Chemistry

The Master of Arts and Master of Science programs in chemistry provide advanced preparation for careers in government or industrial research or for doctoral study. The programs’ curricula are a blend of traditional and nontraditional innovative courses that reflect the needs of modern chemistry. The UALR Department of Chemistry offers research-quality instrumentation and computer facilities as well as individual attention to each student and a high quality of instruction.Please visit the department’s website.

Admission Requirements

• Baccalaureate degree from an accredited institution with a cumulative grade point average of at least 2.75 (4.0 scale), or 3.0 in the last 60 hours
• Entering students will be counseled and placed in appropriate courses based on their performances on placement tests in the four sub-disciplines of chemistry.

Graduate Assistantships

A limited number of graduate assistantships are available. Contact the program coordinator for information. International applicants for teaching assistantships must have an overall score of at least 50 on the Test of Spoken English. (The testing facility must send scores to the program coordinator).

Program Requirements

Both chemistry degrees require at least 30 graduate chemistry hours, including at least three of four core courses (CHEM 7311 Advanced Analytical Chemistry , CHEM 7340 Advanced Inorganic Chemistry , CHEM 7350 Organic Reaction Mechanisms , CHEM 7370 Physical Principles of Chemical Reactivity ), as determined by the department’s graduate programs committee.

The master of science degree requires CHEM 8100 -CHEM 8400 Thesis Research  and CHEM 7190 Graduate Seminar . The student selects a thesis advisor and a specific thesis research project, then researches, writes, and orally defends a thesis (11 credit hours).

For the master of arts degree, 12 approved course hours replace the thesis and seminar hours. The remaining hours are elective and might include graduate chemistry courses of specific interest to the student; up to three graduate chemistry hours transferred from another school; up to three approved graduate hours from another UALR department; or up to six 5000-level hours.

Graduation Requirements

• Cumulative GPA of at least 3.0 on an approved program of study as outlined above
• Successful completion of written thesis and oral defense (M.S. only).