Master of Science

Program Description

The Master of Science in the Natural Sciences with a Chemistry Track at Columbus State University is intended to provide students with a curriculum that consists of core and elective courses in chemistry.  Students may enroll in the thesis or non-thesis options.  Students admitted into the thesis option are required to conduct research in an area of chemistry of their choice, write a thesis and disseminate the results of their research through publication or other appropriate venue. Students enrolled in the non-thesis option are required to complete additional graduate courses from the electives.

Career Opportunities

Graduates of the program will be able to pursue a broad range of careers in the field of Natural Sciences. Common areas of employment include public agencies, non-profit organizations, government service, and private business. Students will also be prepared to move into a doctoral level degree program.

Admission Requirements

In addition to the Columbus State University Graduate School Admissions requirements, all interested applicants must submit the following materials to be considered for admission for all tracks in the Natural Sciences program:

• Baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university, demonstrated excellent preparation in the Chemical Sciences.

• Undergraduate grade point average of at least 3.0 on a 4.0 scale. Applicants with an undergraduate GPA less than a 3.00 but equal to or greater than 2.75 may be admitted under provisional conditions.

• A minimum combined score of 290 on the verbal and quantitative portions of the Graduate Record Exam. The GRE’s must have been taken in the last five years. [ CSU School code: 5123 ]

• A one page statement of experience and interests.

• Two letters of reference. References should come from persons familiar with the applicant's academic or professional experience. 

• Successful competition of at least 20 semester hours of undergraduate chemistry courses (with two semesters of organic chemistry and at least one semester each of analytical, inorganic, and physical chemistry) and excluding General Chemistry I and II lecture and labs.

Learning Outcomes

Graduates will be able to:
• Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of key concepts, principles, theories, and methods with in the core discipline of the Natural Sciences: biology, chemistry, environmental science, and geosciences.
• Employ critical and analytical thinking in application of the scientific method, including formulating and testing hypotheses, designing experiments, analyzing data, interpreting results, and drawing conclusions.
• Report orally and in writing research results and conclusions according to accepted standards of the chosen area of core study.

Additional Program Requirements

The maximum course load for a graduate student in a given semester is 12 semester hours. The maximum course load for a student holding a graduate assistantship is 10 semester hours.

Program of Study

Area 1 Program Core Required Hours: 3
ENGL 5149 Grant Writing

Area 2 Program Concentration Required Hours:13
CHEM 6105 Advanced Analytical Chemistry
CHEM 6106 Advanced Inorganic Chemistry
CHEM 6125 Advanced Physical Chemistry
CHEM 6136 Advanced Organic Chemistry
CHEM 6706 Graduate Chemistry Seminar

Program Electives Required Hours: 8 (Thesis Option), 20 (Non- Thesis Option)
CHEM 5105G Polymer Chemistry
CHEM 5106G Advanced Biochemistry
CHEM 5110G Synthetic Organic Chemistry
CHEM 5115G Spectroscopic Identification of Organic Compounds
CHEM 5116G Catalysis
CHEM 5555G Selected Topics in Chemistry
CHEM 6699 Graduate Chemistry Internship

Area 3 Program Requirements

Thesis Required Hours:12
CHEM 6999 Graduate Chemistry Thesis Research (3 hours), repeated for a total of 12 hours.
CHEM 6000 Graduate Chemistry Thesis Defense (0 hours)

Total Required Hours: 36