Degree Requirements

The Ph.D. and M.S. degree requirements are revised frequently in accordance with the demands of a rapidly changing field. Specific rules are intended to serve as guidelines rather than as inflexible barriers. A student may petition the department for a waiver or modification of any requirement when such a change appears reasonable.

During the third semester of study, you will meet with your thesis committee to determine a topic for your maxi proposal. To prepare for this meeting, you should have two “mini proposals” ready for discussion. These mini proposals should be on two different topics that you would like to investigate for your graduate research.

Each mini proposal is expected to be two pages long (excluding references) and should have a well-defined hypothesis, as well as sufficient background information for the thesis committee to determine whether this hypothesis is strong enough to serve as the foundation of your maxi proposal. Specifically, your hypothesis must be testable, there must be sufficient literature precedent to design and defend specific aims for testing the hypothesis, and the work should be of a good scope for a thesis.

Prior to meeting with the thesis committee, it is expected that you will discuss the topics you are considering with your advisor for advice about their appropriateness for this purpose.

The advancement to candidacy examination, or maxi proposal, takes place in the fourth semester of study. This examination consists of three parts: the written maxi proposal, a public presentation of the maxi proposal, and a private defense of the maxi proposal to the thesis committee.

The written maxi proposal should take the form of an NSF independent research proposal or an NIH R-01 proposal and should be 15 pages long (excluding references) and must be accompanied by a proposed budget and budget justification as well as other required materials (a data management plan). The proposal should be sent to your thesis committee at least 2 weeks before the public presentation.

It is strongly recommended to schedule a date for this examination as early as possible. The date for this examination must be filled with the Graduate School at least two-weeks in advance using the Notification of Scheduled Examination form.

During the semester you must register for CHEM- or BIOC-790 Seminar for your public presentation. At least two-weeks in advance, you need to send the title and abstract of the maxi proposal to the department office.

The presentation should be scheduled for one-hour, with the expectation of a 45-minute presentation and 10-minute question and answer session. Presentations should be given using PowerPoint and designed in a manner that allows both remote and local participants to understand your proposal. The public presentation is graded using the Seminar Report form.

When scheduling the public presentation, an additional two-hour block should be scheduled following the public presentation for the private examination. During this examination, you will be questioned on a variety of topics, including both the scientific/conceptual and technical details of the different techniques and methodologies you intend to use. In the proposal. This proposal is graded using the Graduate Comprehensive Exam Report form.

At the conclusion of your graduate studies at NDSU, you are expected to complete a final defense of your research here. This defense consists of a one-hour public seminar and a two-hour private defense, following the same overall format as the maxi proposal.

The final defense must be scheduled with the Graduate School at least two-weeks in advance using the Request to Schedule Final Examination form, and the date selected must be at least two-weeks before commencement. The final defense will be graded using the Final Defense Report form available on the department website. During the semester you must register for CHEM- or BIOC-790 Seminar. At least two-weeks in advance, you need to send the title and abstract of your thesis to the department office.

At least one week prior to the final defense, the final or nearly final version of the disquisition must be provided to each of the thesis committee members. Information on the requirements for the written disquisition are available here. Note that the formatting requirements for the disquisition are strict, and have to be followed exactly.

In order to pass the final defense, you must receive an overall grade of 3.0 or better, with no individual categories scored below a 2. In the event of a failed defense, a second attempt may be made no later than the semester following the first attempt. This timeline may be extended upon approval by the Dean of the Graduate School with written justification by the thesis committee.

Satisfactory performance of assigned teaching duties is a requirement for all advanced degrees in the Department of Chemistry.  Every full-time graduate student is assigned to teach 2 semesters during their first year in the program.  Inadequate performance of teaching responsibilities shows a lack of progress toward the Ph.D. degree.