Accelerated B.S./M.S. Degree Program
Why an Accelerated B.S./M.S. Degree Program?
In today’s job market, a research-based M.S. degree can provide an entry into a great job. In some areas of chemistry, there are job openings at the M.S. level even during economically difficult times.
Chemistry, as the central science, plays a critical role in many areas, such as developing new materials (ceramics, high-tech polymers), finding cures for disease (invention of new drugs), understanding biological processes (mode of drug action, fertilization), and detailing the theoretical basis of natural phenomena.
This five-year B.S./M.S. program, intended for those desiring entry into an industrial position, provides a streamlined opportunity to obtain both degrees.
Program Overview
- Maintain a GPA of 3.0 or better (overall and in your biochemistry, chemistry, or engineering chemistry major)
- In your junior year, choose a research advisor from the faculty
- Plan your program of study to include senior research (CHE 495-496) and two graduate (500-level) courses in your senior year.
- Spend your fifth year in an intensive research program in a sophisticated research environment.
- Write and defend a thesis.
Get two degrees in five years!
During your junior year:
Choose a research advisor based on your area of interest and a broad range of active research areas.
Fill out a Five-Year B.S./M.S. Program in Chemistry Application Form. The completed form is signed by the Applicant, Proposed Advisor, and then submitted to Katherine Hughes (Katherine.Hughes@stonybrook.edu) in the Chemistry Department Office for review by the Undergraduate Program Director and the Graduate Program Director.
The form spells out a program of coursework for completion of the B.S. degree and the M.S. degree, including Senior Research (CHE 495-496), two 500-level graduate courses, and GRD 500, which will be taken during the senior year, and an intensive research experience for the fifth year of the program. Note: Students registering for CHE 495-496 must complete this form for approval prior to enrolling in the course.
The coursework identified on the application form must be completed by the end of
the senior year with a GPA of 3.0 or above, in addition to maintaining a GPA of 3.0
overall, for continuation into the fifth year and the M.S. degree phase of the program.
The internal Chemistry Department application is followed by an official application
to the Graduate School in the second semester of the senior year.
Forms needed to complete the application for admission to the B.S./M.S. Program in
Chemistry:
- Five-Year B.S./M.S. Program in Chemistry Application Form. Please attach a copy of your unofficial transcript and ask your recommenders to email their letters of recommendation from their stonybrook.edu email address to Katherine.Hughes@stonybrook.edu. Note that one letter of recommendation must be from your advisor and the other from another faculty member. Work with your advisor to complete the section that asks for a description of the plan for the fifth year of the program, which would be your year of full-time research.
- Complete the Advanced Couse Permission Request Form to register for Senior Research, which is a 6-credit course sequence, CHE 495-496. Registration is by permission (department consent) only. You will enroll in CHE 495 (3 credits) in the Fall and CHE 496 (3 credits) in the Spring. Since CHE 495-496 is a sequence you will not receive a grade until you finish CHE 496. Your grade will be determined by the Undergraduate Research Committee, after you present your research in the annual Senior Research Symposium in May.
Spring semester of senior year:
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Students must submit the Application Form to Graduate School for the Accelerated Bachelors/Masters Degree in the final term as an undergraduate, before the last day of classes.
Research Areas:
- Biological: enzymes protein design / modification
- Inorganic: enzyme active sites new structures
- Materials: new polymers designed / self-assembling
- Medicinal: anticancer agents enzyme inhibitors
- Organic: new methods total synthesis
- Organometallic: catalysis new synthetic methods
- Physical: instrument design spectroscopic methods