|
Underlying Philosophy
A student's program of study consists of a combination of coursework and scholarly research. The objective of an advanced degree is to provide the student with the knowledge base and specific training necessary to advance science and one's career. The purpose of coursework is to provide a strong foundation in a broad area of chemistry. Coursework prepares a student to evaluate the scholarly research of others and provides the knowledge base needed to identify a problem and construct a programmed approach to solve that problem.
Rules and Regulations
Graduate students are expected to enroll for at least 9 credit hours each
long semester - the minimum number of hours required to be considered
a full-time student. Six hours is considered full time for the Summer semester.
During their first and second semesters, students
register for 2 to 3 graded lecture courses, one or more of which may be
outside the student's focus area. In addition,
students will register for 1 credit
hour of Chem 681: Seminar, and all students who serve as Teaching Assistants
will register for 1 credit hour of Chem 697: Methods in Teaching. The remaining
credit hours come from Chem 691: Research which is used for the research
advisor selection process. In the second semester, all students are required
to register for Chem 686: Ethics in Chemical Research. Graded lecture courses
should be selected with regard to the student's background, educational
interests, and orientation exam scores. Students in their second year are
required to continue registering for Chem 681: Seminar and also must register
for Chem 695: Frontiers in Chemical Research. Beyond the first year, the
required credit hours come mostly from Chem 691: Research.
Dropping a Course. As defined in TAMU Student Rule 1.8, in order to be classified as a full-time student, a graduate student must be enrolled for a minimum of 9 credit-hours during each Fall and Spring semester, 3 credit-hours during a five-week summer term, and 6 credit-hours during a 10-week summer term. A graduate student who is registered for fewer credit-hours than these is not considered to be full-time by the University and is not eligible for either a teaching or research assistantship. Hence, in order to drop a course during a semester, a graduate student cannot simply Q-drop the course, but must simultaneously add an equal number of credit-hours (usually of Chem 691) to maintain total enrollment at the above minimum credit-hour requirements and thus remain eligible for an assistantship and (for international students) to ensure compliance with INS regulations. Such a change in enrollment is accomplished by submitting an add/drop form (available in the Graduate Student Office), which must be approved by the departmental Graduate Advisor and by the Associate Dean for Graduate Studies in the College of Science.
*For very specific requirements for both coursework and research credit hours see the GSO degree plan requirements.
|