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James Tarpo Jr. and Margaret Tarpo
Department of Chemistry

Foundational Courses

Foundational Course Requirement

Students beginning the program after May 2023 must earn credit, with a grade of “B” or better, in at least one course designated by their disciplinary research division as a Foundational Course. The purpose of the foundational course requirement is to ensure that each student has learned foundational knowledge appropriate to the graduate level in their chemistry research area.

The current Foundational Courses are:

Analytical: CHM 69600: Foundational Analytical Chemistry 
Biochemistry and Chemical Biology: CHM 63400: Biochemistry Structural Aspects 
Inorganic: CHM 64100: Advanced Inorganic Chemistry 
Materials: CHM 69600: Chemistry of Soft Materials OR CHM 64400: Solid State Chemistry 
Organic: CHM 65100: Advanced Organic Chemistry 
Physical: CHM 67100: Advanced Physical Chemistry 

At a minimum, students may meet the Foundational Course requirement with only a single course from their declared research division. However, all Plans of Study must be approved by a student’s advisor and committee, so the committee may, at their discretion, place additional expectations that a student take further Foundational Courses in other areas, or take specific additional courses in the student’s own area.

Foundational courses are available in the fall. 1st year students should register for their division's foundational course during their first semester. If a student is unable to successfully complete the requirement at the end of their first semester, they will be allowed to retake the course once. The foundational course requirement must be successfully completed by the end of the student's second fall semester.

Students are encouraged to take more than one Foundational Course, and are advised to take at least their preferred Foundational Course in the first semester.

Students who change their declared research division will need to take the Foundational Course in the new division, unless they receive expressed written approval from their Advisory Committee to meet the requirement with the Foundational Course from their old division.

Students may not meet this requirement through a “test-out” or transfer courses from other universities or MS programs.

For the additional policies related to Foundational Course Requirements, please visit the most recent version of the Chemistry Graduate Program Handbook.

Students who started in the PhD program in Spring 2023 or earlier must pass at least five cumulative examinations (or “cumes”) within the first four semesters (fall and spring) of graduate study. Please see the October 2021 version of the Chemistry Graduate Handbook for details.