Biochemistry

Course Requirements: Core courses are those, within each program, that are required of all candidates. Since these are the fundamental courses that form the basis of the comprehensive examinations, it is essential that they be taken first in any candidate’s program before any electives.

Core courses for the M.S. degree in Biochemistry are:

CHEM 531 - Mechanistic Organic Chemistry
CHEM 550 - Biochemical Structure and Function
CHEM 551 - Biocatalysis and Metabolism
CHEM 563 - Advanced Thermodynamics and Equilibrium
CHEM 570 - Advanced Analytical Chemistry
CHEM 571 - Analytical Methods *
*May be waived for those individuals who have previously taken an equivalent instrumental-analysis laboratory course. With permission, CHEM 560 -CHEM 561 may be substituted for CHEM 563 for those with a less complete background.

Elective Credits

Students take elective credits to get to the thirty credit level required for the degree. Electives may be taken from any of the following catagories:

Thesis: Students in the Thesis track will take one credit of CHEM 509 (Introduction to Research) and two to eight credits of thesis work (CHEM 599). The number of thesis credits will be determined in consultation with the student’s mentor, depending on the scope of the thesis project. Normally, eight thesis credits are devoted to the project.

Other Chemistry courses: Students may select other graduate courses offered by the Chemistry department, in consultation with their mentor, to complete their electives.