PhDreqsAtAGlance(jms)

8/2/2019 PhDreqsAtAGlance(jms)

1/4

Chemistry Department, University of Massachusetts Amherst (jms)

PhD Requirements at a Glance

Coursework CHEM 891G: Core Course (first two semesters). CHEM 891F: Faculty Research Seminar (first semester -- during orientation week).

CHEM 892 : Research (research-advisers section) every semester until graduation/final defense.*

CHEM 899: Dissertation, 18 credits total (accumulate at least 18 credit s during grad program. 9 cr max inone semester .)

4 Journal Clubs (course semester! We suggest that you diversify your JC areas. JCs from other department are fine.)

Divisional requirements ( if any) Electives (chosen in consultation with your research adviser)

Residency Requirement : 9 credits or more in each of two consecutive semesters. (Normally fulfilled during the first two semesters. This is a Graduate School requirement.)~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

* Job Hunters/Finishing Up Students : Our ABD[egree] letter is sufficient for most employers hiringPhD students who are finishing up before the end of a semester or before a degree is official, diplomaissued, etc. However, some employers may insist on an official letter from the Grad School certifyingcompletion of requirements. If you need this level of officialness, you may want to considerProgram/Continuation Fee instead of credits during your completion semester. (You must be enrolledsomehow during every regular semester before you graduate.) Prog/Cont Fee will avoid the technicality of the GS not being able (or willing?) to certify completion of coursework until grades are in. (The GS doesntallow early submission of grades.) If you have any question as to which level of completion certificationyou might need, ask your future employer ASAP. As a semi-drastic alternative, we can switch you fromcredits to Program Fee. Just be sure that you have met all course & credit requirements (they are few, so

no excuses) before your final semester.

* * * * * * *

Full-Time StatusEvery semester, plus summer, we do a memo to the Grad School listing all active grad students and saying that we consider all of them (all of you) to be full time because of Research & working towards completion of program/degreerequirements.

In summer, this memo/status is necessary for those subject to FICA/OBRA deductions and to avoid such. The other requirement for FICA/OBRA avoidance is registering for a summer credit/course via ContEd. Note: Apparently full-timestatus can generate some version of Cont/Prog Fee for summer, which generates a Bursar bill that curiously lists

Registration Fee and not Cont/Prog Fee . . . but with a qualifying RA/TAship, this fee is waived. (This process has notyet been adequately explained by the Grad School. Still quite confusing. Stay tuned.)

* * * * * * *

Courses/Credits after Your First Year Just to recap, reiterate, and reassure . . . After your first two semesters i.e., after you fulfill the Residency Requirementyou no longer have a minimum-credits requirement. Other than the four Journal Clubs and any courses recommended byyour division and/or research adviser, CHEM 892 (1 cr) is the only course that you should register for each semester. (Theonly possible exception is finishing-up students in their completion semester, as mentioned earlier.) You will need 18credits of Dissertation (CHEM 899) to graduate, and its up to you to budget those credits. Plan ahead . . .

3/24/2012 1 21:21:14 a3/p3


2/4


* * * * * * *

3/24/2012 4 21:21:14 a3/p3


3/4


Progressing Through the Graduate Program: A Timeline of Requirements/Milestones

Other than creating the dissertation committee (special form needed), a department green-form is necessary to reportthe result of these milestones (defenses): Prospectus, ORP, Data, and Final. The greenform (progress memo) is officiallyfrom the research adviser and needs to be signed by her/him.

A. Lab Rotations (throughout the first semester): Three rotations (3 different labs/faculty ) lasting approximatelyone month each. Two labs are chosen by the student, and the other lab is selected by the GPD and/or GPC (Grad ProgramDirector and/or Committee, respectively) based on the list of preferences from the student and on other factors such asfaculty needs for taking new graduate students, and the total rotation load of the requested faculty member.

B. Research Advisers (end of first semester): Students create a short-list (ranked) of two faculty as their research-adviser pool and submit this list to jms. (Having viable options a back-up plan -- is critical in case the first-choice cant accommodate the student.) Assignments are finalized by the end of first semester.

C. Dissertation Committee (by end of 3 rd semester): Other than the Chem Dept's need to know, the GraduateSchool has to be officially notified (via a memo generated by the Dept). There is a department form that all committeemembers must sign. Whom you have on your committee is up to you, with guidance from your committee chair and theGPD.

D. Prospectus (by end of 4 th semester): The prospectus is the detailed outline/plan for the dissertation topic andresearch. Besides producing the prospectus document, the content must be defended to the dissertation committee. (Not a

public defense.)Submit to Chem Dept (jms): 2 copies of the Prospectus with signed cover sheets: the original + one copy .

E. ORP : Original Research Proposal (by end of 5 th semester): Not to be confused with the dissertation, whichis supposed to be original research, the ORP topic must be outside your research area. The ORP is a departmental (notGrad School) requirement. Documentation and defense are similar to that for Prospectus, with only a minor difference in

the required documentation.Submit to Chem Dept (jms): 1 copy of approved ORP document . (Does not need committee signatures.)

F. Preliminary Comprehensive Exam: Not an examination per se for the Chemistry Department, butrather the result of having passed the Prospectus + ORP, and any cumes/divisional requirements.

G. Candidacy: The requirements for candidacy for the PhD are the same as the requirements for the PreliminaryComprehensive Exam. Candidacy will be formally achieved when the Preliminary Comprehensive Exam is passed.

H. Data Defense: Before you schedule your final defense, you will have a data defense (with your dissertationcommittee). This is strictly internal to the Chemistry Department and helps you determine if any further experiments, etc.are needed to get your research to the final-defense stage. No copies of any documents/data need to be submitted to theDept. Timing of the data defense: we recommend at least three months before the final defense.

I. Final Defense & Graduation (Well provide detailed information when the time comes.)A public defense is part of the final defense of the dissertation. Only faculty can be present for the actual defense portionwhere the committee questions the PhD candidate. Otherwise, anyone can attend the public portion (the seminar). TheGrad School announces defenses in the The Loop , and we announce via posters and email. Date, location, and titleinformation are needed at least a month before the defense .

Degree-Filing Deadlines at the Grad School:August 31, 2011 for a September 2011 degreeDecember 15, 2011* for a February 2012 degreeApril 13 , 2012 for a May 2012 degree*

3/24/2012 4 21:21:14 a3/p3


4/4


*(Earlier this year due to holiday.)

3/24/2012 4 21:21:14 a3/p3

Documents

PhDreqsAtAGlance(jms)