The Department of Chemistry is located in the Carl A. Olson Laboratories and Life Sciences Centers, modern facilities housing state-of-the-art instrumentation. Major items of equipment include NMR spectrometers (500 MHz and 600 MHz multinuclear NMR); FT-MS (dual MALDI/ESI source); a single crystal X-ray diffractometer; HPLC and GC instruments; a scanning probe microscope; a Raman imaging instrument; UV-Vis-NIR spectrometers and spectrophotometers; pump-probe transient absorption and fluorescence upconversion system; several CW and pulsed lasers; circular dichroism spectrophotometers; a stopped-flow spectrometer; high-performance liquid chromatographs and gas chromatographs; electrochemistry units; GPC; multi-angle laser light scattering; DSC; ultracentrifuges; and computational chemistry workstations.
The department's 15 faculty members provide research opportunities in many fields of specialization, including biophysical and bioorganic, synthetic organic, organometallic, and inorganic chemistry; biological laser spectroscopy; materials chemistry; structural biology; nanochemistry; and X-ray crystallography.
A total of 30 credits is required for the master of science (M.S.) degree. For students choosing to complete a master's degree thesis, 6 of the 30 credits may be research credits. For a master's degree without a thesis, students must complete a library research paper on a topic agreed to by a faculty adviser. The doctor of philosophy (Ph.D.) degree requires 60 credits, of which 24 must be in regular coursework.
Students are required to fulfill a breadth requirement. They must complete one course each, with a grade of B or better, from three out of four course clusters classified broadly as: 1) organic chemistry, 2) inorganic chemistry, 3) analytical chemistry or biochemistry, and 4) physical chemistry.
Students enrolled in the Ph.D. program typically finish coursework in the second year. Prior to their fifth semester, doctoral students have to pass a candidacy exam that consists of a presentation of their research results and detailed discussion of future plans, followed by a formal examination. Fulfillment of these requirements completes a student's candidacy for the Ph.D. program.
The most important part of the Ph.D. program is a doctoral dissertation. This thesis describes the results of original research that the student performs under the supervision of a faculty member of the department. Students are required to select an adviser by the end of their first semester in the program.
Independent Study:
Independent study is offered but requires in-person advisement.
Standards of Progress:
PhD - A grade of B or better in all courses
MSc - Up to three courses with C or C+ are accepted - all others must be B or above.
Probationary Period:
Students whose GPA dips below 3.0 will be placed on Academic Probation. They will have one semester to bring their GPA back up to 3.0.
Transfer of Credits
Students may request a transfer of academic credit after they complete 12 hours of course-work at Rutgers-Newark with grades of B or better. The student may request up to 12 hours of chemistry courses taken at Rutgers-Newark on a non-matriculated basis, through the Non-Degree Program.
To request to transfer courses students must be (1) fully matriculated in to the MSc or PhD. program and (2) have completed a minimum of 12.0 credit hours as a matriculated student.
Programs, Faculty, and Courses 
