BS/MS Programs – School of Chemistry and Biochemistry

An MS degree provides career opportunities beyond those available with just an BS degree and can lead to a higher starting salary. It can also serve as an effective bridge to professional or graduate schools.  

It is possible to get an MS degree in Chemistry in addition to a BS in Biochemistry or Chemistry with one additional year of study beyond the requirements for a BS degree, by careful course selection during the students BS studies, as a limited numbers of classes can be counted towards both degrees.

The School of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Georgia Tech offers the following 4+1 BS/MS options:

  • BS Chemistry + MS Chemistry (thesis or non-thesis)
  • BS Biochemistry + MS Chemistry (thesis or non-thesis)

Non-thesis MS degrees only involve course work.

Details of the requirements for these degrees are in the Georgia Tech Catalog:

        https://catalog.gatech.edu/programs/chemistry-bs/#designatorsandoptionstext

        https://catalog.gatech.edu/programs/chemistry-ms/#requirementstext.

Note:

  • There is considerable flexibility with respect to how CHEM graduate courses, and relevant courses from other units, can be used to meet the requirements for our MS degree. Our director of graduate studies can advise on this matter (kenyetta.johnson@chemistry.gatech.edu).
  • The School of Chemistry and Biochemistry does not offer an MS degree in Biochemistry, but all of our graduate Biochemistry courses and Biochemistry thesis research may be used towards the MS CHEM degree.

 

Financial support for students pursuing BS/MS

The School of Chemistry and Biochemistry does not guarantee any financial support to students pursuing MS degrees. MS students are typically responsible for paying their own graduate tuition and living expenses. In some cases, a teaching assistantship may be available to students pursuing an MS degree, which provides a tuition waiver and stipend. However, such assistantships require a considerable time commitment (~9 or ~18 hours a week, depending on the terms of the assistantship), which may be difficult to accommodate along with the courses and research required for your MS degree.

BS/MS Application Requirements and Process

  • To apply for one of our BS/MS programs, you must be an undergraduate student pursuing either BS CHEM or BS BCHM at Georgia Tech.
  • Applicants must have a GPA of 3.3 or higher in courses required for the BS CHEM or BS BCHM degrees.
  • Students must apply to the BS/MS program after the completion of 30 undergraduate credits but before completion of 90 credits, including credits accrued through transfer, advanced placement, IB etc. Applicants with more than 90 credits will be considered for the program on a case-by-case basis. It is recommended that students delay formal application to the BS/MS program until they they have a reasonable estimate of the semester in which they will complete all the requirements for their BS degree.

MS CHEM (thesis option)

If an applicant wishes to pursue the MS CHEM thesis option, they must first identify a faculty member in the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry who is willing to serve as the supervisor for the thesis work prior to the submission of an application to the BS/MS program. It is strongly recommended that students view the research for an MS CHEM with thesis degree as an extension of their undergraduate research. Students interested in the BS/MS thesis option should not participate in Georgia Tech’s Research Option as part of their undergraduate degree, as none of the work included in an undergraduate thesis may be used to meet the requirement of an MS thesis.

Academic Planning

Students interested in our BS/MS program should seek the advice of their undergraduate research advisor (if interested in the MS thesis option), academic advisor, or our graduate office (kenyetta.johnson@chemistry.gatech.edu) early in their consideration of BS/MS as an option, and certainly before submitting an application. Many graduate courses are only offered once every two years, so careful planning of the graduate courses to be taken before completion of the BS degree and during the MS year is required so that the courses complement one another and are most beneficial to the student.

To Apply

Submit a standard BS/MS graduate application at https://gradapp.gatech.edu/apply/.

  • The application asks for the semester in which the student plans to start their MS studies. This starting  semester should be the semester after the anticipated completion all the requirements for the BS degree. 
  • Applicants must submit a short (less than one page) statement explaining why they are interested in pursuing BS/MS. This is done by uploading a file to the application.
  • Two letters of recommendation must be submitted on behalf of the applicant. After the applicant enter names and contact information for their recommenders into the application, the recommenders will be contacted by Georgia Tech.
    • One letter of recommendation must be from the applicant’s academic advisor
    • The second letter of recommendation must be from either:
      • The applicants research advisor, indicating that they will serve as the advisor for the MS thesis research (if applying to the MS thesis program), or
      • Any GT faculty member or a job/internship/research supervisor (if applying to the MS non-thesis program)