The Chemistry Graduate Manual is the best resource for a more in-depth look at many processes that take place in the Chemistry Graduate Program.
The Graduate College also has a Graduate Handbook, which that covers more general university policies for graduate students.
Many university processes can become complicated, especially when multiple departments and sets of policies are involved. Several common processes are discussed below to help students navigate through them.
In each Fall semester, the Department of Chemistry has orientation for all new graduate students during the two weeks prior to the beginning of instruction. Orientation encompasses several topics such as an introduction to the Department Head, Director of Graduate Studies, and a few other helpful personnel and resources. Students receive registration guidance, advice on selecting a research advisor, and other information about the department and the university. Orientation is also when we take care of some required training and paperwork. Our students fill out new-hire paperwork for their graduate appointment, and they receive teaching and lab safety training. Orientation is required and generally begins about two weeks before the first day of instruction for the Fall semester.
Admission Offer Verifications
Newly admitted graduate students may need a letter to verify their offer of admission for the purpose of obtaining a visa, leasing an apartment, or buying a vehicle when they arrive on campus. These letters can be requested from the Graduate Admissions Coordinator until the 10th day of instruction for your first semester (after the 10th day of instruction, you will be able to request an enrollment verification). These letters include your name, your admission term, the minimum salary amount for our department, and the average time to degree for our program (5 years).
Enrollment Verifications
Enrollment verifications must be requested through the Office of the Registrar
Employment Verifications
After your appointment with Chemistry begins, any employment verifications must be requested through Human Resources.
Registration
Graduate students register for courses through Self-Service. The Office of the Registrar manages Academic Calendars for each semester, which indicate when each registration period opens and the registration deadlines.
Chemistry Courses and CRNS
Chemistry Course Listing: Chemistry Courses
Chemistry Graduate Research (CHEM 599) CRN List: CHEM 599 Course List
Academic Catalog: Academic Catalog
Registration Instructions
Registration Procedures - Office of the Registrar: How to Register
How to Adjust Credits for CHEM 599 and CHEM 590: Variable Credit Courses
English as a Second Language (ESL) Enrollment: ESL Enrollment
Registration Timeline
Students are allowed to change their registration through the 10th day of instruction each semester (also known as the census day). Add/Drop deadlines are posted in the Academic Calendar.
After the 10th day of instruction, students must submit a Late Registration/Change Form. This form can be submitted only until grades begin to post, and grades for research courses (CHEM 599 and some CHEM 590) post earlier than normal course grades. After grades post, it becomes a much more complex process, so please submit any late registration form as early as possible. This form should be filled out and signed by the student, signed by the instructor of the course being added, and returned to the Graduate Program Coordinator for completion and submission.
Department of Chemistry Enrollment Requirements
Fall or Spring Semesters: 14 credit hours
Summer Semester: 6 credit hours
*Exceptions may be granted if there is a valid reason (for example, an off-campus internship)
Each research area of Chemistry has specific courses that are required for the area, as listed in the Chemistry Graduate Manual, section 5.7.2.
Deadline Exceptions
There are two basic requests for deadline exceptions and requesting to postpone a degree requirement. Essentially, both of these procedures require a petition, so the difference between the two types is which petition you have to complete.
Postponing or Waiving Degree Requirements
You may request to postpone or waive a degree requirement through your Research Area by completing a Chemistry Internal Petition Form. These requests must be approved by both your Research Advisor and your Area Head.
Examples:
- Waiving a course requirement or allowing a substitution
- postponing a prelim (usually Year 2) or ORP (usually Year 4); Please note the Grad College time limits for prelims and final defense below, as Grad College approval may be needed, if you exceed their time limits.
Exception to a Campus Deadline
If you are requesting an exception to a campus deadline, then you will need to submit a Graduate College Petition
Examples:
- Registration changes after grades have posted.
- Retroactively appointing a prelim or final defense committee.
- Being added to the Graduation List after the deadline.
- Granting an extension to the (Grad College) time limit for taking a prelim (Year 5) or final defense (Year 7).
Degree Audit System
As many of you may already be aware, students are allowed to run Degree Audits in Self-Service. However, we caution students to avoid relying entirely upon their degree audit, though it may be a useful tool to quickly check your progress at a given time, or it can even be used to explore other program options (hypothetically).
There are some limitations in the Degree Audit system, such as the fact that completion of the ORP will not appear (this is a departmental requirement, not a university requirement) and any non-Chemistry course that requires approval from an Area Head (B&O) will show up in a group of completed courses, but they may not be counted toward any particular degree requirement. This is caused by the lack of an established rule for the course in the Degree Audit System, because a course might be approved for a student in one Area, but not in a different Area.
Degree Requirements
As a result of some of the inconsistencies between a student's actual degree progress and the Degree Audit System, we recommend that students refer to the Chemistry Graduate Manual, and I have created Degree Requirement Worksheets for students to track their progress in a clear, concise format. The Graduate Program Coordinator should update these worksheets on an annual basis (after the release of the next Chemistry Graduate Manual), but students should always double-check the Chemistry Graduate Manual, to make sure the form is current.
Degree Requirements for the Chemistry PhD program can be found in the Chemistry Graduate Manual, section 5.2.6.
Degree Requirements for the CSE Concentration of the Chemistry PhD can be found in the Chemistry Graduate Manual, section 5.2.6.
Degree Requirements for the Chemistry PhD program can be found in the Chemistry Graduate Manual, section 4.3.2 and 5.2.6.
Degree Requirements for the Chemistry MS Coursework option can be found in the Chemistry Graduate Manual, section 4.3.1.
Degree Requirements for the Chemistry PhD program can be found in the Chemistry Graduate Manual, section 4.3.3.
Choosing Your Faculty Research Advisor
Selecting your Faculty Research Advisor will be one of the most important decisions you make early in your graduate studies. We encourage you to learn about the research interests of our faculty. You can search all faculty or by research area.
Students are required by policy to meet with at least six potential Faculty Research Advisors, prior to agreeing to select an advisor. Faculty Research Advisor selections are made each Fall, toward the end of October.
Each Fall semester, many of our faculty give presentations of their research for incoming graduate students.
View a list of upcoming Faculty Research Presentations.
Selecting a Co-Advisor
Students are allowed to have co-advisors, if they are interested in a joint research project. For this process, we have an Adding a Co-Advisor Form.
Selecting a Non-Chemistry Faculty Research Advisor
Chemistry students are allowed to select a non-Chemistry Faculty Research Advisor. In this case, the student will need to make sure the prospective advisor is aware of the financial implications, by providing a copy of the expectations for non-Chemistry faculty advisors, which is included with the Non-Chemistry Advisor Petition.
In this case you must also identify an Advisor of Record (AOR) within the Chemistry Department. If you decide to change your AOR, then you must submit the Change of Advisor of Record Petition.
Changing your Area and/or your Advisor
When you are changing your research area but keeping the same Faculty Research Advisor, the process is fairly simple. You may simply fill out the Change of Area Form.
If you wish to change your Faculty Research Advisor, the process requires thorough consideration, and some research areas discourage advisor changes for various reasons. In many cases, students can resolve issues by speaking to their advisor about switching to a new project. Students should not expect that filling out the Advisor Change Form means their switch will be approved, if it was not discussed with all relevant parties beforehand.
If you wish to change both your Faculty Research Advisor and your research area, then you will need to complete both forms mentioned above.
Insurance
Graduate Students with current appointments have health, dental and vision insurance provided by the university. All new students must enroll to receive insurance coverage. Any student who needs to enroll or has any questions about their insurance coverage should contact the Student Insurance Office.
Waivers
Graduate Students receive full tuition waivers and several fee waivers, which cover most of their students fees, excluding a portion of their healthcare fees.
Waivers are tied directly to your appointment, so waivers are not applied until your waiver-generating appointment has been completely approved and established.
Questions about waivers generated by a fellowship or grant should be directed to the Fellowships Office, and questions about waivers generated by an assistantship should be directed to Financial Aid.
Salaries
Graduate Students receive salaries (or in some cases stipends) from several different sources: Fellowships, Grants, Assistantships, etc. Those funding sources are often combined, so that one student could potentially receive funding from a combination of those sources.
The Graduate Program Coordinator tracks the sources of funding for each student.
- Fellowships & Grants: These may come from external awards to a student, awards to a professor, training grants, or donations to the department. All of these, regardless of source, are paid through the Fellowships Office at the Graduate College.
- Assistantships: Any student who is not supported completely by a fellowship or grant will be supported by an assistantship. There are two types of assistantships: Teaching Assistantships (TA) and Research Assistantships (RA).
Pay Issues
If you are experiencing pay issues, there could be several causes, and whom you need to speak to will depend on how you are paid and at what stage of processing your appointment is in.
If you are paid via fellowship or grant, then your initial paperwork is submitted by the Graduate Program Coordinator, and your appointment is set up by the Fellowships Office at the Graduate College.
If you are paid via assistantship, then your new hire paperwork and setting up your appointment are both handled by SCS HR.
If your appointment has been fully set up but there is an issue with your pay amount, then you need to contact the Payroll Office.
Leaves of Absence (LOA)
Leaves of Absence (LOA) occur in many varieties, but we divide them into two moderately simply types:
- Planned Leave of Absence
- Emergency or Sudden Leave of Absence
Planned Leave of Absence
A planned leave of absence must be requested prior to the start of classes during the semester in which the LOA will occur. In these instances, do not enroll in courses during that semester, and complete the necessary Leave of Absence Requests.
Two requests must be submitted, depending on the semester. The departmental LOA request must be submitted to the department, regardless of the semester in which the LOA occurs. The Graduate College LOA request must be submitted when the LOA occurs during a Fall or Spring semester.
Chemistry Department Leave of Absence Form
Graduate College LOA Request Portal: Request for Academic Leave of Absence (uillinois.edu)
Summer internships fall into this category and require the departmental LOA request, but if limited to the Summer do not require the Graduate College LOA request.
Emergency or Sudden Leave of Absence
An emergency or sudden leave of absence applies to any leave of absence that occurs after classes begin and requires the student to withdraw fully from the university for a semester or more. This requires the Late Withdrawal/Cancellation Form (withdrawal from all classes) and the Chemistry Department Leave of Absence Form.
Petitions are an involved process with several layers of approval. Petitions are required for most, if not all, policy exceptions. The most common petitions are submitted to request an exception to a specified time limit or deadline.
There are two separate petitioning processes:
- Internal petition, to request an exception for a departmental requirement.
- Graduate College petition, to request an exception to a Graduate College requirement.
Internal Chemistry Petition
Chemistry Internal Petition Form is commonly used to request to take a non-Chemistry course or to request to delay a degree requirement (prelim, ORP, or final defense). When delaying a prelim or final defense, the student may be required to petition the Graduate College, if this delay will push the student beyond the Graduate College time limit. ORP delays require only an internal petition.
Graduate College Petition
Graduate College Petition is generally used for an exception to a time limit, deadline, or several other rules enforced by the Graduate College. Additionally, a petition is required for any change of program (switching between departments or degree programs).
Change of Program (switch to MS or PhD)
If you wish to switch between the MS and PhD programs, then you must submit a Graduate College Petition. It is also required that you meet with the Director of Graduate Studies before your petition can be approved. As a courtesy, you should also discuss this with your advisor; but it can be discussed with the Director of Graduate Studies and/or the Graduate Program Coordinator in confidence, especially if you are just weighing your options.
PhD students may also use this process to add the CSE Concentration.
The requirements for each degree program are outlined in the Chemistry Graduate Manual:
- PhD - section 5.2.6
- PhD, CSE Concentration - section 5.2.6
- Thesis MS - section 4.3.2
- Coursework MS - section 4.3.1
- MSTC - section 4.3.3
Links to Petitions
Thesis Committees
All graduate students are required to have a thesis committee. You will select your initial committee members in mid-July of your first year in the program. You must also officially request your thesis committee before your prelim and your final defense. These are the only committee requests that are made at the college level, and those committees should be request a minimum of three weeks prior to that exam. For committee changes that occur for the ORP or in between the exams students are only required to report their committee changes to their Area Offices, and they will track your committee assignments internally. You will find committee member requirements at the bottom of this section.
Preliminary Examination (Prelim)
The Preliminary Examination (Prelim) is taken at the end of Stage II of a doctoral program. In Chemistry, this is usually during the fifth full semester of residence. 1st-year students (rising 2nd-year students) are asked to provide a list of their prelim committee members to their area offices in mid-July.
Each prelim committee must meet the thesis committee composition requirements of both the Department of Chemistry and the Graduate College (see Thesis Committee Composition section below)
Individual Research Areas may have more specific instructions in regard to prelims, which will be provided to their students closer to the time of submitting committee selections.
Prelim committees must also be requested through the Graduate College at least three weeks prior to the Prelim, using the Graduate College Student Request Portal, which can be found at Submitting Preliminary and Final Exam Appointment Requests.
Original Research Proposal (ORP)
The Original Research Proposal (ORP) is part of Stage III of the Chemistry doctoral program. ORP is normally completed during a student's fourth year in the program.
The ORP committee is typically the same as the student's prelim committee. ORPs are handled almost entirely by the individual research areas, so any ORP questions are best directed to your faculty advisor or area office.
The ORP is required by the Department of Chemistry but not by the Graduate College, so you do not have to submit a request to the Graduate College. However, you will need to make sure your area office is aware of any committee changes.
Final Examination (Final Defense)
The Final Examination, also referred to as the Final Defense, is held during the last year of residence in the doctoral program. The student must be enrolled in CHEM 599 during the semester in which the Final Examination occurs.
Final Examination committees must meet the thesis committee composition requirements of both the Department of Chemistry and the Graduate College (see Thesis Committee Composition section below)
An advanced draft of your entire thesis must be provided to your Final Examination Committee, no less than one week prior to the event.
Final Examination Committees must be requested through the Graduate College at least three weeks prior to the Final Defense, using the Graduate College Student Request Portal, which can be found at Submitting Preliminary and Final Exam Appointment Requests.
Thesis Committee Composition
Thesis Committees must meet the following composition requirements:
- At least four faculty members
- At least three members must be current members of the UIUC Graduate Faculty
- At least two members must hold at least 50% appointments in the Department of Chemistry
- At least two members must be tenured at UIUC
- The student's advisor must be a committee member
- Other committee members must be chosen in consultation with your advisor
- If the committee includes more than 4 voting members, at least half of the members must be UIUC Graduate Faculty
To check to see if a faculty member is a tenured UIUC Graduate Faculty Member, students can check the Graduate Faculty Database.
All Prelim and Final Defense thesis committee member appointments must be submitted to the Graduate College, at least three weeks prior to the exam, using the Graduate College Student Request Portal, which can be found at this link: Submitting Preliminary and Final Exam Appointment Requests
Graduate students who are preparing to finish their graduate work and leave the program have a few big steps that they will have to complete during their last few months with the department. PhD students should inform the Graduate Program Coordinator and their area office as soon as they decide when they will be holding their Final Examination.
Deadlines
Students should be mindful of upcoming deadlines for signing up to graduate, holding their final examination, and officially depositing their thesis. These are all firm deadlines that are posted on the Graduate College website and listed in the Academic Calendar.
Sign up to Graduate
You must sign up to Graduate in Self-Service. If for some reason you cannot, you may use the online Add/Remove from Degree List request.
Coursework Requirements
Graduate students earning a PhD must also make sure they have met all of the coursework requirements for their degree. Please see the Degree Audits and Degree Requirements section above for more details.
Final Examination
Once your Final Examination date has been scheduled, you will need to submit a final exam committee request to the Graduate College. Thesis committee requests should be submitted at least three weeks before your final defense. After your final exam committee is approved, the Graduate College will send you a link to download your Thesis/Dissertation Deposit Approval Form (TDA) and a Final Exam Evaluation Report Form (FER). You will need to send these to your thesis committee chair and your area office. We also recommend taking a printed copy to your final exam, to make sure there is a paper copy available while all of your committee members are present. After your thesis committee signs off on your TDA and FER, those will be submitted to your area office by your thesis committee chair, and they will be sent to the Graduate Program Coordinator for submission to the Graduate College.
Thesis/Dissertation
The Graduate College has a thesis webpage dedicated to guiding students through the process, which includes deadlines, thesis format requirements, workshops, title page reviews, and formatting templates. For the title page, we recommend editing in Microsoft Word and checking the line spacing in Adobe Acrobat, using the Grids and Rulers (this combination in Adobe Acrobat is much more precise).
After your thesis is complete, you submit it to the Graduate Program Coordinator for an initial format review. After you have addressed any issues identified by the Graduate Program Coordinator, you will submit your thesis to the Graduate College. The Graduate College will conduct a final review of your thesis, and they may recommend revisions. The Graduate College will notify you when your thesis is officially deposited.
If you wish, you can request an embargo on the release of your thesis, or you may submit a Thesis Withholding Request.
The Graduate College requires doctoral students to complete two surveys before their thesis can be officially deposited: the Doctoral Exit Survey and the Survey of Earned Doctorates.
Exit Interview
All students who are leaving the program are required to participate in an exit interview. This is intended as an opportunity for students to make suggestions that can improve our department as a whole. To schedule your exit interview, please contact our Assistant Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Chemical Sciences.
Resignation & Exit Checklists
All graduate students are required to resign from the Department of Chemistry prior to leaving campus. There are two forms that you need to complete and submit after your thesis has been officially deposited: the Chemistry Exit Checklist and the HR Exit Checklist.
The Chemistry Exit Checklist should be submitted to the Graduate Program Coordinator.
The HR Exit Checklist should be submitted to SCS HR. Important: For a student to receive all of their waivers for the semester in which they resign, they must either resign after the 91st day of their appointment for that semester, or they must resign within 7 days of their official thesis deposit. The easiest way to meet the 7-day rule is to resign on the day your thesis deposit is approved by the Graduate College.
Graduate students who are preparing to finish their graduate work and leave the program have a few big steps that they will have to complete during their last few months with the department.
Deadlines
Students should be mindful of upcoming deadlines for signing up to graduate, holding their final examination, and officially depositing their thesis. These are all firm deadlines that are posted on the Graduate College website and listed in the Academic Calendar.
Sign up to Graduate
You must sign up to Graduate in Self-Service. If for some reason you cannot, you may use the online Add/Remove from Degree List request.
Coursework Requirements (Thesis MS, Coursework MS, and MSTC Options)
Graduate students earning a Master's Degree must also ensure they have met all of the coursework requirements for their degree. Please see the Degree Audits and Degree Requirements section above for more details.
Thesis (Thesis MS Option only)
The Graduate College has a thesis webpage dedicated to guiding students through the process, which includes deadlines, thesis format requirements, workshops, title page reviews, and formatting templates. For the title page, we recommend editing in Microsoft Word and checking the line spacing in Adobe Acrobat, using the Grids and Rulers (this combination in Adobe Acrobat is much more precise).
After your thesis is complete, you submit it to the Graduate Program Coordinator for an initial format review. After you have addressed any issues identified by the Graduate Program Coordinator, you will submit your thesis to the Graduate College. The Graduate College will conduct a final review of your thesis, and they may recommend revisions. The Graduate College will notify you when your thesis is officially deposited.
If you wish, you can request an embargo on the release of your thesis, or you may submit a Thesis Withholding Request.
Exit Interview
All students who are leaving the program are required to participate in an exit interview. This is intended as an opportunity for students to make suggestions that can improve our department as a whole. To schedule your exit interview, please contact our Assistant Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Chemical Sciences.
Resignation & Exit Checklists
All graduate students are required to resign from the Department of Chemistry prior to leaving campus. There are two forms that you will need to complete and submit after your thesis has been officially deposited: The Chemistry Exit Checklist and the HR Exit Checklist.
The Chemistry Exit Checklist for MS Thesis Option or Chemistry Exit Checklist for MS Coursework or MSTC Options can be submitted to the Graduate Program Coordinator.
The HR Exit Checklist can be submitted to SCS HR. Important Note: For a student to receive all of their waivers for the semester in which they resign, they must either resign after the 91st day of their appointment for that semester, or they must resign within 7 days of their official thesis deposit (the easiest way to meet the 7-day rule is to resign on the day your thesis deposit is approved by the Graduate College.
For students needing documentation indicating that their degree has been completed, there are three different options.
Degree Certification Letters
Degree Certification Letters are an option for any graduate student who has completed their degree requirements, including thesis (if required), prior to the end of the semester. However, these letters can only be generated between when the degree requirements have been completed and when degree certification for the semester begins (after grades are posted). These letters are completed by the Graduate College, with the input of the department. After your degree has been awarded, you should request a Transcript or a Degree Verification Letter.
Degree Verification Letters
Degree Verification Letters are similar to enrollment verifications, but they verify the completion of the degree itself. These letters are prepared by the Office of the Registrar, and these requests can only be fulfilled after the degree is officially awarded.
Transcripts
Transcripts may be ordered through the Office of the Registrar.
Diplomas
You may order duplicate diplomas through the Office of the Registrar.
Advisor (or Area) Selection/Change
Non-Chemistry Advisor Petition
Change of Advisor of Record Petition
Degree Requirement Worksheets
Chemistry PhD Degree Requirement Worksheet
Chemistry CSE Certificate Option Requirement Worksheet
Chemistry MS (Thesis) Degree Requirement Worksheet
Chemistry MS (Coursework) Degree Requirement Worksheet
Chemistry MSTC Degree with No Teaching Certification Requirement Worksheet
Chemistry MSTC Degree with a Teaching Certification Requirement Worksheet
Graduating Student Forms
Add/Remove from Degree List (if you cannot do so in Self-Service)
Degree Certification Letter (can only be requested between Thesis Deposit and Graduation Date; afterward you must request a transcript or a Degree Verification Letter)
Chemistry Exit Checklist for MS Thesis
Chemistry Exit Checklist for MS Coursework or MSTC
Leaves of Absence
Leave of Absence Request (before instruction begins and not enrolled)
Withdrawal/Cancellation Request Form (after instruction begins, if enrolled)
Petitions
Chemistry Internal Petition Form
Graduate College Petition Portal
Registration