The Department of Chemistry at the University of Illinois

1. Identify a Chemistry Department faculty member (s) with whom you would like to work. Use the Directory of Graduate Research, the SCS Graduate Bulletin, the 499 Faculty handout (all available in 168 Noyes Lab), and your personal knowledge and/or contacts to determine compatibility of interests.
2. Make Individual appointments to discuss a possible project.
3. Make your decision. Then, in consultation with the faculty member determine how you want to distribute the hours you wish to take over the time you have available. You may count 10 hours towards graduation credit in the curriculum (3207). Many students take these hours over 2 or 3 semesters.
4. Register for Chem 499 by using your faculty supervisor's personal call number and the number of hours agreed upon per semester.
5. Establish a schedule for your work especially concerning when the thesis is due. It is important that you and your supervisor agree to a time table. (And later, agree on any changes that may be required.)

NOTE: Each year students who have undertaken Chem 499 do not graduate on time because a specific schedule is neither set or understood by the student and/or the thesis director.

FACTS

1. In the Specialized Chemistry Curriculum (32-07), Senior Thesis (Chem 499) serves as Technical Elective hours and reduces the lab requirement. In the Chemistry Science and Letters program, Chem 499 counts as upper level hours.
2. When Chem 499 is taken over more than one semester, Df grades are given each semester until the project is completed and graded. Thesis directors must submit a Supplemental Grade form (available in 168 Noyes) changing the Df grade for each semester to a letter grade within 10 days after the last day of final exams of the student's last semester in order to qualify Chem 499 hours for graduation.
3. Each student must submit a thesis, (a formal paper following the Bachelor's thesis instructions), approved by the faculty supervisor, the Chemistry Department Head, and the LAS College Honors Dean, in order to receive a grade and credit hours for the course.
4. No consideration is given for Dean's list until final traditional grades are in for courses designated Df or Ex.
5. With an Honors Learning Agreement, available in 270 Lincoln Hall, you may earn honors credit for your senior thesis.

View participating faculty members' research interests and requirements by clicking on the "Faculty and Research Interests" link in the right navigation bar.