Inorganic Chemistry Division
Graduate students are expected to choose a research advisor by the end of the first semester. It is recommended that students talk to potential advisors and their graduate students about research projects. Here is some advice on choosing an advisor.
Incoming inorganic chemistry students take Advanced Inorganic I (CHEM 5011) and one
other class in another division during the first semester.
Suggested courses are Advanced Spectroscopy Techniques Organic (NMR), CHEM 5331;
Advanced Synthetic Organic, CHEM 5311; Analytical Spectroscopy, CHEM 5161 (this
course is not offered this year and students should check with the
first year graduate student advisor about what other course to take); or any other
graduate level course. For the second
semester students will take Advanced Inorganic II (CHEM 5061) and one other graduate level
course. One more course is required during
the second year. It is recommended that
students discuss course work with an advisor in the inorganic division.
A note from Richard Shoemaker, who taught this course in Fall 2003, about his prerequisite
expectations For CHEM 5331:
1.) Students taking this class should come prepared with a good understanding (at the
level of undergraduate organic chemistry) of basic interpretation of 1H and 13C NMR
spectra, including chemical-shifts, J-coupling (spin-spin coupling), and the use of peak
areas (integrals). No prior understanding of the mechanics of NMR spectroscopy is
required.
2) Although this is not a mathematically intensive course (i.e. quantum mechanics based),
basic algebraic manipulation of trigonometric functions and exponentials and logarithms is
important. The ability to manipulate these functions, and (more importantly) to visualize
the physical relevance of these functions will be expected.
3) Students will be expected to read and learn independently from texts and other supplied
references. At the graduate level, students should be expected to read assigned materials,
and subsequently learn and understand the information therein. Lectures in this course
will be intended to supplement (not replace) written materials assigned for independent
study.
The following is a note from Professor Doug Gin, who taught CHEM 5321 in Fall 2003:
For my Phys Org (CHEM 5321) grad class, the students should
review the following topics before taking the class:
(1) Basic thermodynamics and free energy relationships
(2) Stereochemistry principles and prochirality
(3) Basic reaction kinetics and rate laws
(4) Diels-Alder and related rxns
(5) Drawing cyclohexane conformations
Here is a note from Professor Andy Phillips about what you
should know before taking his Fall 2003 Advanced Synthetic Organic Chemistry I course
(CHEM 5311):
Although 5311 is fairly self-contained, a good understanding of undergraduate O-Chem II is
expected. In particular, it is important to be able to do simple functional group
interconversions, and to be able to think about mechanisms.
A worksheet/review that contains the simmered down basics from O-Chem II is available at:
spot.colorado.edu/~aphillip/chem5311/Undergrad
FGIs.pdf
Working through this, with an emphasis on writing mechanism, should help with the step up
to graduate synthesis.
Graduate students are required to pass 6 cumes before 11 are failed. During the first year cumes that are not passed only count as half a fail and halves are rounded down at the end of the first year. Also, during the first year cume exams are optional. All other years cumes are mandatory and count as a full fail if the cume is not taken. Students are required to pass at least three cumes in the inorganic division. In the inorganic division it is recommended that students take cumes during the first year and that 6 cumes are passed before oral examinations. Here is some general information about cumes.
Part 1: Oral examinations occur during the spring of the second year. Graduate students write a 5 to 8 page proposal on their thesis project. Oral exams consist of the three-member committee that will ask the graduate student questions in two sections. The first section is the thesis project and the second section is general questions.
Part 2: Graduate students will write a 5 to 10 page proposal on a unique research topic. This unique research proposal needs to be approved by a two-member committee. After completion of oral exams the student becomes an official Ph.D. candidate.
Inorganic graduate students will give one seminar per year for the first four years of graduate school. In the first year the seminar is 15 to 20 minutes in length and is either on undergraduate research or on a recent journal article. In the second year the seminar is 30 minutes in length and consists of background information for the students research and some preliminary laboratory results. Later seminars cover the graduate student’s research results.
The defense consists of a public seminar-length presentation followed by a closed question session with the committee members. The committee members consist of the student’s advisor as the chair, and four other members. One of these members has to be from outside of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. The thesis must be approved by the student’s advisor and given to the committee members two weeks prior to the defense.