PhD - Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry

The Ph.D. degree is offered jointly with the University of California at San Diego (UCSD) Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry through the Joint Doctoral Program (JDP). Students in the JDP are admitted into the graduate programs of both institutions, and spend one year in full-time residence at UCSD, in which they take courses and serve as teaching assistants for one quarter. The remainder of the coursework and research for the Ph.D. degree are carried out under the direction of a faculty member at SDSU. Students in the JDP are required to pass a qualifying examination in order to advance to candidacy for the degree. Candidates for the Ph.D. degree then complete a dissertation based on their research, which must be successfully defended to a joint committee consisting of faculty members from both UCSD and SDSU. Please also see UCSD’s description of this program. There are two ways to enter the JDP program, one directly, and the other by way of one year in the masters program; details appear below.