GRADUATE STUDIES

Dalhousie University and the Department of Chemistry have an international reputation as being a world-class research facility. Dalhousie was recently ranked the best place in Canada for postdocs by the magazine, The Scientist.

The Department is housed in a historical building that is ideally located in the centre of the university campus and features newly renovated, state-of-the-art research laboratories. Within the building, research is carried out in all areas of chemistry by many outstanding faculty members that work in conjunction with highly motivated graduate students, postdoctoral workers, undergraduate students and technical support staff. The facilities are superb with a wide range of highly specialized state-of-the-art instrumentation.

The excellence of the Department of Chemistry and the Graduate Studies program is reflected in numerous research grants which currently total approximately $2.1-million a year. The graduate program is the largest east of Montreal and the only PhD chemistry graduate program in Nova Scotia. The atmosphere is highly collegial with many collaborations and interactions. Coming to Dalhousie Chemistry will ensure that you are on the right track to start your career. We are sure that your time at Dalhousie will be fruitful and enjoyable.

Degree programs

The Department of Chemistry offers graduate programs leading to the degrees of Master of Science (MSc) and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD). Both programs emphasize independent research carried out by the student under the supervision and guidance of a faculty member. The research topics span all areas of chemistry including many interdisciplinary areas. Students are admitted to the degree program which appropriately reflects their background, ability and goals. Both programs require the fulfillment of class credits, departmental seminars and presentation of a research thesis. Currently, two term class credits are required for the completion of the MSc program and four term class credits are required for completion of the PhD program. The Master's degree may be taken on either a full- or a part-time basis; however the Doctoral degree normally requires full-time study.

Generally, incoming BSc students are entered into the MSc program upon acceptance into the graduate program. During the second year, students who have shown excellent research progress may transfer directly into the PhD program with the submission of a written report and an oral examination. Transfer into the PhD program is complete upon passing the preliminary oral examination and acceptance of the report. All students who directly enroll in the PhD program must pass a preliminary oral exam and submit a progress report within the first 18 months of their program.

The department recognizes the importance of the teaching experience as a part of graduate training and therefore all students assist in the undergraduate laboratories. Students may also have the opportunity to present tutorial classes during the teaching year.

The Department of Chemistry is very well equipped with excellent in-house services. These include mass spectroscopy, NMR, X-ray structure analysis, and computing and shops for electronics, glassblowing and machining.