Graduate

Overview

Welcome to Northwestern University

 

We welcome your interest in the graduate chemistry program at Northwestern University, and are certain you will find that Northwestern and Evanston provide a stimulating and supportive environment for exciting research and rewarding graduate studies.

The outstanding accomplishments of our doctoral students and alumni reflect the department’s selective admission standards. All PhD students receive broad training that prepares them equally well for careers in industry or academia. Northwestern’s chemistry department enjoys strong ties with the chemical industry. Our Industrial Associates Program, an intimate partnership with leading chemical-based industries, includes campus visits, seminars, joint research, and support. Approximately 60 percent of our alumni hold industrial positions, 30 percent have academic careers, and 10 percent are employed by government or independent research institutions.

Research
The thesis research project is the single most important undertaking of a student’s graduate career. Other requirements, including course work, written and oral examinations, seminars, and teaching, are intended to broaden the student’s exposure to chemistry and to aid in developing the essential skills of oral and written scientific communication.

Choice of a faculty member as thesis research adviser comes early in the PhD program, usually during November of the first year. In September and October each faculty member introduces students to his or her research interests in a special series of seminars. The student and individual faculty members then explore subjects of mutual interest, leading to the student joining a research group and choosing a dissertation topic tailored to his or her interests. Approximately 15 percent of our students select a topic that requires faculty collaboration and thus have two research advisers.

Upon joining a research group, the student can obtain advice on research, course selection, and career planning from advanced students in the research group as well as from the thesis adviser. Research normally begins in mid-November of the first year and continues until a satisfactory dissertation is completed. Most students entering complete their final dissertation in just over 5 years; some finish in less than four years.

Program Requirements
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