 Graduate school  Med School / Law School  Careers Careers Chemistry Polymer science Chemical engineering Biotechnology Chemical physics Chemical education Biochemistry Materials science Environmental chemistry Food science Geochemistry Pharmaceutical chemistry Forensics Clinical chemistry Computational chemistry

1) You get paid to go (~ 20K per year) 2) Unstructured, open-ended research environment 3) High demand for graduate students 4) You will almost surely publish articles 5) Exposure to a plethora of high level research and ideas 6) All expenses paid visits for prospectives 7) You get to be a real doctor 8) Ph.D. required for many career paths

 1 st year ◦ Graduate coursework ◦ Make up deficiencies ◦ Choose an advisor ◦ Move into lab ◦ Start research ◦ Teach some labs  2 nd year ◦ Start full time research ◦ Receive master’s degree ◦ Qualify for Ph.D. program 3 rd – ? Full time research Full time research Publish articles Publish articles Train new students Train new students Present at Conferences Present at Conferences Work with collaborators Work with collaborators Final year Write and defend thesis Write and defend thesis Apply for jobs Apply for jobs

 Chemistry or Biochemistry Major  ACS accreditation is strongly recommended  GRE general test  GRE subject test  Letters of recommendation (3)  Online applications  Personal Essays  Watch deadlines

 Motivation: Why are you interested in graduate school?  Area of interest (name of professor if appropriate)  Direction: Discussion of career goals  Research experience: Ability to engage scientific problems

 Average time to completion  Stipend (after 1 st year?)  How are advisors assigned?  Size of department  Intellectual climate ( low key, active, intense, competitive )  Facilities  Reputation

U of California-Berkeley4.96 (1) California Institute Technology4.94 (2) Harvard University4.87 (2) Stanford University4.87 (5) Massachusetts Inst of Technology4.86 (2) Cornell University4.55 (8) Columbia University4.54 (8) U of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign4.48 (6) U of Wisconsin-Madison4.46 (8) U of Chicago4.46 (14) U of California-Los Angeles4.46 (11) Yale University4.38 (14) U of Texas at Austin4.28 (12) Northwestern University4.23 (12) Texas A&M University4.11 (22) U of California-San Francisco4.84 (3) Massachusetts Inst of Technology4.83 (7) Stanford University4.83 (2) U of California-Berkeley4.81 (4) Harvard University4.80 (1) Yale University4.59 (10) California Institute Technology4.57 (8) U of Wisconsin-Madison4.55 (6) U of California-San Diego4.53 Johns Hopkins University4.38 (4) Columbia University4.38 U of Colorado4.26 Washington University4.22 U of California-Los Angeles4.20 Duke University4.18 ChemistryBiochemistry

Inorganic 1)MIT 2)CalTech 3)Northwestern 4)Berkeley 5)Texas A & M 6)U of Illinois 7)U of Wisconsin 8)Stanford 9)Cornell 10)UNCPhysical 1)Berkeley 2)CalTech 3)MIT 4)Stanford 5)Harvard 6)U of Illinois 7)U of Chicago 8)Northwestern 9)U of Wisconsin 10)U of Colorado Organic 1)Harvard 2)Berkeley 3)Stanford 4)MIT 5)CalTech 6)Scripps 7)U of Illinois 8)U of Wisconsin 9)Columbia 10)UC-Irvine Analytical 1)UNC 2)Purdue 3)U of Illinois 4)Indiana 5)U of Texas 6)U of Wisconsin 7)U of Arizona 8)Penn State 9)U of M 10)U of Florida US News & World Report, 2007

 Range of research activities  Who is there that you might want to work for?  Graduate student attitudes  Graduate student outcomes  Geography  Cost of living  Personal

 You will likely get into many of the schools to which you apply  Each new application gets easier  Aim high, but have a safety net  No one school is right for everyone  Research your top choices – especially the professors themselves  Check out Calvin’s honors office (HH318)  Choose advisor wisely  1 st year doubts & 2 nd year blues are common.  Ask about Summer internships  Apply for outside fellowships

 Greatly enhances your chances of working with wherever you choose, with whomever you choose.  You will most likely get paid more over the course of graduate school than if you didn’t have a fellowship.  Opportunities ◦ NSF (can apply as college senior or 1 st year grad) ◦ Hertz foundation ◦ Nationally Coveted College Scholarships, Graduate Fellowships & Postdoctoral Awards Nationally Coveted College Scholarships, Graduate Fellowships & Postdoctoral Awards

 Off campus Opportunities Off campus Opportunities

Wherever you go, whatever you do, remember what and who you represent as a Calvin grad.