Master of Science in Chemistry

Because of its broad scope, contemporary chemistry offers exciting employment opportunities in rapidly growing technical fields, such as materials science, polymers, biochemistry, biotechnology, pharmaceutcal and medicinal chemistry, and environmental science. Graduates with a master's degree in chemistry are prepared to enter any of these fields and more, since chemistry is the central science with connections to physics and mathematics, biology and medicine, and environmental sciences. According to the American Chemical Society, which is the national professional association for chemists, "Many predict a growing role for chemistry as we confront the major issues confronting the world in the 21st century: providing energy, responding to regulation, protecting the environment, improving health and feeding the world."

The reasons for pursuing a master's degree in chemistry are as diverse as our students. Many obtain there master's degree to gain entry into industrial or government positions that require a greater degree of expertise, respnsibility and independence than can be expected of a candidate with a bachelor's degree. Others use the master's program as a stepping stone to doctorial studies by improving their GPA and enhancing their research experience. Still, other students obtain the master's degree to gain expertise in chemical education-in fact, several of our recent graduates are teaching at local community colleges.

National reputation- National agencies consider the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Cal State Fullerton to be one of the country's best programs among master's colleges and universities. A recent survey by the National Science Foundation shows that Cal State Fullerton is ranked 4th in the nation among chemistry and biochemistry departments at comprehensive universities in terms of the number of graduates who go on to receive doctoral degrees. In addition, one of our faculty members was honored recently by the American Chemical Society with its pretigious annual award for outstanding research at a predominantly undergraduate institution.

Outstanding Research Opportunities- The Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Cal State Fullerton has nineteen full-time faculty members. Research interests cover most areas of chemistry and biochemistry, including everything from laser spectrometry and environmental chemistry, to plant biochemistry and x-ray crystallography. Extramural research funding has recently been in excess of $1.3 million per year, with active reasearch support from a variety of sources, including the National Institute of Health, the National Science Foundation, the Research Corporation and the Camille-Henry Dreyfus Foundation. In addition, we offer excellent reasearch facilities. A variety of modern research-grade instruments, including high-field NMR, are available in the Science Laboratory Center, a new building first occupied in 1994. The department is also home to the W.M. Keck Foundation Center for Molecular Structure, a comprehensive x-ray defraction facility and computational laboratory that serves all 22 campuses of the CSU system. The center is one of the few such facilities of its kind to be found at a predominantly undergraduate institution.

High Quality Faculty- Our chemistry and biochemistry faculty members are known for their teaching and research skills. Five of our department members have received Cal State Fullerton's Outstanding Professor Award in the last 20 years-more than any other department on campus.

The Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry accepts applications for the Fall and Spring semesters. Application deadlines: Applications should be received in the Department no later than June 1 for Fall admission and October 1 for Spring admission. Note that your application will take some time to be evaluated by the University before it is forwarded to our Department so make sure you apply as early as possible and do not wait until the last moment. Evaluation of international applications may take several months.

All applicants must apply to both the University and to our Department.

1. Applying to University Admissions
Fill out the online University Admission Application at CSUMentor and send in the required processing fee. If you think that your financial situation may make you eligible for a fee waver, you may complete a request to waive the fee.

Two official transcripts in sealed envelopes are required from each college or university previously attended. Students should arrange to have official transcripts sent at the same time applications are submitted. Transcripts should be sent directly to the University Admissions and Records Office:

Cal State Fullerton
P.O. Box 6900
Fullerton, CA 92834

One copy of each transcript will then be forwarded to the academic unit offering the degree or credential program, and the other official transcript will be retained in the student's permanent record file for use by both the Admissions and Records Office and the Graduate Studies Office.

Students who receive their baccalaureate degree at Cal State Fullerton and attend elsewhere subsequent to graduation, or continuing graduate students who change their declared objective subsequent to admission, must obtain whatever additional transcripts are needed to provide two complete sets of transcripts. Cal State Fullerton alumni do not need to request Cal State Fullerton transcripts.

All transcripts must be received directly from the issuing institutions and become official records of the university; such transcripts therefore cannot be returned or reissued. Transcripts that include course work from other than the issuing institution are not sufficient evidence of course work taken elsewhere. Foreign language transcripts must be accompanied by certified English translations.

2. Applying to the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry

Give Recommendation Forms to three references, ask them to fill them out, and send it with their letter of recommendation to the address below:

Graduate Program Advisor
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
California State University, Fullerton
800 N. State College Blvd.
Fullerton, CA 92834-6866

We recommend that you take the Graduate Record Examination and have the results reported to the Graduate Advisor listed below. International Students must also take the TOEFL exam.

Useful codes for the GRE and TOEFL exams:

CSUF code (GRE): 4589
Department code (GRE): 0301
CSUF code (TOEFL): 4589
Department code: 62

Placement Exams- The placement exams are used to assess undergraduate preparation in 6 areas: physical, organic, biochemsitry, analytical, inorganic chemistry, and biology. All students are expected to meet four of the five areas. Chemistry students must qualify in analytical chemistry, organic chemistry, physical chemistry and also in inorganic chemistry or biochemistry. Biochemistry students must qualify in analytical chemistry, organic chemistry, biochemistry and also in physical chemistry or biology. All four placement exams must be passed within the first year in the MS program.

Required Courses- The degree program consists of thirty semester units to be completed with a minimum GPA of 3.0. The following courses are required:

• Chemistry 505A,B Seminar in Chemistry (2 units)
• Chemistry 598 Thesis (4 units)
• Chemistry 599 Independant Graduate Research (6 units)

The remaining 18 units are divided into core courses and electives:

     Core Courses (9 units)
         Within each area of chemistry, there is a core of 3 courses taken from the following topics: protein chemistry, metabolism, physical biochemistry, bioinorganic chemistry, advanced inorganic chemistry, kinetics and spectroscopy, advanced instrumentation,theory of separations, quantum chemistry, advanced organic chemsitry, organic spectroscopy, natural product chemistry, and organic synthesis.

     Electives (9 units)
         In addition to the core courses, students must complete 9 semester units of electives at the 400- or 500- level. Courses in physics or biology may be used as electives with approval of the Graduate Commitee.

Seminar- Graduate students must attend a minimum of 30 departmental seminars and present several short presentations on different topics. Each student also conducts a thorough literature review of an approved topic and presents a 50-minute seminar to the department.

Research- The primary requirement for the master's degree is an original research project culminating in a written master's thesis. Students may begin research after two placement exams have been completed.
     

There are numerous sources with additional information available. Click on the links given below to download the information or to go to the desired web pages.

• MS Chemistry brochure
• Graduate Studies brochure
• Reference Form
• GRE and TOEFL website
• CSUF Graduate Studies website
• CSUF Admissions website
• CSUF Catalog
• Information for International Students