Master of Science - Chemistry (Non-Thesis) (Co-op)

The graduate program in chemistry is tailored to satisfy individual student aspirations and is designed to provide knowledge, skills, and discovery within the chemical sciences. The program prepares candidates for professional employment in chemistry careers including industry, consulting, local, state and federal government, and for teaching at the community college or secondary level. Employed workers with a bachelor’s degree may also seek additional training in the chemical sciences to enhance or expand their career prospects. Additionally, the program provides a foundation for further graduate studies beyond the MS level in chemistry and related fields.

Graduate students in chemistry can focus their studies in any of the major areas of chemistry, including biochemistry, organic, physical, analytical and inorganic chemistry, and chemistry education. Emphasis in a specific area through appropriate courses and seminars is enhanced by requisite graduate research. Practical and collaborative internship experiences through industrial, governmental, academic research, or community college teaching partnerships are possible. The department utilizes state-of-the-art and fully equipped laboratory facilities with an array of modern instrumentation and computational capabilities. Furthermore, it operates a state-certified environmental testing laboratory.

The chemistry graduate program at Central Washington University (CWU) has three different options for obtaining a MS in chemistry: traditional thesis option, project option, and a BS/MS degree option. The traditional thesis option allows students to take advanced classes from the traditional areas of chemistry and to engage in intensive research in a very specific area related to chemistry. Most students finish this degree track within two years of starting the program. Students who choose the thesis option are given priority over other students in the program for teaching assistantships. The project-based option requires more course work than the thesis option, but allows students to submit a project rather than a traditional thesis. The option also allows for some flexibility if students are already employed in areas related to chemistry. Projects they may be engaged in as part of their employment might be used towards the project MS degree in chemistry with approval from the department. The chair of the student’s project committee must be a member of the department’s graduate faculty. The final option is a BS/MS degree and is only open to students who obtain their BS from Central Washington University. The degree track allows students to obtain an MS in chemistry within one year after obtaining the BS degree and has a project component associated with the degree rather than a thesis. Students in this program would need to follow the course requirements for the project MS degree in Chemistry. Since the BS/MS program requires students to complete work in a very regimented fashion, students who are interested in this option are advised to discuss the option with their advisor and the graduate program coordinator by the quarter of their junior year.