Graduate Program | Chemistry

For Prospective Students

The PhD Program in Chemistry at the University of Missouri

Thank you for exploring the possibility of graduate studies at the University of Missouri Department of Chemistry! The University of Missouri (MU), located in Columbia, Missouri, was established in 1839 and is the flagship campus of the University of Missouri System. The PhD program in Chemistry at MU has been operating for over 110 years, with the first degrees conferred in 1909.

Graduate students in the Department address cutting-edge research problems using state-of-the-art facilities (including NMR, mass spectrometry, materials characterization, X-ray crystallography, etc). There are approximately 25 faculty members in the Department and over 90 graduate students. Research groups in the Department work in the traditional core areas of chemistry including analytical chemistry, inorganic chemistry, organic chemistry, and physical chemistry and also in interdisciplinary fields such as radiochemistry, novel functional materials, medicinal chemistry, chemical biology, astrochemistry, catalysis, archaeometry, nuclear forensics; radiopharmaceuticals, bioimaging, chemical sensors, bioinorganic chemistry, green chemistry, chemistry for sustainable living, environmental chemistry, and surface science. The groundbreaking research in the Department provides an excellent training-ground for our PhD students.

The educational environment of the PhD program emphasizes personalized mentoring to maximize the student’s scientific development, professional development, productivity, and overall success. Our PhD students are trained to be creative and adaptable scientists who are able lead research projects in either academic or industrial settings. As a result, our graduates move forward to excellent positions in pharma, the chemical industry, manufacturing, National Laboratories, Federal Regulatory Agencies, patent law, and academics. The department values diversity, as outlined by the American Chemical Society: “(w)e believe in the strength of diversity in all its forms, because inclusion of and respect for diverse people, experiences, and ideas lead to superior solutions to world challenges and advances chemistry as a global, multidisciplinary science”.

Financial Support

All PhD students in the program are provided financial support for the duration of their studies. This comes in the form of either Research or Teaching Assistantships. The graduate stipend easily covers the cost of living in Columbia. The costs of tuition and health insurance are covered as part of the Assistantships (and are not paid by the graduate student).

The City of Columbia

Columbia is a city of 130,000 residents and is very easy to navigate. There really is no such thing as a long commute in our city. The Columbia area is home to beautiful City Parks, State Parks, and National Forest (Mark Twain National Forest. The city and surrounding area has an extensive network of walking-hiking-biking trails for recreation and commuting. The city enjoys a variety of wineries, breweries restaurants, and alternative cinema, along with music and film festivals. In addition to the University of Missouri (with approx. 31,000 total students) Columbia is home to Stephens College and Columbia College (approximately 3,000 students). Together these institutions of higher education form a vibrant network of international student communities, recreational opportunities, sporting events, and cultural activities.