Program Description: Through a combination of advanced coursework and individual laboratory research, the Master of Science program effectively prepares students for careers as chemists in industrial employment or for further study in professional schools or doctoral programs.
The emphasis of the program is on environmental chemistry in the southern Appalachian region, although opportunities for research are available in all major areas of chemistry: inorganic, organic, analytical, physical, environmental, and biochemistry. Faculty members interact with students at all stages of the program.
Current areas of faculty research include trace metal analysis, computer interfacing, fluorescence spectroscopy, organometallic synthesis using "green" chemistry, metal waste reduction, atomization mechanisms in graphic furnace AA, analytical environmental investigations using pheromone mediated mating disruption, supramolecuar chemistry, free radical biophysical chemistry, biophysical inorganic, and synthetic organic chemistry.
An extensive range of instrumentation includes FTIR, FTIR-microscope, FT-NMR, GC-MS, UV-Vis, and AA spectrometers, gas and liquid chromatographs (including capillary GC), a scanning tunneling microscope, and a differential scanning calorimeter, as well as instrumentation for research in biochemistry.
Information on the M.A.Ed. and M.A.T. programs can be found in the College of Education and Allied Professions.
Required Standardized Test: GRE General Exam
Minimum Admissions Requirements: Same as the Graduate School
Additional Admissions Criteria: Applicants must submit three letters of recommendation. For the M.A.Ed. in Comprehensive Education - Chemistry, the applicant must hold or be eligible for the North Carolina "A" license in chemistry.
Application Deadline: None
Prerequisites: Applicants must have a strong background in chemistry.
Number of Graduate Faculty: 13
Number of Students: 18
Location of Course Offerings: Cullowhee only for chemistry courses
Graduate Program Director:
Dr. Brian Dinkelmeyer
Department of Chemistry and Physics
828-227-3675
dinkelmeyer@email.wcu.edu
Related Websites:
- Chemistry and Physics Department
- Master of Arts in Education (M.A.Ed.) - Graduate Catalog Information
- Master of Arts in Teaching (M.A.T.) - Graduate Catalog Information
- Master of Arts in Teaching (M.A.T.) - Program Coordinator's page