PhD Program Admission Info

New Orleans is arguably the most historically and culturally fascinating city in the United States. It’s more than 300 year history spans French, Spanish, and American settlement, and the city has been a focal point for trade drawing influence from the Caribbean, Africa, Central America, and South America. As a result, the city has a character, architecture, and style unique it own. On top of this rich historical heritage, it offers a number of benefits to it residents.

Music
Music is an integral part of life in New Orleans. New Orleans was the birthplace of Jazz, and maintains powerful tradition of local musicians. Among those who claimed New Orleans as home: Buddy Bolden, “Jelly Roll” Morton, Louis Armstrong, “Fats” Domino, the Marsalis family, the Neville brothers, Mahalia Jackson, Dr. John, and Harry Connick, Jr.

In addition residents can enjoy:

World class musician at intimate local clubs such as Preservation Hall, the Maple Leaf, or Tipitina’s.
Every April, New Orleans hosts Jazzfest, one of the world’s largest and most famous jazz festivals.
New Orleans is home to North America’s oldest Opera Association, with performances in the Mahalia Jackson Theatre.
It is also home to the Louisiana Philharmonic Symphony, the only Musician owned symphony in the United States.

Food
Food, is also very close to the heart and soul of New Orleans. The city is known for it’s passion for food, and is home to many of the world’s most famous restaurants: Arnaud’s, Commander’s Palace, Emeril’s, Brennan’s, and K-Paul’s. It is also renown for its diversity of cuisine, featuring local Cajun and Creole, as well as French, Spanish, Italian, and Carribean. There are also plenty of famous, but cheap, local hangouts, like Parkway Bakery and Tavern, Mother’s Restaurant, Dat Dog, and Café Du Monde.

Lifestyle
Perhaps the most attractive feature of New Orleans is its relaxed lifestyle. A friendly, laid back atmosphere permeates the city, offering a pleasant contrast to the typical big city.

A complete application means you have submitted: 

• Application for Admission form through the online portal (Slate)
• Three (3) letters of recommendation (Request to send letters will be sent directly through the application portal)*
• Transcripts from all undergraduate institutions attended and of any previous graduate work completed [Note: Unofficial transcripts are accepted for admission consideration; enrollment at the University is contingent upon official transcripts]
• Personal Statement
• Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) scores, or the equivalent, for applicants whose native language is not English.

* Recommendation letters should be requested from faculty who are familiar with your academic and/or research skills.

The GRE and/or the chemistry subject test are not required for admission into the program, but applicants who have taken either or both of these tests are welcomed to report these scores in the “Test Scores” section.

The minimum requirement for the PhD degree is six courses (18 course hours in total) at the 7000 level, four of which must be core courses. Out of the four core courses, up to three can be taken within one field of chemistry. The core courses, offered by division, are:

• Physical Chemistry: CHEM 7110 Intro to Quantum Mechanics (3 c.h.), CHEM 7120 Statistical Mechanics (3 c.h.), CHEM 7150 Chemical Physics (3 c.h.);
• Inorganic Chemistry: CHEM 7210 Inorganic Stru & Bond (3 c.h.) or CHEM 7220 Inorganic Reaction Mechanics (3 c.h.), CHEM 7230 Organomet/Trans. Metals (3 c.h.) or CHEM 7240 Organometallic Chemistry (Main Group Metals) (3 c.h.);
• Organic and Biological Chemistry: CHEM 7410 Adv Organic Physical Organic (3 c.h.), CHEM 7420 Adv Organic Spectroscopy (3 c.h.), CHEM 7460 Adv Organic-Synthetic Ap (3 c.h.), CHEM 6830 Intro To Biochemistry (3 c.h.)-CHEM 6840 Intermediate Biochemistry (3 c.h.) (both courses combined count as one).

The remaining two elective courses should be selected from 7000 level chemistry courses (other than 7870 - 7900) or 7000 level courses from other SSE departments that meet the approval of the Graduate Affairs Committee. In addition, students should register for a total of six hours of seminar over the first six semesters of matriculation. In all, a total of 48 course hours are required for the Ph.D. students.  Up to 24 course hours of the 48 hours required may be taken in CHEM 7890 Techniques of Research (1-9 c.h.)-CHEM 7900 Techniques of Research (1-9 c.h.) and special interest courses (6000 or above) offered by the Department of Chemistry or related departments.  Students should obtain prior approval of the Graduate Affairs Committee to ensure that the courses taken in other departments will count toward the degree.  

Cumulative Exams

Ph.D. candidates are required to pass 6 total cumulative exams, at least two by the end of their fourth semester of residence and all six by the end of the 6th semester.    In addition, at least 3 of the 6 exams must be passed in the candidate’s area of concentration.   Students failing to pass two cumes by the end of their fourth semester may be expelled from the program. Students unable to complete 6 cumes in 6 semesters will be automatically placed in the  M.S. program and be expected to complete the M.S. thesis by the end of the seventh semester.

Seminar

Registration for, and attendance at, Department seminars is required.  Students are required to register for Division Seminar every semester until they have been admitted to candidacy.  Six (6.0) hours of credit for seminar courses may be applied to the Ph.D. degree requirements.  All Ph.D. candidates must present a seminar to the Department based upon a topic from the current chemical literature.  The seminar must be presented before the end of the students' 4th semester in residence. The seminar should be scheduled with the Chemistry Department coordinator for seminar programs.  Students presenting seminars are required to enlist two faculty to attend their seminar and provide the faculty with a Seminar Review Form for a written review of the quality of the presentation; the  Seminar Review Form can be obtained from the department website.   Students should remember that faculty will only agree to attend if given sufficient notice (one month minimum) before the seminar.

Dissertation Prospectus

By the end of the fifth semester, students must submit a written proposal of their dissertation research project and make an oral presentation of it to their dissertation committee.  The prospectus should be approximately two thousand words in length (excluding legends and references). The cover sheet should state the student’s name, department/program, the title of the proposed dissertation, and the name of the chair and the other members of the committee. The introduction of the prospectus should contain a summary of earlier work on the problem in question. The body should include an orderly description of the work accomplished to date and a plan for future investigations. The conclusion should clearly state the anticipated nature of the investigation results. Major sources of information should be indicated and a selective bibliography attached. The prospectus should be submitted to the SSE Dean's Office along with a signed copy of the prospectus approval form.

Dissertation

The Ph. D dissertation must reflect the ability of the student to conduct an independent investigation which results in an original contribution to knowledge or an original interpretation of existing knowledge. The research is expected to be reported to the scientific community in the form of publications in refereed journals and/or conference presentations. The student should consult the SSE Dean's office to determine the proper format for the Ph.D. dissertation. Upon completion of all other Ph.D. requirements, the student will  give a final oral defense of their Ph.D. dissertation. A written draft of the dissertation should be available to the dissertation committee two weeks prior to the oral defense.  This final examination will consist principally of the defense of the dissertation, but may be extended at the discretion of the Ph.D. examining committee to include course material. The satisfactory completion of this final requirement completes the student's doctoral program.

All PhD candidates in Chemistry are supported by Teaching Assistantships or Research Assistantships.  

Teaching and Research Assistantships
As of fall 2025, the annual stipend for teaching and research assistants is $33,000.  New PhD students are typically supported by a Teaching Assistantships for the first year.  In general, Research Assistantships provide support for continuing students.

Students may alternate between being supported on Teaching and Research Assistantships throughout their graduate studies.  Duties are assigned each semester based on the recommendation of the research advisor, funding available, and needs of the department.

Graduate Fellowships

All admitted students are automatically considered for our Trebellas and Jonassen Fellowships. These fellowships are awarded in addition to any Teaching or Research Assistantship for incoming students.

Tuition Waiver
All full time PhD students in the Chemistry program receive full tuition waivers as long as they maintain full-time status.  Tuition waivers may be contingent upon receipt of a stipend.

Health Insurance Subsidy and Student Fees
All students will be required to pay university fees and maintain health insurance. For students electing to obtain health insurance through Tulane (TSHIP), the School or Department covers 100% of the TSHIP Premium for all RAs and TAs.

For an up-to-date list of university fees visit the Accounts Receivable webpage.

Travel Awards
Tulane Office of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies (OGPS) awards travel grants each semester for graduate students to attend or present at a professional conference.  Students are eligible for awards of up to $500 per academic year.  For more information about travel awards, visit the OGPS website.

The Tulane Science and Engineering Dean's Office offers travel awards to graduate applicants each semester as well.  For more information and to apply, visit the travel section of the SSE Dean's website.

The Tulane Department of Chemistry offers travel awards to graduate applicants who are presenting a talk or poster at a research conference.  Students are eligible for awards of up to $500 per academic year (Sept. 1 through Aug. 31).  

The deadline to apply for Fall 2026 admission is January 15, 2026.

No, we do not require official transcripts to apply to a program. If you are accepted into the program, you will have to request official transcripts to be sent to Tulane School of Science and Engineering before you register for your graduate coursework. The address and information required to submit official transcripts is included in the letters of admission.

There is no application fee to apply to our PhD program.

Yes, you can use your current transcript. You must submit your transcript with the degree posted prior to beginning your graduate program. If you have not graduated with your bachelor's degree, your admission will be revoked, as you cannot work on your graduate degree unless you have already earned your undergraduate degree.

Yes, you need to submit your application. The application deadline applies to the applicant and not the recommenders/references. Your references/recommenders will be able to respond and upload their recommendation letters to your application after the deadline date.

The Chemistry Department and the School of Science and Engineering do not require GRE scores in order for you to submit your application for review by the department. However, you are allowed to report your GRE score if you took the GRE and wish to report your scores.

A TOEFL or IELTS score is recommended, but not required to submit your application. You do need to supply some form of ESL proficiency either by earning your Bachelor's or Master's degree from a US Institution or other English speaking program of study. We do not accept Duolingo test results.

ESL Proficiency Requirement: TOEFL - Score 90 OR IELTS - Score 7 OR Undergraduate Degree Education taught at English Speaking University.

All PhD students that are admitted are supported with a Teaching Assistantship stipend and are awarded a tuition waiver. Some highly qualified applicants may receive a limited service Fellowship offer.

We admit most students for the fall semester. However, a few students are occassionally admitted for the spring semester.

Yes, you can apply to more than one program. You will need to complete an application for each program. The Chemistry Department currently has a joint Chemical Physics program with the Physics Department.