Five-Year MS Program
The Department of Chemistry offers a special research-based master’s degree program, available only to University of Rochester undergraduates. In this program students can complete their MS degree one year beyond the BS program by taking advantage of the intensive curriculum in the BS program and by integrating BS and MS research.
Since the program is based on an integration of the fourth and fifth years of study, careful planning is required. Students should discuss this program with a faculty advisor when they begin to make decisions about senior research in the spring of the junior year.
Students in this program typically enroll in four graduate chemistry courses during their fourth and fifth years of study. A research program is started in the fourth year and continued in the fifth, including full-time research over the summer following completion of the BS degree. Both BS and MS theses are required. The bachelor’s degree research will serve as the basis of the master’s degree thesis which will be submitted and defended in the final semester of the BS/MS program.
Formal application to the graduate school and admission to the program follows in the fall of the senior year.
Detailed Requirements
Students need to complete a total of 30 credit-hours in order to complete the MS. This comes from a combination of graduate lecture courses (16 credits), MS research (12 credits of CHEM 495), and graduate seminar (two credits of CHEM 511). Students should NOT take CHEM585: First-Year Seminar.
Up to 10 credits can be transferred into the MS program as long as those credits were not counted towards the BS degree. Students can take undergraduate-level classes through the first semester of the 5th year.
Students need to complete a total of 16 credits of coursework in fall and spring of the MS year, in addition to doing research. Typically, this means two graduate courses each semester.
When declaring their BS major with the Registrar, students entering the BS/MS program should be careful to only include the necessary 400-level courses for the BS (four credits required). In this way, the extra 400-level courses will be available to count for the MS.
Example Program of Study
Senior year: Student takes at least one additional 400-level course that they can apply to the MS degree. (One is required for the BS, so this would be the second 400-level course taken prior to entering the MS program.)
Summer after completing BS: Student performs full-time research over the summer for at least 10-weeks (four credits of CHEM 495). Occasionally, the student may need to do summer research the following summer if they cannot do it immediately after completing the BS.
Fall and spring semester of MS year: Student completes two graduate courses each semester (16 credits total), CHEM 511 each semester (two credits total), and CHEM 495 masters research each semester (eight credits).
Final semester: Student writes MS thesis and undergoes an oral exam with their research advisor and two other faculty members to assess the MS research thesis. The student is responsible for assembling the committee and scheduling the exam.
Master's Defense
Thesis Document
The University provides guidelines for crafting a master's thesis document, though students should talk to their advisors about the advisor's preferred format.
Important: Students must email a copy of the final thesis document to the graduate coordinator and defense committee at least 10 calendar days prior to the defense date.
Defense Committee
Students are responsible for identifying a three-member committee for the master's defense. The committee should be comprised of the student's faculty advisor, one additional chemistry faculty member, and one faculty member from outside of the chemistry department. For the faculty member outside of chemistry, they can be affiliated with chemistry but must not have any academic/research relationship with any other members of the committee or the student.
Defense
Students are responsible for scheduling the oral exam at a time that works for all committee members. Once a date/time is determined, students may reach out to the graduate coordinator for support in reserving a room for the defense.
At the conclusion of the defense, the committee will either determine that the student has passed or failed the exam. In the event that the outcome is a failure of the exam, the student may request reexamination after four months have passed.
After the Defense
Students must submit a final corrected copy of the thesis to the graduate coordinator.
Cost
There is a 50 percent tuition discount for the MS year. Students are responsible for health insurance and health fees. Students are ineligible for stipends and fellowships from the department.
Application Process
- During junior year or first semester of senior year, students should identify a chemistry faculty member to be their advisor for the MS (5th) year. Once determined, the student should ask the faculty member to email the graduate coordinator stating that they agree to serve as the advisor for the 5th year.
- Students need to contact and receive confirmation from the chemistry undergraduate coordinator that they are on-track to receive the bachelor's degree. Once confirmed, the student must send a copy of the confirmation email from the undergraduate coordinator to the graduate coordinator.
- Once the graduate coordinator has both of these confirmations, then the student can complete the accelerated graduate application. Once submitted, the student must notify the graduate coordinator.
- As long as all of these requirements are met successfully, then the student will receive an offer of admission from the graduate school.
Contact
For more information please contact the graduate studies coordinator.