Department of Chemistry

Application Information

How to Apply

Candidates interested in graduate study in Chemistry at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill must submit most application materials online to the Graduate School of the University of North Carolina.

Candidates interested in the Biological Division should apply through the Biological and Biomedical Sciences Program (BBSP). Students should apply for graduate study at UNC via either Chemistry or the BBSP, but not both.

Note the deadline for applying to the BBSP and Biological Chemistry is December 7 (New Deadline Date), which is different from the Chemistry deadline.

Candidates interested in Master's level study should confirm with the Chemistry Student Services Office that they have their own funding. Further instructions will be provided by the Chemistry Student Services Office once this is established.

The GRE Subject Test is not required for admission into our program. Students should not submit such scores, as they are not used during the application evaluation process.

 

Graduate Admissions Timeline

December 1, 2009
International student and priority deadline for Chemistry

December 15, 2009 (New Deadline Date)
Chemistry and Graduate School priority deadline for applicants who wish to be considered for a Graduate School award. All materials should be received by this date

February, 2010
Department of Chemistry domestic admission decisions are made

March, 2010
Department of Chemistry foreign admission decisions are made

March 12-13, 26-27, 2010
Department of Chemistry visitation weekends for those offered admission

April 15, 2010
Deadline for students to accept or decline offers of admission

 

Chemistry Department Application Deadlines

Evaluation of completed applications will begin in early December and continue through March until we have filled the class. International applicants and any domestic applicant who is not enrolled in fall classes should apply no later than November 30. All other applicants should apply as soon as possible, but no later than January 5.

 

Graduate School Requirements

Prior to proceeding through the sections describing Chemistry Department requirements please read carefully the information available through links below provided by the Graduate School:

 

Transcripts

As stated on the application instructions on the Graduate School website, one official copy of your transcript(s) must be sent directly to them. An additional, official copy of your transcript(s) must be sent directly to the Chemistry Department at this address:

Department of Chemistry, Student Services
Caudill & Kenan Laboratories, CB#3290
The University of North Carolina
Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3290
USA

 

Letters of Recommendation

We require a letter of recommendation from your Undergraduate Research Advisor and prefer the other letters come from faculty in the sciences or math, or professional scientists in whose lab you have worked. Applicants are required to provide information about their three recommenders, such as their email addresses, via the online Graduate School application for admission. Each recommender will receive an email with a username/password and the link to the recommendation site. Here, along with identifying information, they will type the recommendation letter or attach a .doc or .pdf file.

If your recommender prefers to mail their recommendation, please give them the Graduate School cover letter to use.

 

Statement of Purpose

The statement of purpose need not be extensive, but should indicate which research area(s) and faculty members are most interesting to the applicant. Generic statements of interest in chemistry are discouraged.

 

Financial Certificate

As stated on the Graduate school website, all international prospective students must also submit a Financial Certificate to the Chemistry Department. Send this to the address listed above. Your application will not be considered complete without this document and its required attachments.

 

Visiting our Department

If you are accepted to our program, you will receive an invitation to visit the department soon after you receive the Chemistry Department acceptance letter. Most students will visit during one of our Visitation Weekends, arriving Friday afternoon, departing Sunday. The purpose of these weekends is to acquaint you with our program, including our faculty, graduate students, and research facilities. You will also have a chance to tour campus and the town of Chapel Hill during your visit. A distinct advantage to visiting on one of these two weekends is that a majority of the faculty will be in town. We encourage you to combine your visit to our department with visits to other schools if possible to reduce the cost of your trip for everyone.

The University of North Carolina does not discriminate on the basis of age, sex, race, color, national origin, religion, disability or sexual orientation.