS
(4 credits) Theory and application of modern instrumental methods of quantitative analysis.
CHEM 542 PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY I
(3 credits) A study of the fundamental principles governing the behavior of physical chemical systems. (Also PHYS 535.)
CHEM 542L PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY LABORATORY I
(1 credit) Theory and techniques for the determination of physical data. (Also PHYS 538.)
CHEM 544 PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY II
(3 credits) A continuation of CHEM 542. (Also PHYS 537.)
CHEM 545 PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY LABORATORY II
(1 credit) A continuation of CHEM 542L.
CHEM 552 ADVANCED INORGANIC CHEMISTRY
(3 credits) An interpretative study of the chemistry and physical property of major classes of elements.
CHEM 564 POLYMER CHEMISTRY
(3 credits) An introduction to the fundamental chemistry, characterization, and fabrication of polymeric substances.
CHEM 570 HISTORY OF CHEMISTRY
(2 credits) A lecture and library course in the development of science.
CHEM 572 CHEMICAL LITERATURE SEMINAR I
(2 credits) Conference course on chemical literature, technical writing, and the use of a chemical library.
CHEM 574 CHEMICAL LITERATURE SEMINAR II
(1 credit) Journal reports from the current literature.
CHEM 576 SELECTED TOPICS
(1-3 credits) Lectures and laboratories considering selected theory and techniques.
CHEM 580 TEACHING OF PHYSICAL SCIENCE
(3 credits) A survey of the field, including text criticisms, laboratory problems, and class organization.
CHEM 582 ENVIRONMENTAL CHEMISTRY
(3 credits) Essential chemical nature of the environment considered by means of lectures, demonstrations, and related laboratory exercises.
CHEM 583 CHEMISTRY IN THE MARKETPLACE
(3 credits) A descriptive presentation of the chemistry of commercial items integrated with laboratory experience in the analysis and testing of actual marketplace materials.
CHEM 720 SYNTHESIS AND CHARACTERIZATION OF NANO STRUCTURED MATERIALS
(3 credits) A survey and analysis of synthetic methods and characterization techniques for nano-structured materials will be presented. The classes of materials that will be studied include: inorganic nanocrystals (metals, semiconductors, metal oxides), nano-wires, porous materials, carbon nanostructures, and higher order materials such as supported catalysts. Solution-phase synthetic routes will be emphasized, including sol-gel synthesis, non-hydrolytic molecular decomposition, and micelle-templated synthesis, with lesser emphasis on solid state and gas-phase reactions. Methods of characterization will be discussed, including: transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), UV-visible absorption/fluorescence, X-ray absorption spectroscopy, gas sorption analysis, atomic force microscopy (AFM), scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), and photoelectron spectroscopy.
CHEM 721 APPLICATIONS OF NANO-STRUCTURED MATERIALS
(3 credits) This course covers applications of nanomaterials in fields ranging from catalysis, photochemistry, and electrochemistry to sensors, biomedicine, pharmaceuticals, and optoelectronics. The approach is interdisciplinary with contribution from chemistry, physics, biology and engineering.
CHEM 722 SOLID STATE CHEMISTRY AND CRYSTALLOGRAPHY
(3 credits) This course investigates the structure, bonding and properties of solid state materials. Structural characterization by diffraction techniques, both powder and single-crystal, will be emphasized. Additional areas of study include: optical, magnetic, electric and ionic conductivity, and luminescence properties of solid materials.
CHEM 723 LUMINESCENCE SPECTROSCOPY OF MATERIALS
(3 credits) Fundamentals of luminescent behavior and photodynamics of solid sate materials and spectroscopic methods of characterization will be discussed. Applications of novel solid state materials as phosphors, sensors, and in optoelectronics devices will be considered.
CHEM 724 ELECTROCHEMISTRY
(3 credits) Fundamental topics (thermodynamics, kinetics and mass transfer) and applications of electrochemistry will be covered. Contemporary electroanalytical techniques and electrochemistry in chemical synthesis will be discussed.
CHEM 726 ADVANCED ORGANIC CHEMISTRY
(4 credits) The application of modern theories of valence and reaction kinetics with reference to current literature.
CHEM 730 ADVANCED ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
(3 credits) Study of analytical techniques in the current literature with emphasis upon physical theory.
CHEM 744 ADVANCED PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY
(3 credits) A review and extension of selected topics from quantum chemistry, chemical kinetics, statistical mechanics, and spectroscopy.
CHEM 752 ADVANCED INORGANIC CHEMISTRY
(3 credits) A continuation of CHEM 552.
CHEM 790 GRADUATE SEMINAR I
(1 credit) Staff and student presentations dealing with current topics.
CHEM 798 MASTERS THESIS RESEARCH IN CHEMISTRY (1-6 credits) Thesis research in the various fields of chemistry.
CHEM 799 THESIS SUSTAINING (0 credits) Utilized for continuous enrollment.
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Information for Current Graduate Students:
M.S. Progress Reports
Ph. D. Progress Reports
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© 2009 The University of South Dakota | Vermillion, SD 57069 | 877-COYOTES
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