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Chemistry Department

Doctor of Arts Degree in Chemistry


The Doctor of Arts (D.A.) is a terminal degree that is designed to be an alternative to the traditional research-based Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) or the education-based Doctor of Education (Ed.D.). The Doctor of Arts was created as a response to the growing criticism that existing doctoral programs are not properly preparing teachers for the college classroom. Our Doctor of Arts in Chemistry is a discipline-based degree giving scholars a graduate education of breadth and diversity to enable them to become highly effective collegiate faculty.

Unique Features of the Doctor of Arts Degree:

  • Diversity in course selection
  • Greater latitude in selecting dissertation topics
  • Flexibility in residency requirements such as summer semesters only
  • Individualized internship projects
  • Opportunity to network with D.A. students who are chemistry faculty at other colleges

Curriculum:

  • 34-46 hours of chemistry, chemical education, and higher education courses
  • 6 hours of teaching internship
  • 12 hours of dissertation research

Admission Standards:

  • Masters degree with a minimum of 20 semester hours of chemistry at the undergraduate and/or graduate level including quantitative analysis
  • Acceptable score on the Graduate Record Examination
  • Conditional admission is possible without a master’s degree.
  • Click here for Graduate College on-line admission

Additional Features:

  • While some students pursue the D.A. during the entire academic year, the program has been designed to accommodate students having only summers available for the courses, research, internship, and dissertation requirements.
  • The Department of Chemistry is well equipped with research-grade instrumentation.
  • There are a number of computer laboratories available, many with multimedia capabilities.
  • There are a limited number of assistantships and fellowships available.
  • This program is ranked second in the nation for producing graduates in doctoral programs of chemical education in a 1996 study by the American Chemical Society.