MSc in Chemistry and Chemical Biology - Analytical in Ithaca United States | Cornell University

The M.S. program requires completing 30 credit hours of study. While some students may finish within one academic year, most need additional time. Given the varied educational backgrounds and career objectives of applicants, we expect each student's curriculum to be unique. Rather than imposing strict prerequisites, we generally recommend that most credits come from advanced chemistry and related disciplines. Your personalized study plan, developed with the M.S. Graduate Program Director, may incorporate courses from different departments across Cornell University.

This program caters to individuals seeking advanced knowledge in the chemical sciences and aiming to enhance their research, analytical, and teaching skills. Research-focused students must demonstrate initiative by designing and executing their own projects, with the MS degree granted upon successful completion of a master's research project documented in an archival thesis submitted to both the student's committee and the Graduate School. First-year students typically enroll in Chem 5110 during fall semester, which introduces diverse chemical research methodologies available within our department and university-wide.

Analytical chemistry focuses on separating, detecting, identifying, and measuring atomic, molecular, and ionic components. Cornell researchers explore diverse areas including molecular self-assembly on electrodes, fatty acid absorption in nutrition, spider silk molecular architecture, calcium transport in human cells, defect distribution in electronic devices, and DNA sequencing error detection. These studies employ various advanced techniques such as probe microscopy, high-precision mass spectrometry, solid-state NMR spectroscopy, SIMS, and synchrotron-based surface analysis. The program also encourages interdisciplinary collaboration with researchers in physics, materials science, engineering, and biology.