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INFORMATION FOR
GRADUATE STUDENTS IN CHEMISTRY AT EKU
This website highlights some of the procedures and regulations that you should be familiar with. The idea is to provide you with some useful information in a single and simple document. The pamphlet is not intended to be comprehensive. It is your responsibility to become familiar with all regulations and procedures pertaining to the program in which you are enrolled. Towards this end, you should carefully examine the general academic information section of the Graduate Catalog and the specific college/departmental program requirements.
The term thesis in this pamphlet includes the detailed written report to be prepared by those students taking the Non-thesis Option of the M.S. degree
Should you need further clarification, or if there are additional items you would like to be included in future editions of this pamphlet, please let me know.
· Program planning. During the first semester, each student must meet with his/her advisor to develop a planned program. The advisor will promptly submit a copy of the program plan to be approved by the department chair, the college dean, and the Dean of the Graduate School. Students for whom program plans have not been appropriately filed will not be eligible for a second registration. Subsequent changes of the program plan are permissible, but must be approved on the appropriate form by the advisor, the department chair, the college dean, and the Dean of the Graduate School.
§ A graduate student in chemistry needs a firm foundation of basic chemical knowledge on which to build his/her specialized program. Hence, the department has developed a series of core courses, which must be included in each student’s planned program. These are CHE 760, CHE 772, CHE 822, CHE 850, CHE 880, and CHE 890.
· Registration. The university reserves the right to cancel a course when the registration is not sufficient to warrant its continuance. Graduate students are therefore strongly advised not to wait until the last minute to register so as to avoid cancellation of classes they are interested in taking.
§ The Graduate School reserves the right to suspend or alter registrations inconsistent with the individual’s planned program or in the instance of closed or canceled sections.
· Choice of Research Director. During the first semester in the M.S. program, a new student is required to interview the departmental faculty using an interview form provided by the graduate advisor. At the completion of the interview the faculty member will sign the form. These interviews must be conducted even if a student has a firm idea about with whom he/she wishes to work. This is because the interviews serve several purposes. First, the interviews help in the very important process of selecting a research/project director. Secondly, they provide an opportunity to meet faculty who might serve on the student’s guidance committee. Thirdly, not all members of the faculty will teach the student and these interviews provide such faculty with an opportunity to get to know the student (and vice versa).
§ Once the interviews are complete, the student should consult with the faculty member with whom he/she desires to work to discuss possible projects and to ensure that the latter is willing to supervise the student’s research/project.
§ By the end of his/her first semester, the student shall submit to the graduate advisor the name of the faculty member with whom he/she desires to work. The graduate advisor shall submit this name to the department chair for record keeping.
· Selection of Guidance Committee. Every graduate student must have a guidance committee to guide and advise the student on matters pertaining to his/her research and to serve as the student’s examining committee when the thesis/project is presented for defense. Each student, with the concurrence of his or her research director, shall recommend to the graduate advisor two names of faculty members to be appointed to the student’s guidance committee. This should be done before the end of the third week of the student’s second semester in the graduate program. The graduate advisor shall forward the names to the department chair, who may appoint up to two additional members to the committee. The student’s research/project director shall chair the committee.
§ Subsequent changes of the committee must be approved on the appropriate university form by the advisor, the department chair, the college dean, and the graduate school dean
§ Each student is strongly encouraged to consult with his/her guidance committee at least once each semester..
· Academic Probation. Students pursuing graduate degrees are expected to maintain a 3.0 grade point average at all times. Students falling below the 3.0 GPA will be placed on academic probation. One semester may be allowed for removing the GPA deficiency. Continued enrollment beyond the probationary semester will be permitted only with the recommendation of the advisor, the department chair, the college dean, and the Dean of the Graduate School.
§ A student on academic probation my not hold a graduate assistantship. Thus any graduate teaching/research assistant who is placed on academic probation will lose his/her assistantship.
· Admission to Candidacy. A student must be admitted to candidacy to be considered eligible for the masters degree and before he/she can apply for graduation. Admission to candidacy for a degree program is a function of the department’s consideration of the student’s potential for matriculation into a degree program based on his/her performance at the graduate level, and represents a stage beyond admission to the Graduate School.
§ The student’s advisor shall initiate the process of admission to candidacy. Admission to candidacy must be approved no later than the third week of the semester in which the student is enrolled in any of the last 12 hours of the degree program. To accomplish this, the required papers for admission to candidacy must be received by the Graduate School prior to the student’s registration in any of the last 12 hours of the degree program. A student will not be eligible to graduate in the same semester the student is admitted to candidacy unless the student is completing the program within two consecutive semesters.
§ All conditions for clear admission to the Graduate School and any prerequisites must have been satisfied before the candidacy application may be approved. No student shall become approved without a minimum overall and program graduate grade point standing of 3.0. No graduate credit shall be granted for a grade below "C". Students may not repeat a course to improve standing without the explicit permission of their advisor and the Dean of the Graduate School.
§ When the candidacy is approved, the student is notified that he/she is a candidate for the degree program.
· Application for Graduation. After becoming a candidate, students are eligible to file application for graduation. Applications for graduation must be received in the Graduate School prior to the semester in which the program completion is expected. Thus, a student planning to receive the master’s degree in May should apply before the end of the preceding fall semester. Candidates for the Summer Commencement should apply not later than the beginning of the spring semester. December graduates should apply for graduation no later than the beginning of the summer semester. It is the student’s responsibility to obtain the exact deadline for the semester they wish to graduate from the graduate advisor, the department chair, the college dean, or the graduate school dean.
§ Students will be considered candidates for graduation only if they have an overall and program graduate grade point average of 3.0 or higher at the beginning of the term in which they wish to graduate.
· Thesis Writing. It takes a lot longer to write a thesis than most people think. Keep this in mind as you make plans for your graduation and post graduation period. Writing detailed progress reports regularly (at least once per semester), complete with literature citations, will make writing a thesis considerably less arduous.
§ Before beginning to write a thesis, the student should obtain from the Graduate School, and read, the latest revision of the pamphlet Guidelines For The Preparation Of Master’s Theses And Specialist’s Projects. It is also recommended that each student consult his/her research director for additional advice before embarking on writing a thesis. A student who simply follows the format of a thesis previously presented to the department runs the risk of perpetuating any stylistic errors in the old thesis and/or overlooking new regulations.
§ The Graduate School can review the formatting and structure, but not content, of a thesis prior to the deadline for submission to the Graduate School. Students, by appointment only, can have the review done as late as two weeks before the final submission date. A thesis reviewed prior to the final submission date does not have to be in its final form, nor on official paper. The Graduate School prefers that theses are approved by the department before early review, but this is not mandatory. Students must realize that even if their thesis is reviewed early, revisions or corrections may be necessary after the final submission date.
· Submission of Thesis to the Department. Each student must submit his/her thesis, or written report, in its final form to all members of the guidance committee before the date of the oral examination can be set. At this time the student shall also place a copy of the thesis or report in the departmental office for examination by any interested party.
· Thesis Defense. After a student has submitted his/her thesis to the department as described above, the chair of the student’s guidance committee must file the Schedule of Oral/Comprehensive Examination in the Graduate School Office with copies to the student and committee members at least two weeks prior to the thesis defense.
§ The student must give the research director an abstract of his/her work together with notice of the time, date and place of the thesis or report defense at least one week in advance of his/her oral examination. The research director will ensure that this information is communicated to the faculty and displayed in appropriate places.
§ The oral defense of the thesis or written report shall cover the scope of the thesis or report but may also examine the candidate’s knowledge of related chemistry.
§ As part of the thesis defense the student will be required to make an oral presentation of his/her work and then answer questions from members of his/her guidance committee as well as from the audience. Currently, there is no official departmental policy on the length of the candidate’s presentation. Barring instructions in the contrary from your research advisor, I recommend a 15 to 25 minutes presentation.
· Final Submission of Thesis to the Department and Graduate School. Once the thesis has been successfully defended and approved by the department, the Graduate School will accept one copy on draft paper for final submission. Although on draft paper, the signature/approval pages accompanying the thesis must be on official cotton paper. Once the thesis has been reviewed, the student will need to print two copies (with revisions, if necessary) on cotton paper and resubmit to the Graduate School. If the student does not make necessary corrections or incorrectly changes any part of the thesis, the thesis will have to be revised and submitted on the cotton paper again.
§ The student should submit two additional copies of the thesis to the department; one for the research director and the other to be kept in the departmental office. These must be copies of the final version submitted to the graduate school.
§ The Graduate School sets up deadlines for final submission of theses each semester. Normally the deadline is about two weeks prior to summer commencement and three weeks prior to the end of the fall and spring semesters. It is the student’s responsibility to obtain the exact deadline for the semester they wish to graduate from the graduate advisor, the department chair, the college dean, or the graduate school dean.
· Exit Interview. The department chair would like to have a brief chat with each departing graduate student. The purpose of this exit interview is to help us assess our graduate programs so that we can better serve our students.
Notice. Information on this web page is subject to change and is not to be construed as contractual.