
Graduate Student Support
GRADUATE STUDENT SUPPORT
I. General Information
- Financial support is available for full-time Ph.D. students in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry who make adequate progress toward their degree and are in good academic standing. Continuing students beyond the first semester of study are required to join a research group (that has been approved by the department chair), and to maintain satisfactory performance as teaching assistants (if supported by a teaching assistantship). In addition to teaching assistantships, financial support for Ph.D. students may be provided in the form of research assistantships or fellowships.
- All international teaching assistants (ITAs) are required to meet University and departmental English language competency requirements, as evaluated through the UDIA and SPEAK assessments. International students are required to obtain Category III or better rating through ELI testing before they can serve as ITAs for our department.
- Student summer stipend support typically comes from faculty grants, training grants, teaching assistantships or department sources.
- In certain instances, Ph.D. students may have the opportunity to serve as teaching assistants during summer or winter sessions. Students wishing to be considered for a teaching position in the summer or winter must have the approval of their faculty advisor and the Director of Graduate Studies.
- Ph.D. students working with research advisors that hold primary academic appointments outside the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry have a lower priority for support through the department. The availability for department support in such instances is reviewed by the Chair on a case-by-case basis.
- Placement of graduate students in research groups should try to ensure that each student spends no more than four semesters as a teaching assistant during his/her graduate career. Therefore, faculty accepting new graduate students into her/his research group should have a credible plan to support these students by a research assistantship beyond the four-semester period.
Parental Leave Policy
As a graduate student, regardless of which program or school you are in, you are entitled to a period of six (6) weeks of paid parental leave, and a total of fourteen (14) course-weeks (one semester) of unpaid leave in a 12-month period, to accommodate parental responsibilities.