Coursework & Registration 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:
Petitioning for Course Credit or a Course Waiver
Scholars may petition to receive course credit for graduate courses taken at another institution and/or a course waiver for a maximum of 9 credit hours. The scholar should submit the Petition for Course Credit and/or Waiver form as supporting documentation with a petition to the graduate program. Petitions will be forwarded to the Graduate Committee for review. Transfer credit requests must also be approved by the Laney Graduate School Dean (see box below.)
Coursework petitions must be submitted by the end of the first semester of coursework.
What is the difference between transfer credit and a waiver?
Course transfer credit may be given only for courses that were not used to satisfy the requirements of any previous degree. When you request course credit, you are requesting for a specific course taken elsewhere to be included on your official Emory transcript. Transfer credit may also reduce the number of courses required at Emory by an equivalent amount. A course waiver may be requested to reduce the usual six-credit course load required for candidacy based on prior coursework at the graduate level. Waivers may be requested for courses that were also used to satisfy requirements for a previous degree. In the case of a waiver, the courses themselves will not be reflected on the Emory transcript. It is more common for students to be eligible for a waiver than for transfer credit.
Scholars wishing to use non-chemistry coursework as part of a transfer or waiver request should include a rationale indicating the relevance of the course to the chemistry degree. Support from the primary research mentor significantly strengthens requests (therefore, scholars are encouraged to submit these requests after group selection has concluded.)
All requested waivers and petitions will be reviewed. However, scholars should be advised that in most cases, it benefits the scholar to take a full slate of courses at Emory.
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 |
Grading for Research Credit
The Instructor of Record for CHEM 599R/ 799R is the Director of Graduate Studies. The DGS will seek input from the primary research mentor as to the scholar’s research progress at the midpoint of each semester. Scholars will be graded as:
- Progressing well, no concerns
- Some concerns will need improvement
- Major concerns, needs significant improvement
Scholars will be informed of their mid-semester evaluation and will be provided with notes from the primary research mentor regarding the assessment. At the end of the semester, faculty will be asked to advise the DGS of any changes to the mid-semester evaluation. Scholars must receive an assessment of “progressing well, no concerns” to earn an “S” grade in research in a given semester.
Share Your Thoughts
If you would like to provide feedback on this handbook entry, we invite you to submit this form.