Graduate Catalog 2003-2004

The Doctor of Philosophy program in photochemical sciences, offered by the Center for Photochemical Sciences, is designed for students with a background in chemistry, physics, or biological sciences. The interdisciplinary curriculum consists of a combination of course work and research. The course work provides students with a solid foundation in photochemistry and photophysics. It examines applications in fundamental areas of chemistry, biological sciences, physics, spectroscopy, and/or photopolymer science, and prepares students for conducting original research in the field of photochemical sciences.

Prerequisites to Graduate Work

Applicants who show evidence of an outstanding undergraduate education and research ability may enter directly into the Ph.D. program after completing the baccalaureate degree in chemistry, biological sciences, or physics. All other applicants must have completed a master's degree in one of the above areas and show evidence of outstanding research performance.

Admission Procedure

Applicants seeking admission to the Ph.D. in photochemical sciences program should follow the instructions outlined in the "Graduate Admission" section of this catalog.

Degree Requirements
Doctor of Philosophy

Students must complete at least 90 credit hours of graduate credit (60 beyond the master's degree). These hours must include at least 16 hours of PCS 799. Each student's course of study is designed with the advice of the student's dissertation advisor to meet his or her needs and interests.

Students must take a qualification examination that covers the current scientific literature as related to photochemical sciences. This examination is taken at the beginning of the fourth semester.

Students are required to complete a preliminary examination to qualify for doctoral candidacy after having completed or approached completion of at least 60 hours in the approved course of study beyond the baccalaureate degree. The preliminary examination consists of the written preparation and oral defense of an original research proposal.

Doctoral candidates must complete an independent research project acceptable to their dissertation committee. This research is to be described and evaluated in the dissertation. The final examination for the degree is an oral defense in which the student presents a seminar on the research and defends the results before the dissertation committee.

Graduate Courses
Please access graduate courses online at http://webapps.bgsu.edu/courses/search.php. Graduate courses offered by the Photochemical Sciences program use the prefix: PCS.

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