The research-based MS program in chemistry increases the professional competence of the chemist beyond the bachelor's degree. Course work, independent research culminating in the defense of an original thesis, and small group discussions are emphasized to achieve these goals. The MS degree can be viewed as an important professional goal or as preparation for study toward the doctoral degree. 30 credit hours are required to earn the research-based MS.

The objective of the non-thesis MS program is to provide an alternate pathway for students to obtain an MS degree in chemistry that does not involve an in-depth research project or a thesis. This degree option is intended for area residents whose current work responsibilities, or intellectual property issues with their employer, preclude the possibility of conducting the requisite research for the traditional research-based MS degree. School teachers, non-traditional students, and employees of local industry who want to earn an MS degree for promotions and/or to meet eligibility requirements for teaching positions at regional community colleges may wish to pursue this degree option. 30 credit hours are required to earn the non-thesis MS.  

The Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and the Department of Chemical Engineering, in conjunction with the School of Green Chemistry and Engineering, offer a concentration in Green Chemistry and Engineering. The program is designed for students who want to concentrate their studies on principles of green chemistry and green engineering and incorporate aspects of business and other professional skills components into their master’s degree and future career.

The concentration in Green Chemistry and Engineering is approved and affiliated with the National Professional Science Master’s Association and requires 36 credit hours to graduate.  The Green Chemistry and Engineering concentration is a terminal degree that prepares students for immediate employment opportunities in industry, government, and nongovernmental organizations.  It is not a research-based degree. The program provides a foundation in chemistry, chemical engineering, toxicology, environmental chemistry, life cycle assessment, chemical alternatives assessment, regulations and policy, and business.

More information on activities of the School of Green Chemistry and Engineering and/or the  Green Chemistry and Engineering concentration  visit our website at https://www.utoledo.edu/nsm/sgce/

• Requirements for the thesis-based master’s program
• Requirements for the non-thesis master’s program
• Requirements for the concentration in green chemistry and engineering

Requirements for the Thesis-Based Master’s Program

For the degree of master of science, students must meet the following departmental requirements:

1. The courses presented must total at least 30 hours of graduate credit, including at least four hours of credit in graduate research.
2. Registration for research seminar is typically required each term the student is enrolled in graduate research.
3. Each candidate must present a thesis.
4. Registration for chemistry colloquium is typically required each term, but no more than four hours of credit may count within the required 30 hours.
5. Each candidate must demonstrate satisfactory performance on a comprehensive oral examination on his or her thesis research, in addition to the public defense of the thesis at a colloquium presentation.
6. Upon choosing a research director, an advisory committee will be appointed to supervise the research, to administer the comprehensive oral examination, and to approve the thesis. Each student, in conjunction with the director of graduate studies, the research director, and the student’s advisory committee, will prepare a plan of study listing the courses and other requirements for the degree. Upon approval, the plan of study becomes the list of course requirements for the degree. Students are required to take four or more 6000-level courses covering at least three different subdisciplines of chemistry as part of the plan of study.
7. Each student must register and successfully complete CHEM 6940 and CHEM 6950.

REQUIREMENTS FOR THE NON-THESIS MASTER’S PROGRAM

For the non-thesis (coursework-based) master of science concentration, students must meet the following departmental requirements:

1. The courses presented must total at least 30 hours of graduate credit.
2. Each student, in conjunction with the director of graduate studies, will prepare a plan of study listing the courses and other requirements for the degree. Upon approval, the plan of study becomes the list of course requirements for the degree. Students are required to take five or more chemistry 6000-level courses (minimum 20 credit hours) as part of the plan of study. To establish breadth in knowledge, at least one course in each of four (out of six) subdisciplines of chemistry (analytical, biochemistry, inorganic, materials, organic, physical) must be completed. Up to 8 hours of 6000-level courses in other fields may also be applied towards the degree with permission of the director of graduate studies.
3. Credit for thesis research, research seminar, or chemistry colloquium may not be applied towards the required 30 hours.
4. Each candidate must take CHEM 6940 and CHEM 6950 and demonstrate satisfactory performance on a comprehensive review of a topic from the chemistry or biochemistry literature.

1. Combined bachelor's to master's - BS in Chemistry/MS in Chemistry - Non-thesis Concentration and BS in Biochemistry/MS in Chemistry - Non-thesis Concentration

   Undergraduate students in the SM-CHEM-BS (BS in Chemistry) or SM-BCHM-BS (BS in Biochemistry) program who are accepted into the accelerated degree pipeline program option will be admitted to the SM-CHEM-MS (MS in Chemistry - Non-thesis Option)  and allowed to complete up to nine credit hours or graduate courses after reaching junior status. Students must request admission into the BSMS program through their advisor no earlier than the spring of their sophomore year and no later than the spring of their junior year. To qualify for the pipeline program, an undergraduate student must have a GPA of at least 3.0 in CHEM courses and have the permission of their advisor. Students below this GPA cutoff may petition the department for admission.  Students accepted into the pipeline program will develop a plan of study in consultation with their advisor and must apply for admission to the College of Graduate Studies for the semester that they intend to matriculate. 

   Once the student is admitted to the graduate program, there will be two matriculations: (1) the undergraduate program will remain primary and (2) the graduate program becomes secondary. They will then continue into the graduate program upon completion of the undergraduate degree requirements. The graduate coursework (up to nine hours) completed in the final undergraduate year may be applied to completion of both undergraduate and graduate degree requirements. It will be the joint responsibility of the faculty and administrators in the undergraduate and graduate programs to supervise students admitted to the combined program option, to ensure that the limit of nine hours taken as an undergraduate is strictly enforced, and to request that the College of Graduate Studies change their matriculation from Undergraduate to Graduate when they meet all undergraduate degree requirements.  When the student applies for graduation from the undergraduate program an automatic registration hold is placed on student records. However, as there is a second active program tied to the student’s record, the Registrar’s Office will send the list of students with an active graduate matriculation to COGS to ensure that future registration at the graduate-level is not restricted.

   The following provisions apply for classes taken for graduate credit: 

   1. Only graduate classes taken at The University of Toledo after the student is accepted in the BS/MS program may be included.
   2. For students in the SM-CHEM-BS/SM-CHEM-MS pipeline, the following courses may be included in the approved nine semester hours of graduate credit taken as an undergraduate: CHEM 6200, 6210, 6300, 6310, 6320, 6330, 6340, 6400, 6410, 6420, 6430, 6440, 6500, 6510, 6520, 6570, 6600, 6610, 6620, 6700, 6710, 6720, 6730, 6800, 6810, 6820, 6830, 6850, 6940, 6950, 6980. The choice of courses should be relevant to the agreed upon plan of study. 
   3. For students in the SM-BCHM-BS/SM-CHEM-MS pipeline, the approved nine semester hours of graduate credit taken as an undergraduate should include CHEM 6500, CHEM 6570, and CHEM 6940. Substitutions to these courses may be made with authorization of advisor.
   4. Students interested in the combined program must submit a graduate admission application to the College of Graduate Studies.

 

Requirements for Chemistry - Green Chemistry and Engineering Concentration, MS

1. The courses presented must total at least 30 hours of graduate credit.
2. Each student, in conjunction with the director of graduate studies and the director of the School of Green Chemistry and Engineering, will prepare a plan of study listing the courses and other requirements for the degree. Upon approval, the plan of study becomes the list of course requirements for the degree. Students are required to take:

   Course List

   Code	Title	Hours
   CHEM 6200	Green Chemistry	3
   CHEM 6210	Environmental Chemistry	3
   CHEE 6010	Green Engineering Principles	3
   CHEE 6110	Green Engineering Applications	3
   Select 16 credit hours of elective graduate coursework in traditional areas of chemistry or chemical engineering		16
   CHEM 6970	Graduate Professional Internship	2
   or CHEE 6970	Graduate Engineering Internship
   Total Hours		30

3. Each student must complete a 2 credit hour graduate industrial internship (CHEM 6970/CHEE 6970) or independent study project (CHEM 6960/CHEM 6980/CHEE 6920).  The independent study project or internship topic for CHEM 6960, CHEM 6970, CHEE 6970, CHEM 6980, and CHEE 6920 must be approved by the program director.
4. Up to 4 credit hours of 6000-level coursework in a related discipline (e.g., environmental sciences, physics) and an additional 1 credit hour of independent research project (CHEM 6960, CHEM 6970, CHEM 6980, CHEE 6970, or CHEE 6920) may be applied to the 16 credit hours of required electives with approval from the program director.  One of the following business courses may also be applied to the minimum 16 credit hours of electives: BUAD 6600, EFSB 6690, EFSB 6590.

   
   Research seminar (CHEM 6930) and colloquium (CHEM 6920) cannot be applied towards the 30 hour minimum for the concentration

   Combined bachelor's to master's - BS in Chemistry/MS in Chemistry - Green Chemistry and Engineering Concentration, BS in Biochemistry/MS in Chemistry - Green Chemistry and Engineering Concentration

   Undergraduate students in the SM-CHEM-BS (BS in Chemistry) or SM-BCHM-BS (BS in Biochemistry) program who are accepted into the accelerated degree pipeline program option will be admitted to the  SM-CHEM-MS-GRCE(MS in Chemistry – Green Chemistry and Engineering Concentration) and allowed to complete up to nine credit hours or graduate courses after reaching junior status. Students must request admission into the BSMS program through their advisor no earlier than the spring of their sophomore year and no later than the spring of their junior year. To qualify for the pipeline program, an undergraduate student must have a GPA of at least 3.0 in CHEM courses and have the permission of their advisor. Students below this GPA cutoff may petition the department for admission.  Students accepted into the pipeline program will develop a plan of study in consultation with their advisor and must apply for admission to the College of Graduate Studies for the semester that they intend to matriculate. 

   Once the student is admitted to the graduate program, there will be two matriculations: (1) the undergraduate program will remain primary and (2) the graduate program becomes secondary. They will then continue into the graduate program upon completion of the undergraduate degree requirements. The graduate coursework (up to nine hours) completed in the final undergraduate year may be applied to completion of both undergraduate and graduate degree requirements. It will be the joint responsibility of the faculty and administrators in the undergraduate and graduate programs to supervise students admitted to the combined program option, to ensure that the limit of nine hours taken as an undergraduate is strictly enforced, and to request that the College of Graduate Studies change their matriculation from Undergraduate to Graduate when they meet all undergraduate degree requirements.  When the student applies for graduation from the undergraduate program an automatic registration hold is placed on student records. However, as there is a second active program tied to the student’s record, the Registrar’s Office will send the list of students with an active graduate matriculation to COGS to ensure that future registration at the graduate-level is not restricted.

   The following provisions apply for classes taken for graduate credit: 

   1. Only graduate classes taken at The University of Toledo after the student is accepted in the BS/MS program may be included.
   2. For students in the SM-CHEM-BS/SM-CHEM-MS-GRCE or SM-BCHM-BS/SM-CHEM-MS-GRCE pipelines, the approved nine semester hours of graduate credit taken as an undergraduate should include CHEM 6200, CHEM 6210, and CHEE 6010. Substitutions to these courses may be made with authorization of advisor.
   3. Students interested in the combined program must submit a graduate admission application to the College of Graduate Studies. 

MS in Chemistry Learning Outcomes

• PLO 1 (Thesis-Based Option): Demonstrate proficiency in and apply fundamental concepts with a focus in a single area and breadth in at least three other areas of chemistry and biochemistry
• PLO 2 (Thesis-Based Option): Locate, critically analyze, and use relevant information in the research literature and databases.
• PLO 3 (Thesis-Based Option): Conduct experiments and/or computational modeling appropriate for investigating research questions in chemistry/biochemistry.
• PLO 4 (Thesis-Based Option):Conduct and report the results of an original research project.
• PLO 5 (Thesis-Based Option): Effectively and clearly communicate scientific information in oral and written format to both experts and non-experts.\n
• PLO 1 (Non-Thesis Option): Demonstrate proficiency in and apply fundamental concepts in at least four different subdisciplines of chemistry and biochemistry in addition to other related fields.
• PLO 2 (Non-Thesis Option): Locate, critically analyze, and use relevant information in the research literature and databases.
• PLO 3 (Non-Thesis Option): Conduct an in-depth literature-based investigation of a specific topic in chemistry or biochemistry and present a review of the current state of published research on that topic.
• PLO 4 (Non-Thesis Option): Effectively and clearly communicate scientific information in oral and written format to both experts and non-experts.