Chemistry at Illinois

Thank you for your interest in the Chemistry Ph.D. Program at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Applications that are submitted early receive first consideration. Applicants are more likely to earn fellowships and avoid being wait-listed if they submit their applications by January 5, 2009 (for fall admission).

Basic Admission Requirements

Basic requirements for admission to the graduate program in chemistry are an undergraduate degree with at least 25 semester hours in chemistry (properly distributed) and a grade-point average of 3.0 (A=4.0). Your academic record and recommendations must be a strong indicator of your fitness to pursue advanced study and research in chemistry.

We ask applicants for admission to our graduate program to submit the following information:

A completed on-line application form, including a personal statement
Official transcripts of all previous undergraduate and graduate work (one transcript for each institution attended).
Official Graduate Records Examination General test scores
Official Graduate Records Examination Chemistry Subject test scores

Contact the Educational Testing Service (ETS) to send official test scores for the Graduate Records Examination. The institution code for the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is 1836 and the the program office code is 00.
Official English Language Proficiency test scores for applicants whose native language is not English. The requirement can be met one of three ways:
The university requires a minimum score of 24 on the speaking section of the TOEFL iBT, a minimum score of 8 on the speaking section of the IELTS, or a minimum TSE score of 50.
Three letters of reference

Areas of Study

Within the Department of Chemistry areas of study include analytical, chemical biology, chemical physics, inorganic, materials, organic, and physical chemistry. Applications for those interested in pursuing a Master's degree are not encouraged except for the Master's Program in the Teaching of Chemistry and the Joint Degree Program in Chemistry.

Master's Program in the Teaching of Chemistry
Applicants interested in the Master's Program in the Teaching of Chemistry are expected to have a valid teaching certificate in addition to the usual undergraduate background in chemistry. Those who do not have a valid teaching certificate should plan to spend an additional year in the program for student teaching and to take other courses required for the certificate.

Joint Degree Program - JD/MS in Chemistry
View a complete description of the Joint Degree Program.

TSE and TOEFL Requirements

Teaching is a requirement in the Chemistry Graduate Program, and there are special requirements for applicants whose native language is not English. The university requires a minimum Test of Spoken English (TSE) score of 50, a minimum score of 24 on the speaking section of the Test of English as a Foreign Language internet-based test (TOEFL iBT), or a minimum score of 8 on the speaking section of the International English Language Testing System (IELTS). Any applicant whose native language is not English is required to provide TSE, TOEFL iBT, or IELTS scores in order to receive full consideration for admission and financial aid. Exemption from the TOEFL does not give exemption from the TSE, the speaking section of the TOEFL iBT, or the speaking section of the IELTS.

Our average departmental TOEFL score is above a 105 for the TOEFL iBT (620 paper-based test and 260 computer-based test). The minimum departmental IELTS overall score is a 7, (with no score on any sub-section less than 6, except for speaking sub-score which must be at least 8). TOEFL or IELTS scores must be less than 2 years old from the first day of class at the proposed term of entry in order to be valid.

Graduate Application Process

Please contact us if you have any questions about the application process.

You can apply online at:
http://www.grad.uiuc.edu/admissions/apply/ (Code listings needed to fill out the application form can be found at the bottom of this page.)
If you can't apply online, please e-mail us.

Graduate Application Fee

International applicants - $75.00 (US)
Domestic applicants - $60.00 (US)

The application fee must be paid by credit card at the time the on-line application is submitted.

Transfer Students

Our general advice to students who are currently enrolled in other graduate programs is that they complete degree work before moving to another university. While students might be admitted without a degree from their current institution, there should be exceptional circumstances. We require a statement from the applicant detailing the situation and a letter from the applicant's research advisor or department head.

Program Codes and Field of Specialization Listings

Below are the Program code and Field of Specialization Listings needed for the application form.

Program Codes

10KS0335PHD — Chemistry-PHD

10KS0337PHD — Chemical Physics-PHD

10KS0294MS — Teaching of Chemistry-MS

10KS8101NONE — Chemistry MS/Law JD

Fields of Specialization for the Chemistry PhD Program (10KS0335PHD)

Analytical	Materials
Chemical Biology	Organic
Inorganic	Physical

Transcripts and Supporting Materials

Official transcripts and any supporting materials that cannot be submitted electronically should be mailed to the following address:

Chemistry Graduate Admissions
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
308 Noyes Lab, Box 57-1
600 S. Mathews Ave.
Urbana, IL 61801

1(800)516-0276 (US only)
(217)244-6245

Information

To receive information about the graduate program in chemistry, please fill out this form!

https://www.scs.uiuc.edu/grad_info/inquiry.php

The Department of Chemistry at the University of Illinois