Dartmouth offers two 4+1 programs to provide our undergraduate students an opportunity to acquire a broader and deeper education in modern techniques of chemistry. With integration of the courses and a substantial effort in the independent research carried out during the senior year, the MS can be obtained in one year directly after completing the AB at Dartmouth.
Participating Faculty: Ivan Aprahamian, adaptive functional materials; David S. Glueck, asymmetric catalysis; Miguel I. Gonzalez, solid-state photochemistry, metal nanoparticles and nanoclusters, heterogeneous catalysis; Jane E. G. Lipson, physical properties of polymers and glasses; Glenn C. Micalizio, organic synthesis; Katherine A. Mirica, materials, organic, and analytical chemistry, sensors; Jimmy Wu, organic synthesis; Wenlin Zhang, multi-scale simulations and statistical mechanics for polymers and soft matter.
Prerequisite Courses:Students wishing to enter the program must demonstrate proficiency in chemistry or materials science. Such proficiency will normally be demonstrated by completing the Dartmouth College chemistry major with at least a B average prior to entering the Master's Program. Students with appropriate experience in chemistry from other majors, such as engineering, biology, or physics, may also request consideration.
Additionally, it is anticipated that the student will begin an independent research project with one of the participating faculty no later than the summer before senior year. An interim evaluation will be made after each term and continuation within the Master's Program will be recommended for those students whose work demonstrates the capacity for satisfactory independent research.
Admission:Students must apply for admission to the program no later than May 1 of their junior year, although interested students are strongly encouraged to contact the Program Director earlier for advice on prerequisites, and on the scheduling of required courses for the degree. Having explored research opportunities with members of the faculty listed above, the applicant is expected to reach an agreement on a specific project with one of the faculty. The program Admissions Committee will be responsible for reviewing applications and making offers of admission, to be completed by June 30.
A complete application includes:
1. A current transcript.
2. Anticipated schedule of courses for senior and fifth year.
3. The name of the research advisor and a brief description of the research project, including a timeline of research effort.
Specific Requirements for the Master's in Chemistry are as follows:
1. Required Course Credits: During the Master's Program, each student must pass with a grade of P or better at least eight courses from the graduate offerings in chemistry. Two terms of Graduate Research Colloquium and up to four courses in graduate-level research may count in the eight-course total, but courses taken as an undergraduate do not.
2. Competency Requirement: The student must demonstrate competency in the fundamental chemistry of the specific research area. This requirement will be satisfied by successful defense of the topic in an oral examination and must be completed before the end of winter term.
3. Thesis Requirement: The student must complete a satisfactory thesis based on independent, original research. The thesis must be approved by three program members and successfully defended in an oral examination.
Participating Faculty: F. Jon Kull, Protein crystallography, molecular motors, cellular transport mechanisms, enzyme mechanisms; transcription factors; bacterial virulence; cholera; Dale F. Mierke, Biophysical chemistry, high resolution NMR, peptide/compound library screening, structure-based drug-design; Ekaterina Pletneva, Biophysical and bioinorganic chemistry, heme proteins, fluorescence studies of protein conformational dynamics, redox chemistry; Michael J. Ragusa, protein crystallography, small angle X-ray scattering, autophagy, vesicle biogenesis, protein degradation; Paul Robustelli, molecular simulations and NMR spectroscopy to study dynamic and disordered proteins; Dean Wilcox, Thermodynamics of metal-protein interactions, metalloenzymes, nitric oxide biochemistry.
Prerequisite Courses: Students wishing to enter the program must demonstrate proficiency in each of the following areas: biochemistry, chemistry, calculus, and physics. Such proficiency will normally be demonstrated by completing the following Dartmouth College courses with at least a B grade prior to entering the Master's Program: Mathematics 8 (or equivalent), Physics 13-14 (or 15-16, or by permission 3-4), Chemistry 51-52 (or equivalent), Chemistry 41 (or by permission Biology 40), Chemistry 40 or 75, and Chemistry 76.
Additionally, it is anticipated that the student will begin an independent research project with one of the participating faculty no later than the summer before senior year. An interim evaluation will be made after each term and continuation within the Master's Program will be recommended for those students whose work demonstrates the capacity for satisfactory independent research.
Admission: Students must apply for admission to the program no later than May 1 of their junior year, although interested students are strongly encouraged to contact the Program Director (Mierke) earlier for advice on prerequisites, and on the scheduling of required courses for the degree. Having explored research opportunities with members of the faculty listed above, the applicant is expected to reach an agreement on a specific project with one of the faculty. The program Admissions Committee (Cantor, Kull, Mierke) will be responsible for reviewing applications and making offers of admission, to be completed by June 30.
A complete application includes:
Specific Requirements for the Master's in Biophysical Chemistry are as follows:
