The Department of Chemistry at the University of Illinois

Ph.D. Program

The Department of Chemistry offers an option in Computational Science and Engineering (CSE) under its Ph.D. degree program. To be eligible for the CSE option in Chemistry, a student must fulfill the following requirements:

1. satisfy all the regular Ph.D. requirements for one of the six specialization areas within chemistry (analytical, chemical biology, inorganic, organic, materials, physical)
2. take two core CSE courses (listed below) or their equivalent
3. take two CSE courses offered in chemistry or other departments
4. the Ph.D. thesis must be related to computational science as well as to chemistry, as judged by the thesis committee
5. include on the thesis committee at least one faculty member affiliated with the CSE program

Note: the student must satisfy the 5 unit course requirement for one of the six specialization areas within chemistry, but the core CSE courses and the CSE courses in chemistry may count toward this total where appropriate.

CSE Core Courses

• CSE 401 Numerical analysis: a comprehensive introduction (CS 450)
• CSE 402 Introduction to parallel programming for scientists and engineers (CS 420)
• CSE 400 Data structures and software principles for Non-Computer Majors (CS 400)
• CS 411 Database systems
• CSE 527 Scientific visualization (CS 519)

CSE Courses in Chemistry

• Chem 470 Computational Chemical Biology
• Chem 550 Quantum Dynamics
• Chem 548 Molecular Electronic Structure

The following courses do not count as CSE courses in chemistry but do contain significant computational component:

• Chem 442 Introduction to Quantum Chemistry
• Chem 544/546 Statistical Mechanics

UIUC course information (course catalog, timetables, etc.)