Frequently Asked Questions

Decisions are based on your application as a complete package. The information below is provided as guidance only and is not intended to convey hard cutoffs. We understand that individual circumstances vary and that not all applicants take a traditional road to graduate school.

• A B.A., B.S., M.S., or equivalent degree in chemistry or a degree in a closely related field with appropriate chemistry coursework is expected.
• The majority of our applicants have undergraduate research experience. However, undergraduate research is not required. Publications are a plus, but are not in any way a prerequisite for consideration.
• An undergraduate grade point average of B (3.0 on a 4.0 scale) or higher is expected, as well as an average of B or higher in chemistry and science courses.
• For international students, we expect TOEFL scores of at least 90 with a speaking of at least 20, or IELTS of 7.0+, with a speaking of at least 7.0.

The applications are reviewed as whole packages. We do not discard applications on the basis of a single score, grade, or number. We look for evidence of excellence in past accomplishments and strong promise of success in the future. This evidence can manifest itself in many different ways.

You can check on the status of your submitted materials by logging in to your application on the Texas A&M GradCAS system: texasam2023.liaisoncas.com/applicant-ux/#/login Please understand that due to our review process, your application may not change status for periods of time.

You will be informed of the admissions committee's decision by email. Most, but not all, offers are made by mid-February. Some offers may be made as late as April. If you are offered admission, your response will be requested by April 15, 2025. You are under no obligation to respond before April 15, but we would appreciate learning of your decision once you have made it. Your decision may influence our late decisions on the applications still under consideration

We receive hundreds of applications and we work hard to review them in the most expedient fashion, but it takes a significant amount of time. The decision on any given application depends not only on that application’s content, but also on the competitiveness of the overall applicant pool, as well as the projected departmental areas of need. We receive more meritorious applications than we can admit. There is a great deal of uncertainty in how many applicants will accept our offer. Over the last few years, around half of our offers remained unanswered a week before April 15. Because of this, some decisions are made quite late in the process.

The majority of US schools agreed to a resolution stipulating April 15 as the universal response deadline for graduate school offers. Requiring you to respond before April 15 is a violation of this agreement.

No, we cannot.

All applications are reviewed on the basis of merit.

Proof of vaccination is NOT required for your application to be considered.

Please email us at gradmail@chem.tamu.edu

A domestic applicant is a US citizen or national or a permanent resident of the US. All others are international applicants. If you are a US citizen/resident with an overseas education, in general, you should follow the “domestic” guidelines, but we advise you to contact us at gradmail@chem.tamu.edu.

A complete application package consists of the following items:

• GraduateCAS Application
• Statement of Purpose (aka essay)
• Transcripts from all colleges or universities attended
• TOEFL scores, if an international student
• Three (3) Letters of Recommendation
• CV

A statement of purpose generally serves to explain why you are interested in and passionate about chemistry and about pursuing graduate studies. The exact content and the order of presentation is up to the applicant, but the admissions committee expects to see the following items (in 2 pages or less):

• How your education has led you to advanced studies in chemistry
• Your anticipated career goals
• Your past research experience (briefly please provide details about your past projects, the results you obtained, and their significance).
• Your research interests, and which areas and research groups at Texas A&M are attractive to you
• How you became interested in attending Texas A&M

A Curriculum Vitae (CV) is similar to a resume. It should contain information about your educational and professional background and history, list honors and awards, skills, activities, and interests relevant to graduate studies in chemistry. It should also list any published research papers and presentations. Optionally, you may include in the CV file one page dedicated to a brief description of your research accomplishments. We expect the CV to be 1-2 pages in total. Be sure your CV is accurate and complete. List all activities after high school graduation with dates and affiliations.

Please do list all of the awards, accomplishments, any relevant test scores (national or international) on the CV. You do not have to fill out the Experiences and Achievement section in the GraduateCAS application.

At least one letter should be from a research advisor. At least two recommendation letters are expected to be from chemists or people from a closely related field (e.g. biochemistry, materials science, etc.). We expect 3 letters total.

Additional supporting documents are items that you feel may bolster and are immediately relevant to your application and/or future chemistry career, but are not listed in our application requirements. You may upload up to 3 documents no larger than 15MB. Accepted file type: .doc, .docx, .pdf, .rtf, .txt, .jpg, .jpeg, .png.

Accepting students who are active in a different PhD program in chemistry is uncommon. In addition to all the regular application materials, a student from another PhD program should clearly explain their current academic standing and research progress, and present cogent reasons for wishing to leave. A letter from the current research advisor or the director of graduate studies at the current institution is required.

No, you do not.

Do not email your transcripts or any other documentation unless we specifically request you to do so.

Please email us at gradmail@chem.tamu.edu.

You may apply after December 1, 2024. We will continue to review all completed applications until our class is full. However, please complete your application package as soon as possible. Only application submitted before December 1 are guaranteed to be reviewed.

We encourage submitting applications in advance of our deadline (applying before early-/mid-November carries no benefit, however). We give full consideration to all applications submitted by our deadline; however, we continuously review application packages as they are received. Having more applications early may result in an earlier decision for the early applications, but also allows us to get through all of the applications sooner.

It is certainly alright to contact our faculty directly and express interest in their work. It is a good way to learn about our research efforts directly. However, in order to join any of the chemistry research groups as a PhD student, one first has to apply for admission and be admitted to our graduate program. There is absolutely no requirement to have an agreement with a specific faculty member in order to apply and be admitted, nor do prior contacts with individual faculty guarantee admission.

Enter the names and the contact information of your letter writers in the online system and it will automatically prompt them to submit their letters. You will receive emails from tamusupport@liasoncas.com when your recommendation was sent and when it was received

No. All supporting materials must be uploaded to the online system. We will use the uploaded copy of the transcript for the consideration of your application. If admitted, the University requires receipt of official transcripts.

You may only apply to one graduate program at Texas A&M. However, some of our faculty have joint appointments in other departments and may serve as research advisors to PhD students in those programs. If you are unsure of whether Chemistry or another graduate program fits you better, please feel free to contact us with questions.

You should not mail any application materials. If you are admitted to our program and accept the offer we will then explain how to submit official documentation.

Please email us at gradmail@chem.tamu.edu.

Please take a look at the Research section of the departmental website which presents faculty research areas both by traditional divisions and by interest areas.

Please see the Degree Programs section of the departmental website.

No. Our graduate program is aimed at students interested in a obtaining a Ph.D. degree. Although it is possible to leave the program with an M.S. degree, we do not consider applications from students who are only interested in an M.S. Exceptions may be made for students on active duty in the U.S. military.

Our graduate stipend is $2,450/month or $29,400 annually. This support may come in the form of a research assistantship or a teaching assistantship. This base stipend level is the same for all graduate students in the department. In addition, tuition and mandatory fees are paid by the department or the research advisor. Support is guaranteed for 5 years for students maintaining good academic standing. Students are also eligible for reduced-rate health benefits.

There are indeed fellowships and awards reserved for graduate applicants. All domestic applicants are automatically reviewed for their eligibility and no action beyond a submitting a complete application on time is needed to be considered. International students can apply for fellowships and awards once they have established a GPA. Students selected for a fellowship or an award, you will be notified by email. Links to more information about Graduate Awards & Fellowships.

We highly recommend all applicants consider applying for appropriate external fellowships. Consult our list of External Awards. If you have been awarded an external fellowship that will provide support for your graduate studies, please mention it explicitly in your statement of purpose or contact us later at gradmail@chem.tamu.edu.

We can only make a decision on an application after it is complete and has been reviewed in the context of our pool of applicants. We do not issue conditional letters of admission.

No, we do not require GRE General or Subject scores. This pertains to both domestic and international applications.

If you feel that your GRE scores will bolster your application, you may submit the scores. You can add the test score information to the Standardized Test portion of the Academic History. Upload the score reports for the consideration by the admissions committee to the Documents section of the Chemistry program portion of your application. However, there will be absolutely no disadvantage to applications that do not submit GRE scores and we do not intend to encourage applicants to take GRE.

Self-reported scores should be entered in the online application to the Standardized Test portion of the Academic History. A screen-shot or scan of your IELTS and/or TOEFL report can be uploaded committee to the Documents section of the Chemistry program portion of your application If you are accepted into the program, an official score report must be submitted to the TAMU Office of Admissions before registering for classes.

Yes, we will consider the new scores. We do not mix-and-match scores from different testing dates. Information received after the deadline may not be fully taken into consideration.

The Department of Chemistry expects a TOEFL iBT of at least 90 with a speaking score of at least 20, preferably 23 or higher; or an IELTS band score of at least 7.0, with a speaking of at least 7.0, preferably 8.0 or higher. All admitted international applicants who join our program must pass the oral portion of the TAMU English Language Proficiency Exam (ELPE) before they can be employed as teaching assistants. See the Office of Graduate and Professional Studies' English Language Proficiency page for the explanation of the policy.

Note that the TOEFL/IELTS expectations of the Chemistry Department are higher than the minimum requirements listed on the University site.

Texas A&M University’s Proof of English Proficiency exemption.

If your native language is not English, you are required to submit proof of English proficiency to be eligible for review unless you meet either criteria below:

• You will complete or have completed all years of a Bachelor's degree or higher at a U.S. accredited university.
• You are a citizen of one of the following countries, you will be exempt from the English proficiency requirement for admission and considered English Language Proficiency (ELP) Verified:
  • American Samoa
  • Anguilla
  • Antigua and Barbuda
  • Australia
  • Bahamas
  • Barbados
  • Belize
  • Bermuda
  • British Virgin Islands
  • Canada (except Quebec)
  • Cayman Islands
  • Dominica
  • Federated States of Micronesia
  • Gambia
  • Ghana
  • Gibraltar
  • Grenada
  • Guyana
  • Ireland
  • Jamaica
  • Liberia
  • New Zealand
  • Nigeria
  • Saint Kitts and Nevis
  • Saint Lucia
  • Trinidad/Tobago
  • Turks and Caicos Islands
  • United Kingdom

If you received your Master's degree from an accredited US college or university you may request waiver of the TOEFL or IELTS if your scores meet our minimum expectations and your GRE Verbal meets the University's minimum of 146. Please email your request and supporting documentation to gradmail@chem.tamu.edu. If admitted to the program you may still be required to pass the University's English Language Proficiency Exam as required by the State of Texas.

Please email us at gradmail@chem.tamu.edu.