Chemistry Degrees Online

The Chemistry Department provides a strong educational background in chemistry and strives to show all students how chemistry is involved in solving everyday problems such as energy production, pollution control, and disease prevention. Programs of study can be designed to give broad scientific experiences to those interested in a general, liberal education; more specialized training is available to those wishing to pursue any of the health-related disciplines, science teaching, dietetics, engineering, or other related sciences. A comprehensive course of study is suggested for career-oriented chemists.
Except for those who will enroll in introductory chemistry courses, high school preparation should include chemistry, algebra, geometry, and trigonometry.
At the baccalaureate level, students may specialize in analytical chemistry, biochemistry, or radiochemistry.
At the graduate level, coursework and research experience lead to either the M.S. or the M.A. degree in Chemistry. These degrees permit some specialization in analytical chemistry, biochemistry, inorganic, organic, radiochemistry, physical, or polymer chemistry. The M.S. degree is recommended to those who wish to do or direct chemical research, or for those who want an introduction to graduate work before starting a PhD program. The M.A. degree is recommended to those interested in pursuing a career in community college teaching, chemical sales, plant, or laboratory supervision, technical librarianship, or scientific writing, or for those who have a significant amount of prior research experience in the private sector. Graduate courses also support the M.A. in Natural Sciences.

CHEM 1A General Chemistry
CHEM 1B General Chemistry
CHEM 3A Introduction to Chemistry
CHEM 3B Introduction to General Chemistry
CHEM 10 Exploring Everyday Chemistry
CHEM 12A Organic Chemistry
CHEM 12B Organic Chemistry
CHEM 50H Special Studies: Chemistry

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Accreditation Information :
Pre Requisite Courses :
Qualifying Exams :

Tution Fees :
Financial Aid / Scholarship Offered :
Courses :

Accreditation Information :
Pre Requisite Courses :
Qualifying Exams :

Tution Fees :
Financial Aid / Scholarship Offered :
Courses :

Accreditation Information :
Pre Requisite Courses :
Qualifying Exams :

Tution Fees :
Financial Aid / Scholarship Offered :
Courses :

The Ph.D. degree is offered jointly with the University of California at San Diego (UCSD) Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry through the Joint Doctoral Program (JDP). Students in the JDP are admitted into the graduate programs of both institutions, and spend one year in full-time residence at UCSD, in which they take courses and serve as teaching assistants for one quarter. The remainder of the coursework and research for the Ph.D. degree are carried out under the direction of a faculty member at SDSU. Students in the JDP are required to pass a qualifying examination in order to advance to candidacy for the degree. Candidates for the Ph.D. degree then complete a dissertation based on their research, which must be successfully defended to a joint committee consisting of faculty members from both UCSD and SDSU. Please also see UCSD’s description of this program.

The requirements for admission into the M.A. or M.S. program are the following.
A minimum GPA of 2.85, both overall and in chemistry courses.
A bachelors degree in chemistry or a related subject.
A minimum value of 900 for the sum of the verbal and quantitative scores on the general GRE exam (www.ets.org, SDSU Institution Code 4682).
If medium of instruction was in a language other than English, a satisfactory score on the TOEFL exam . Acceptable minimum scores are as follows: 550 on the paper-based TOEFL, 213 on the computer-based TOEFL, and 79 on the Internet-based TOEFL. The International English Language Testing System (IELTS) may substitute for the TOEFL exam for graduate students for whom English is a second language. The SDSU minimum acceptable score for this test is 7.0. For information on the exam please see www.ielts.org.
Three current recommendation letters acknowledging the applicant’s academic and research capabilities.
The system-wide CSU Application Form is required by our Graduate School. Please also make sure to find our Departmental Application form and return it to the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the address below.

Students in this program are required to complete 30 units of graduate credit, at least 24 of which are in chemistry. The student is free to take any course listed as acceptable in the Graduate Bulletin; however, the student must take courses in areas in which he or she is deficient (as demonstrated by the orientation exams). The final requirement is to write a paper approved by the departmental graduate advisor or take a written comprehensive exam. This program is ideal for students who do not feel that they need research experience. Many people employed in local industries choose this route. To accommodate these people, we try to offer graduate courses in the evening whenever possible.

A wide variety of career opportunities are open to chemistry graduates. As expected, many chemistry students are employed by chemical and petrochemical corporations. Locally, many of our students are employed by biotechnology, pharmaceutical and electronics firms. There are SDSU graduates in the EPA, the DEA, and crime laboratories. The City and County of San Diego employ many chemists in providing safe drinking water and preventing pollution. Others find careers in management, market research, and sales. The department is particularly proud of the large number of our graduates who are high school, community college, and university teachers.