Overview
Programs of Study
The Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry offers four programs of study leading to the Master of Science (M.S.) degree: Plan A (with thesis) and Plans B, C, and D (without thesis). In all of the programs, course work is selected by the student in consultation with an adviser. The M.S. degree in Plan A (with thesis) is awarded upon successful completion and defense of an original research thesis conducted under the mentorship of a faculty member. Plan B is for students intending to go on to earn the Ph.D. degree and incorporates course work and thesis research. The M.S. degree in Plan B is awarded upon successfully passing an oral matriculation exam. Nonthesis M.S. degree programs C and D are based on course work study. Plan C is for course work in the chemical sciences. Plan D incorporates both chemistry and business administration course work that can be applied to further study leading to the M.B.A. degree and is designed for those who want advanced training directed toward the management aspects of chemical and pharmaceutical companies. Active participation in the Department's seminars is an essential component of all programs leading to the M.S. degree in chemistry.
The principal requirement for the Ph.D. degree is the investigation of an original research project. Ph.D. candidates undertake an original research project under the direction of a faculty member. Faculty members conduct state-of-the-art research in diverse areas, such as gas and liquid chromatography, surface science, computational chemistry, biophysical chemistry, carbohydrate synthesis, and catalysis. A broad range of research topics are available, and most groups participate in interdisciplinary research within the Department and with collaborators in other departments and institutions. In addition, the student must meet the Departmental requirements for course work, residency, the cumulative exams, the oral matriculation exam, and the seminar.
The M.S. degree programs are unique in that they can all be completed on a part-time basis, with classes and seminars taught at night or on weekends, to serve the needs of busy working professionals. The Ph.D. degree program requires a nine-month residency, during which students devote themselves full-time to thesis research.
Each year, the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry honors outstanding graduate students in the areas of academic excellence (Ander Award), research (Petersheim Award), and teaching.
For further information on chemistry graduate programs, students should visit http://www.shu.edu/academics/artsci/graduate-chemistry-programs.html.
Research Facilities
Seton Hall recently completed a comprehensive $35-million renovation of the Science and Technology Center, home to the chemistry graduate programs. With flexible laboratories and an open-space design, this landmark building significantly enhances students¿ education and discovery in the sciences.
The research laboratories in the Science and Technology Center are well equipped with modern instrumentation, including NMR spectrometers, gas chromatographs, high-performance liquid chromatographs, GC/MS and LC/MS, FT-IR, UV-Visible, fluorescence and atomic absorption spectrometers, and CD-ORD spectrometers as well as a wide array of preparative and synthetic chemistry facilities. The Center for Computational Research is housed within the Department and maintains high-performance research-grade computers and workstations, including three parallel mainframe and cluster servers. All laboratories are equipped with Internet connections, including access to Internet2. The Center for Applied Catalysis, also housed in the Department, was established at Seton Hall University in 1997 to assist industrial clients in developing catalytic processes for commercially important reactions. The center is well equipped to undertake catalyst evaluations and optimization of catalytic reactions in either a batch process or a continuous mode. Various pieces of equipment are available for use in reactions run from atmospheric pressure to 1500 psig (100 bar). These reactors range in size from 40 mL to 300 mL. These small-scale reactors provide an economy of scale that is important when a large number of reactions are being run.
The Walsh Library, a state-of-the-art 155,000-square-foot building, houses 500,000 titles, 1,875 current periodicals, and an extensive collection of microform and other nonprint items that include videotapes, CD-ROM music, and other electronic media.
Financial Aid
The Department offers a number of teaching assistantships for the academic year that are usually extended for the summer term to provide teaching and research support. A number of research fellowships also are available to students at the beginning of their second year of graduate study. In addition, the Reverend Owen Garrigan Graduate Biochemistry Supplemental Award is given to an incoming student who plans to do graduate work in the biochemistry area. This award is available each year to supplement the stipend of 1 or more full-time biochemistry graduate students. Seton Hall University is one of the beneficiaries of the Clare Booth Luce Fund, which supports women in science. Research fellowships for women pursuing graduate study are available on a competitive basis. For further information on financial aid and teaching assistantships, students should visit http://www.shu.edu/applying/graduate/grad-finaid.html.
Cost of Study
In 2009-10, tuition is $901 per credit. Full-time students pay $305 in University and technology fees; part-time students pay $185.
Living and Housing Costs
Housing and living costs in South Orange and surrounding towns are comparable to most suburban cities, with studio and one-bedroom apartments renting for $750 to $1000 per month.
Student Group
The Department currently enrolls about 100 graduate students on both a full- and part-time basis. Approximately 25 full-time students come from a variety of national and international backgrounds, while the part-time students are generally industrial scientists working in the tristate area. This provides a unique, daily, and direct interaction between students and working industrial scientists.
Location
Seton Hall is located on 58 acres in the village of South Orange, New Jersey, a suburban residential area 14 miles southwest of New York City. The town center is a 10-minute walk from the campus and features bookstores, coffee shops, and restaurants. The heart of midtown Manhattan is about 30 minutes away by train; students can take advantage of everything this exciting city has to offer while still living in a suburban area.
The University
Founded in 1856, Seton Hall is a private coeducational Catholic institution--the nation¿s oldest diocesan institution of higher education in the United States. With a total enrollment of about 10,000, including approximately 4,500 graduate students, the University comprises nine colleges and schools. Seton Hall is accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools. Through the incorporation of technology into the curriculum, the College of Arts and Sciences seeks to enhance and enliven the learning environment. Rooted in tradition yet looking to the future, the College offers a rich set of opportunities for intellectual discovery. Graduate students are guided by scholars and specialists toward the mastery of academic and professional areas.
Applying
In addition to the general University requirements for admission, the Department requires that all applicants have completed a minimum of 30 credits in chemistry, including a two-semester course in physical chemistry, a one-year course in physics, and mathematics through differential and integral calculus. Students must submit the completed application (available online at http://www.shu.edu/academics/artsci/apply-graduate.html), the $50 application fee, three letters of recommendation from individuals who can evaluate the applicant's scientific ability, and transcripts from all previously attended universities or colleges. Applicants submitting transcripts from a non-U.S. institution as part of the application must furnish a WES evaluation for each transcript. In addition to the University application form, applicants are required to submit an additional form specific to the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. Applicants whose native language is not English must submit TOEFL results. The minimum score for admission is 550 (paper) or 80 (online). The deadlines for fall and spring admission are July 1 and November 1, respectively. Applicants requesting a teaching assistantship (full-time only) are urged to apply at least six months prior to the desired entrance date.
The Faculty and Their Research
* Robert Augustine, Professor Emeritus of Organic Chemistry and Executive Director, Center for Applied Catalysis; Ph.D., Columbia, 1957. Heterogeneous catalysis in organic synthesis, enantioselective catalysis.
* Rev. Al Celiano, Professor Emeritus of Physical Chemistry; Ph.D., Fordham, 1959. Kinetics and mechanisms of substitution reactions at pentacoordinated platinum (II).
* Alexander Fadeev, Associate Professor of Physical and Surface Chemistry; Ph.D., Moscow State, 1990. Study of molecular mechanisms of wettability and adsorption, self-assembled and covalently attached organic monolayers, development of methods for chemical modification of solid surfaces.
* Reaction of organosilicon hydrides with solid surfaces: An example of surface-catalyzed self-assembly. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 126(24):7595, 2004. With Helmy and Wenslow.
* James Hanson, Professor of Organic Chemistry; Ph.D., Caltech, 1990. Organic and polymer synthesis and photochemistry, photochemical acid and base generation, novel polymer structures, dendritic polymers, molecular imprinting, microlithography.
* Fluorescence excitation spectroscopy of polystyrene near the critical concentration c*. J. App. Polym. Sci. 104(1):360-4, 2007. With Healy.
* Yuri Kazakevich, Professor of Analytical Chemistry; Ph.D., Moscow State, 1982. Physical studies of retention in liquid chromatography, solution of unique analytical problems using chemical separations.
* Surface area of reversed-phase HPLC columns. Anal. Chem. 80(16):6358-64, 2008. With Giaquinto, Liu, and Bach.
* Stephen Kelty, Professor of Physical Chemistry, Chair and Director of the Center for Computational Research; Ph.D., Harvard, 1993. Investigation of surface and interfacial phenomena using computational chemistry techniques, simulation of membrane proteins and quadruplex nucleic acids.
* Molecular dynamics simulation of Langmuir monolayers. J. Phys. Chem. 111(37):10849-52, 2007. With McMullen.
* Joseph Maloy, Associate Professor of Analytical Chemistry; Ph.D., Texas at Austin, 1970. Electroanalytical methods, computer modeling of electrochemical and chromatographic phenomena, science and the church.
* Cecilia Marzabadi, Associate Professor of Organic Chemistry and Director of Graduate Studies; Ph.D., Missouri-St. Louis, 1994. Synthetic organic, carbohydrate, and medicinal chemistry; synthesis of septanose sugars, C-glycosides, and carbohydrate-derived heterocycles; preparation of novel nucleoside analogs; women in science.
* Carbohydrates in the treatment of epilepsy, depression, and other affective disorders. Curr. Top. Med. Chem. 8:159-70, 2008. With Talisman.
* W. Rorer Murphy, Professor of Inorganic Chemistry and Undergraduate Chair; Ph.D., North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 1984. Fluorescent probes for study of dendritic polymers and nucleic acids; binding of metal complexes to nucleic acids; synthesis, photochemistry, and electrochemistry of novel transition-metal complexes; development of organized molecular structures.
* Acid-base studies of [Ru(tpy)(OH2)]2(bpm)4+. Am. Chem. Soc. Abstr. CHED-1008, 2005. With Bjornsson et al.
* Nicholas Snow, Professor of Analytical Chemistry; Ph.D., Virginia Tech, 1992. Chemical separations; GC and HPLC; GC/MS; sampling for chromatography; analysis of trace organic compounds from inorganic, aqueous, and biological matrices; molecular imprinted polymers as stationary phases.
* Stir-bar sorptive extraction and thermal desorption-ion mobility spectrometry for the determination of trinitrotoluene and 1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazine in water samples. J. Chromatogr. A., online, 2005. With Lokhnauth.
* John R. Sowa Jr., Associate Professor of Organic Chemistry; Ph.D., Iowa State, 1991. Organic and organometallic chemistry; synthetic and mechanistic studies of homogeneous, achiral, and chiral catalytic reactions.
* Palladium on carbon as a precatalyst for the Suzuki-Miyuara cross-coupling of aryl chlorides. Tetrahedron 63:12646-54, 2007. With Simeone.
* Yufeng Wei, Assistant Professor of Biochemistry; Ph.D., Columbia, 1999. Solid-state and solution NMR spectroscopy, structural biology of programmed cell death proteins and transcription factors, structural determination of proteins.
* One-dimensional 1H-detected solid-state NMR experiment to determine amide-1H chemical shifts in peptides. Chem. Phys. Lett. 351:42-6, 2002.
Correspondence and Information
Seton Hall University
Dr. Stephen P. Kelty, Chair
Dr. Cecilia H. Marzabadi, Director of Graduate Studies
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
400 South Orange Avenue
South Orange, New Jersey 07079
Telephone: 973-761-9414
Fax: 973-761-9453
Email: Stephen.Kelty@shu.edu
Cecilia.Marzabadi@shu.edu
