Coursework for Continuing Scholars
section III, article 1
Coursework is an opportunity to delve deeper into the science of your chosen research area as well as the discipline of chemistry more broadly. Required skills-based coursework in proposal preparation, pedagogy, and ethics, among others, will help prepare you for your thesis work and for the job market.
Reminder of requirements
“Continuing” coursework refers to course effort after the first year of graduate school.
Review the First Year Coursework article for a list of courses required for all scholars and an overview of grading policy and expectations.
The Course Plan Guidance provides an at-a-glance view of requirements by semester:
Course registration for continuing scholars
All scholars should meet with their primary research mentor to decide on necessary coursework. First year scholars are encouraged to consult their rotation advisors and/or the DGS. Scholars must register themselves online via OPUS. The Graduate Program Coordinator can provide assistance but is not responsible for enrollment. Scholars are responsible for ensuring that they are enrolled prior to the enrollment deadline each semester.
Milestone course guidance
Scholars must enroll in a specific course to properly record and receive credit for chemistry milestones. Scholars should enroll in these courses in the semester in which they plan to complete a milestone. Scholars are also required to re-enroll if they are approved to re-test a milestone in a given semester.
- CHEM 798B: Second Year Qualifying Exam (3 credits)
- CHEM 798C: Third Year Milestone (1 credit)
- CHEM 798D: Fourth Year Milestone (1 credit)
Registering for external courses
Scholars who wish to register for courses offered outside of the Department of Chemistry must complete the External Coursework Petition. This form requires signatures from the primary research mentor, the Instructor of Record for the requested course, and the graduate committee. If a scholar wishes to apply a non-chemistry course towards the six chemistry courses required for candidacy, they should indicate this on the petition.
Coursework residency requirement and research credit
All scholars in the graduate program are required to maintain a full course load consisting of at least 9 units during the fall, spring and summer semesters. In most semesters, scholars will need to enroll in CHEM 599R (Pre-Candidacy) or CHEM 799R (Post-Candidacy) to properly reflect their research effort. Scholars should refer to the table below to determine the appropriate research credit to reflect their effort in a given semester.
Research credit guidance
First Year, First Semester | 0 |
First Year, Second Semester | 6 |
First Year, Summer | 12 |
Second Year, First Semester | 9 |
Second Year, Second Semester | 9 |
Second Year Summer and Above | 12 |
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