Beginning the Process
Successfully preparing for, finding, and transitioning into a graduate program requires an investment of time and effort. Central to this process is the on-going consideration of your goals, strengths, and opportunities.
The process differs for each person, reflecting different experiences, abilities, and goals. As the timeline indicates, however, there are some common steps in each phase of the process.
Laying the Groundwork
During this phase, focus on building the knowledge, skills, and network you need to be successful in graduate school and your career.
Finding a Graduate Program
During this phase, focus on identifying and getting into graduate programs aligned with your career goals and needs.
Getting Off to a Good Start
During this phase position yourself to expand your knowledge, skills, and network in ways that will help you obtain your degree and career goals.
Learn how to decide what degree is best for you and get advice on how to survive and succeed once you have gotten in to the graduate program of your dreams!
Want to learn more about graduate school?
- Talk with graduate students, including those who earned undergraduate degrees from your college or university
- Get advice from undergraduate advisers
- Talk with graduate faculty
- Attend graduate school events held as part of undergraduate programming at ACS meetings
- Watch Graduate School Reality Check videos
The contacts in your network will provide information, advice, and support throughout the entire process.
There are also some common questions to consider throughout each phase of the process.
- Why are you pursuing a graduate degree? (See Pursuing a Graduate Degree)
- What do you want to contribute to the chemical sciences? (See Understanding the Chemical Sciences Landscape)
- What graduate school experiences will benefit you? (See Understanding the World of Graduate School)
Some questions will be answered easily, while others will take more time to explore. Referring to a variety of resources and getting input from others will inform the process.
Graduate work in the chemical sciences is challenging. It requires a lively sense of curiosity, a passion for scientific inquiry, and a strong work ethic. To succeed in graduate school you must be:
- Willing to learn new things
- Committed to team goals and the hard work required to achieve success
- Prepared to define and achieve your own goals in the context of your career plans
Depending upon your goals and the program in which you enroll, you will be making a serious commitment of at least two to five years.
Where can you go with a degree in chemistry?
With a bachelor’s degree, there are many places that you can go:
- Straight into the workplace, using your technical and non-technical skills
- Professional school, pursuing degrees in fields such as medicine, allied health sciences, law, education, and business
- Graduate school, pursuing a professional science master’s, master’s, or doctoral degree in the chemical sciences
With a professional science master’s degree, you will be prepared specifically for:
- Careers in industry or government
- Various sectors, such as biotechnology or manufacturing, or areas, such as patent law or policy.
Careers and the Chemical Sciences
Visit Careers and the Chemical Sciences to understand job opportunities and their relation to your level of education in the chemical sciences.
As you determine whether your career pathway should include graduate school:
- Think about what you want to accomplish and what you enjoy.
- Identify specific areas of interest within the chemical sciences.
- Explore career opportunities for those with bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees.
- Review requirements for master’s and doctoral programs.
- Consider your own particular talents in relation to what is required for graduate work.
- Talk with advisers, faculty members, and friends who have had graduate experience.
- Participate in summer internships and undergraduate research projects.
Honestly assess whether you like problem solving and whether you have the requisite skills and motivation to successfully complete graduate degree requirements.
Chemistry is at the center of an increasing number of related disciplines called the “Chemical Sciences”. A molecular vision of science and connections among macroscopic and microscopic properties are shaping advances:
- Across fields – Entirely new fields, such as nanochemistry and chemical biology, and the ever increasing demand for materials with unique properties are pushing scientific and economic frontiers.
- Across sectors – Collaboration among those in academe, industry, and government is facilitating progress on more complex challenges in a dynamic employment market.
- Across borders – International teams are addressing global needs.
Chemistry is at the center of an increasing number of related disciplines called the “Chemical Sciences”. A molecular vision of science and connections among macroscopic and microscopic properties are shaping advances:
- Across fields – Entirely new fields, such as nanochemistry and chemical biology, and the ever increasing demand for materials with unique properties are pushing scientific and economic frontiers.
- Across sectors – Collaboration among those in academe, industry, and government is facilitating progress on more complex challenges in a dynamic employment market.
- Across borders – International teams are addressing global needs.
Considering where you might go right after graduate school and later in your career will help you identify goals, focus on experiences that develop the necessary knowledge, skills, and abilities, and make the most of your graduate studies.
Want to Explore the Chemical Sciences Landscape?
- Chemical & Engineering News*
This weekly magazine covers science and technology, business and industry, government and policy, education, and employment aspects of the chemistry field. - ACS Press Pac
The ACS PressPac contains reports of research selected from 40+ peer-reviewed ACS journals and Chemical & Engineering News. This weekly service provides leads on the latest advances in science and their impact on the business world. - Noteworthy Chemistry
Noteworthy Chemistry is a weekly feature produced by the American Chemical Society that collects and summarizes innovative ideas from the larger body of chemical literature. - Patent Watch
Patent Watch is a weekly review of chemistry-related patents. It analyzes patents from 50 active patent-issuing authorities worldwide. - ACS Editors’ Choice
One new peer-reviewed research article from any ACS journal will be selected to be freely available every day. - Read annual reports for chemical companies, review conference programs and abstracts, and attend seminars and meetings.
Substantial and sometime rapid changes in the chemical sciences landscape make it challenging to predict your career path. During your career you will face new challenges due to the continued changes in scientific knowledge, technology, the economy, politics, and many other aspects influencing the chemical sciences landscape. Your success will depend on the development of a wide range of skills. These include technical skills, the abilities to lead, communicate, and collaborate, and above all, being recognized as a problem solver.
Graduate programs in the chemical sciences offer doctoral and a range of master’s degrees. Specific requirements vary across graduate programs, but all will expect you to:
- Deepen your knowledge – You will become an expert, knowing more about a given area than your adviser.
- Develop advanced skills – You will gain high-level technical skills such as synthesis, as well as non-technical skills such as communication.
- Be increasingly self-directed – You will manage yourself and your work, taking initiative, setting and meeting deadlines, and planning your next steps.
Although most graduate programs, like bachelor’s programs, involve coursework, your time in graduate school will be very different from what you experienced as an undergraduate student. Research is a primary component of doctoral and many master’s degree programs. There are also master’s programs focused on professions in which chemistry is used.
Graduate programs should broaden your horizons, providing experiences that prepare you for your career. Since their graduates pursue a range of careers in a variety of employment sectors, research-based doctoral programs focus on broadly applicable skills. Other programs, such as professional science masters programs, are focused on specific career options, often in industry.
Wondering Which Graduate Degree Program is Right for You?
Careers & the Chemical Sciences
Explore job opportunities and their relation to your level of graduate degree program
ACS Career Navigator - Market Intelligence *
Learn more about the job market and salaries by the career navigator
Want to Know more about Ethical Responsibilities?
Learn About Ethics
The Committee on Ethics promotes and supports high standards of ethical conduct and integrity and have various resources around the topic.
Online Ethics Center
An electronic repository of resources on science, engineering, and research ethics, for engineers, scientists, scholars, educators, students, and interested citizens.
Research Misconduct
This article covers basic rules to avoid plagarism and other ethical guidelines to maintain your integrity.
Want to Know More about Chemistry and Societal Needs?
- Global Challenges/Chemistry Solutions
Global Challenges/Chemistry Solutions (GC/CS) is an ambitious project, launched by ACS in 2008, to identify the world’s most pressing sustainability challenges, and explore the solutions emerging from chemistry - ACS Green Chemistry Institute
The mission of the ACS Green Chemistry Institute® (ACS GCI) is to catalyze and enable the implementation of green chemistry and engineering throughout the global chemical enterprise.
Formal requirements and optional opportunities vary across graduate programs. The key is finding those programs with the right balance and flexibility to help you reach your goals. Consider opportunities to:
- Collaborate with other groups in academia, industry and government
- Develop an appreciation of the ethical responsibilities of a scientist
- Develop an understanding of the role of chemical sciences in addressing important societal needs
- Become familiar with entrepreneurship and intellectual property issues
Some programs are changing what their graduate students are expected and encouraged to do, responding to workforce needs, requirements of funding agencies, and a collection of reports and recommendations.
Graduate school is also a time to cultivate a network. People with whom you work and interact during graduate school can continue to provide insights, connections, advice, and support throughout your career.
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