HILS Home > Programs of Study > Chemistry & Chemical Biology
 |
Program DescriptionThe Department of Chemistry & Chemical Biology (CCB) offers a program of study leading to the degree of doctor of philosophy in chemistry. An interdepartmental PhD program in chemical physics is also available. The graduate student joins a diverse scientific community composed of about 200 graduate students, 200 postdoctoral fellows, and 21 core faculty members. The Department’s faculty and its affiliated student scientists share a rich training in the unique tools of chemical inquiry and commitment to scientific investigation at the molecular level. Doctoral research, based on the student’s own interests and those of the faculty supervisor, is concerned with problems of intrinsic interest and importance at the frontiers of chemical science.
|
The Department’s home research facilities are located in six buildings on the beautiful and historic main Harvard campus: Mallinckrodt, Conant, Converse, Naito, Bauer, and the Mallinckrodt/Hoffman “Link.” These laboratories are adjacent to the Departments of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Physics, Earth and Planetary Sciences, the Centers for Brain Science and Systems Biology, and the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. Nearly all CCB faculty are affiliated with multiple cross-departmental programs and research centers at Harvard. Additionally, considerable opportunity exists for participation in other departments and groups at MIT, and at other research centers in the Boston area.
For more information, please visit www.gsas.harvard.edu/programs/degree/chem.html and www.chem.harvard.edu
The Department of Chemistry & Chemical Biology admits students with a record of classroom and laboratory training in biological, organic, inorganic, and physical chemistry. We expect students to possess a strong enough grounding in chemistry to perform well on the required Chemistry GRE subject exam, and to be thoughtful enough about the discipline of chemistry to communicate their desire to pursue doctoral research in our department.
CCB does not require an interview. Applicants must take the GRE general and chemistry examinations. These must be taken no later than November of the year prior to admission and preferably earlier so that score reports arrive by the December application deadline.
Students considering graduate work in Chemistry & Chemical Biology must complete the online GSAS Harvard Integrated Life Sciences (HILS) admissions application; see GSAS Application Instructions and Information for more details, or contact the Graduate School Office of Admission and Financial Aid at:
Harvard University
1350 Massachusetts Avenue
Holyoke Center 350
Cambridge, MA 02138-3654
telephone: 617-495-5315, 617-495-5396
e-mail: admiss@fas.harvard.edu
The Office of Admissions and Financial Aid is open Monday through Friday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Eastern Standard Time.
The Department hosts official Friday visits in March for prospective students who have been offered admission to the program. An invitation to attend our “G-0 Visits” will be extended by the admissions administrator for the Chemistry & Chemical Biology Department, Kathy Oakley oakley@chemistry.harvard.edu.
CCB meets the financial needs (tuition and stipend) of its graduate students through department scholarships, department fellowships, teaching fellowships, research assistantships, and independent outside fellowships. Financial support is awarded on a 12-month basis, enabling students to pursue their research throughout the year. Tuition and stipend is guaranteed to all graduate students whose academic standing and research work is satisfactory.
During orientation week, students will formulate a plan of study in consultation with a member of the Curriculum Advising Committee. It is expected that required coursework be completed no later than the end of the third term in residence. Students must pass four advanced half-courses in chemistry and/or related fields with average grades of B or higher.
Admission to a research group is strongly encouraged at the start of or during the student’s second term. All students should enter a research group by the start of their third term unless granted a deferral by the director of graduate studies.
Entering graduate students are required to participate in three four-week rotations in different laboratories, OR they may conduct one 8-week and one 4-week rotation in two different laboratories. The goal of the rotations is to broaden a student’s scientific perspective by exposing him or her to the science and environment of different laboratories.
It is expected that all students will participate in teaching sections or laboratory for two terms. Most students teach in the spring term of their first year and the fall term of their second year. With his or her advisor’s concurrence, a student may teach in subsequent years.
Oral Examinations
Students in chemistry are expected to present and defend a research proposal anytime between the second semester of the second year and the end of the fourth year. The presentation will be before a faculty committee in accordance with the Graduate Advising Committee guidelines. More information about the examination can be found on the website.
After laboratory rotations have been successfully completed, students will select a thesis advisor, who will then assume the responsibilities of directing the student’s doctoral research. Students are strongly encouraged to enter a research group by the end of the second term of their first year, unless a deferral is granted on a term-by-term basis by the director of graduate studies. Once a student joins a research group, the faculty member of that group becomes the student’s advisor. If a student subsequently finds that another area of research more closely matches his or her interests, the student should consult with the director of graduate studies.
At the end of their first year students are expected to constitute, in consultation with the director of graduate studies, their Graduate Advising Committee (GAC). The committee meets yearly beginning in the student’s second year to assess research progress. Students are expected to present and defend a research proposal anytime between the second semester of their second year up to the end of their fourth year in the presence of their GAC. In addition, they will have meetings with the GAC in the second semester of their second year, and by June 30th of their third and fourth years. The independent proposal defense will serve as one of these three required meetings. Students may have a voluntary GAC meeting in their fifth year and, if necessary, a mandatory meeting in their sixth year. The objective of these meetings is to bring focus to the timely completion of degree requirements, to foster (non-advisor) faculty-student interactions, and to provide career counseling.
The doctoral degree in CCB is designed to take between five and six years to complete. The preparation of a satisfactory dissertation normally requires at least four years of full-time research. All students are expected to provide a public presentation of their PhD research. The dissertation defense will be comprised of two parts: 1) a public presentation of the student’s PhD research to which members of the CCB community will be invited, followed by 2) the private PhD dissertation defense before the dissertation defense committee (generally the student’s GAC).
A complete directory (searchable by research interest, name, and title) of faculty affiliated with the Department of Chemistry & Chemical Biology can be found at the HILS Faculty Directory's CCB listing.