The Department’s minimum admission requirements are an undergraduate degree with an admission GPA of at least 3.0 on the 4-point scale from the University of Alberta, or an equivalent qualification and standing from a recognized institution. The admission GPA will be calculated on the last 60 units of graded coursework completed, or on the equivalent of the last two years of full-time graded coursework.
Candidates should normally be graduates in chemistry, however the Department will accept qualified applicants with degrees in related fields (cf., biochemistry or other bioscience programs from candidates who wish to pursue the chemical biology PhD program, and mathematics and/or physics background compensating for deficiencies in chemistry from those who wish to enter the chemical physics PhD program.)
Where applicable, applicants must meet the minimum
Students are also required to submit the following:
A Department Package in which applicants detail relevant academic and professional background and statement of purpose. A link to this document is found on the online application form.
Three letters of reference
Graduate program application deadlines
to see deadlines for all programs in Chemistry.
The Department of Chemistry offers thesis-based Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy degrees, both requiring course work and thesis research. The Department provides an outstanding academic environment for those with an interest in analytical, inorganic, organic, physical chemistry, and chemical biology. Within each of these areas, Department members have vast expertise in: materials/polymer chemistry, environmental chemistry, chemical physics, nanoscience/nanotechnology, energy storage/conversion, computational/theoretical chemistry, glycomics, metabolomics, proteomics, catalysis, molecular electronics, natural product synthesis, and solid state chemistry. The Department is composed of more than 220 graduate students, as well as postdoctoral fellows and research associates that support the Department’s tradition of excellence in research. The Department’s research infrastructure, staff support, and research funding is among the best in Canada . Faculty have been recognized for their award winning teaching and research excellence. The active research interests of the staff include the following: Analytical: Separation science, including gas chromatography, two-dimensional gas chromatography, liquid chromatography and capillary electrophoresis; chemometrics; scanning probe microscopies such as atomic force, chemical force, and tunneling methods for the characterization of surfaces, biocompatible materials, protein adsorption, nano-wires, nano-sensors, and nano-arrays; microfluidic systems for Lab on a chip applications; mass spectrometry for biochemical analysis, Proteomics and metabolomics, utilizing MALDI and electrospray methods; molecular biology applied to developing fluorescent protein-based biosensors for live cell microscopy of biochemical processes; optical and vibrational biomolecular spectroscopic methods and instrumentation development involving laser spectroscopy methods; electrochemical methods and surface modification techniques; surface plasmon resonance spectroscopy of confined materials; thin films and nanoparticles for sensing and biosensing. Study of chemistry occurring in the environment, particularly in the atmosphere; environmental photochemistry; air pollution from combustion sources; cloudwater chemistry; chemistry and photochemistry of desert and urban dust; pollutants in the indoor environment; flow tube and smog chamber studies of atmospheric processes. Chemical Biology: Glycobiology; bioorganic chemistry; bio-orthogonal chemistry; glycomics; synthesis of saccharides, glycolipids, peptides, and fluorophores to probe biological systems; glycoimmunology; biomedically significant protein-oligosaccharide interactions; biophysical analysis of model systems and live cells; mechanism and stereochemistry of enzymatic reactions; protein structure determination; library screening; cell-based screening; fluorescence microscopy; single molecule fluorescence analysis; biochemical analysis of glycoproteins and glycolipid