Master of Science in Chemistry - San Francisco - California - USF University of San Francisco - I1923

The University of San Francisco offers a Master of Science degree in Chemistry in which hands-on lab research with full-time faculty is the focus. Students can start the graduate program each year beginning in the fall (late August) or spring (late January) semesters.

Graduate students choose from among the following areas for their research:

• Analytical chemistry
• Biochemistry
• Inorganic chemistry
• Organic chemistry
• Physical chemistry

Research groups in each area of study are modest in size, and the student-professor interaction is highly valued. Students are accepted into specific research groups and together with their advisors work out a program of directed scientific research. Completion of the program generally requires two-and-one-half years of study.

Students enjoy well-equipped research labs for chemical, biochemical and molecular genetic experimentation. The Department of Chemistry is located in the Harney Science Center. Major research equipment includes FT-IR/Raman, GC, GC-MAS, HPLC, electrochemistry,  UV-Vis-NIR, and a 500 MHz FT NMR as well as modern computational chemistry facilities.

The majority of graduate students hold teaching assistantships. Students come from many parts of the world as well as from the United States, making the program truly international.

Program of Study
The graduate program in Chemistry is intended for students with an undergraduate degree in Chemistry or Biochemistry which is equivalent to the USF undergraduate B.S. degree in Chemistry. If a graduate student is lacking a proper foundation for graduate work in these areas, then some advanced undergraduate coursework will be required.

The program involves the completion of 24 units of academic credit, including a substantial thesis based on original research work completed under the direction of one of our professors. The typical length of the program is two and one-half years. Any courses taken (4 units each) must be graduate courses or upper-division undergraduate courses. The typical course load is 6 units each semester (which may be comprised entirely of research-based units).