All students must complete 30 credits of graduate coursework. Up
to 10 graduate credits may be transferred from other institutions,
if approved by the program director. Graduate courses offered outside
the program may be taken for graduate credit, but only if approved by
the graduate faculty. There are two plans leading to completion.
Plan A: Thesis
1. Coursework. At least 18 credits of lecture coursework must be completed. Independent
Study credits (56:160:619,620) are not counted as lecture-course
credits and do not factor into the requisite GPA unless special
permission has been granted by the graduate faculty.
2. Thesis/Research Credit.
Up to 6 credits may be taken in the Independent Study research courses (56:160:619,620 or 56:115:619,620). Up to 6 credits may be taken in preparing a research thesis (56:160:701,702 or 56:115:701,702). Only a maximum of 10 combined credits of independent study and research can be counted toward Plan A.
3. Research Seminar.
All students must accumulate at least 2 credits of 56:160: 601,
602. Full time students are encouraged to register for seminar whenever
it is offered. Full-time students are required to present during
seminar at least once a year in the form of: (i) proposal of
thesis topic; (ii) research results; or (iii) thesis defense.
4. Faculty Adviser and Committee.
All students are urged to find a faculty adviser (by mutual consent)
before the start of their second semester, usually one who specializes
in their areas of interest. Two other individuals will be appointed to
form the student's committee. The committee oversees the selection of a
research project, judges the acceptability of the thesis, and conducts
the final examination.
5. Research Initiation.
When a student is ready to begin a research project, an outline of the
proposed topic is presented during seminar to the graduate faculty for
approval. The student should inform the student's committee of the date
of the research proposal.
6. Completed Thesis.
The thesis must be approved by the director of the student's research
committee and then accepted by the other committee members. It
is the student's responsibility to check with the Office of the Dean of
the Graduate School-Camden to obtain information concerning the
final thesis form, number of copies required, and deadlines. This
information can also be found by visiting www.camden.rutgers.edu/RUCAM/gradstudents.php and clicking on the Thesis and Dissertation Guidelines link.
7. Final Examination (Thesis Defense). See instructions below.
Plan B: Nonthesis
Students
completing the nonthesis option are required to complete 27 lecture
credits, 1 seminar credit (final semester), and 2 credits of
independent study (56:160:619,620 or 56:115:619,620). All
students must give an oral presentation (seminar) as the culmination of
their degree work.
1. Faculty Adviser. All
students are urged to find a faculty adviser (by mutual consent) before
the start of their final semester, usually one who specializes in their
areas of interest. The independent study credits should be taken after
the 27 lecture credits have been completed.The student must inform the graduate director of the selection of the topic of the independent study research paper and adviser.
2. Independent Study Credits. Two credits of independent study (56:160:619,620 or 56;115:619,620) should be taken under the supervision of a faculty adviser. Independent
study credits are not counted as lecture-course credits unless special
permission has been granted by the graduate faculty.
3. Research Seminar.
Part-time students are encouraged to take seminar (56:160:601,602), but
only 1 credit will be accepted toward the 30 degree credits. Seminar
should be taken during the final semester in which the student will be
presenting the summary of their independent study research paper.
4. Final Examination. See
instructions below.
Final Examinations
In both programs, students are expected to complete a final comprehensive examination.The final comprehensive examination is administered by the graduate faculty. The examination normally is taken during the semester in which the student completed his or her course of study.It includes a thesis defense for students in Plan A. This
exam is at least one hour in length and begins with a presentation
(open to the public and possibly scheduled as a research seminar) of
her or his thesis (Plan A) or research paper (Plan B). The
candidate is responsible for publicizing the seminar and scheduling an
appropriate seminar room.
A diploma application form must be
filed early in the semester in which the final examination is to be
administered. The Degree Candidancy form (side one) should be completed
by the candidate and submitted to the graduate director prior to the
examination. Application forms are available from the director of
the graduate program in chemistry or the Graduate School-Camden. The student must inform the graduate director of the intent to complete
the final examination. The examination must be completed in
accordance with the schedule established by the Office of the Dean of
the Graduate School-Camden and the chemistry program. In the event of an unfavorable decision, the examination may be repeated twice.
Special Instructions for Teaching Assistants
All teaching assistants are required to take at least 6 graduate credits (other than their teaching assistantship) each semester. Teaching assistants get 6 E-credits (56:160:877) per semester. Teaching assistantships are limited to two-years' duration.
