Chemistry Graduate Courses

Emphasis is on instrumental methods of analysis, including spectral, electroanalytical, and separations methods. Graduate students will read primary literature articles and prepare oral presentations or written projects. Prer., CHEM 4001, CHEM 4002, and PES 1120 with grades of "C" or higher. Prer. or coreq., CHEM 4111, CHEM 5111, or CHEM 4701. Coreq., CHEM 4012. Meets with CHEM 4011.

• 3 Credits

The application of quantum mechanics to atomic and molecular structure and spectra. Graduate students will read primary literature articles and prepare oral presentations or written projects. Prer., CHEM 3111 or CHEM 3211, PES 1120, PES 2160, and MATH 2350 with grades of “C” or higher. Meets with CHEM 4101.

• 3 Credits

The application of thermodynamics to phase changes, chemical reactions, and electrochemical cells. The rates and mechanics of chemical reactions. Graduate students will read primary literature articles and prepare oral presentations or written projects. Prer., CHEM 3111 or CHEM 3211, PES 1120, PES 2160, and MATH 1360 with grades of "C" or higher. Meets with CHEM 4111.

• 3 Credits

Topics include amino acids and their properties, experimental biochemical techniques, the structure, function, and regulation of proteins and enzymes, enzyme mechanisms and kinetics, lipids, and energetics of biological processes. Graduate students will read primary literature articles and prepare oral presentations or written projects. Prer., BIOL 1350, and CHEM 3111 or CHEM 3211 with grades of “C” or higher. Meets with CHEM 4221.

• 3 Credits

Topics include common themes in metabolism, signal transduction pathways, common metabolic pathways such as glycolysis, gluconeogenesis, citric acid cycle, oxidative phosphorylation, and fatty acid metabolism with a focus on enzymes, control of the pathways, and interconnections between pathways. Graduate students will read primary literature articles and prepare oral presentations or written projects. Prer., CHEM 4221 or CHEM 5221 with a grade of "C" or higher. Meets with CHEM 4231.

• 3 Credits

Builds on topics introduced in CHEM 4211/4221 to provide more detailed and current information on such topics in biochemistry as, but not limited to: chromatin structure, epigenetics, regulation of gene expression, carbohydrates, membrane structure and function, cell signaling, etc. Graduate students will read primary literature articles and prepare oral presentations or written projects. Prer., CHEM 4211, CHEM 4221, or CHEM 5221 with a grade of "C" or higher. Meets with CHEM 4261.

• 3 Credits

Survey of organic chemistry including mechanistic and synthetic organic chemistry. Prer., CHEM 3111 or CHEM 3211 with a grade of "C" or higher.

• 3 Credits

Modern concepts of physical organic chemistry and their use in interpreting data in terms of mechanisms or organic reactions and reactivities of organic compounds. Prer., CHEM 3111 or CHEM 3211 and CHEM 4101 or CHEM 5101 with grades of “C” or higher.

• 3 Credits

Chemistry of five- and six-membered heterocycles and fused heterocycles, including structure, preparation, reactions and applications in the pharmaceutical world and in biochemistry and medicine. Graduate students will read additional primary literature articles and prepare oral presentations and/or written projects. Prer., CHEM 3111 or CHEM 3211, and one of the following: CHEM 4001, CHEM 4211, CHEM 4221, or CHEM 5221 with grades of “C” or higher. Meets with CHEM 4421.

• 3 Credits

Theory and practice of mass spectrometry instrumentation with a focus on the history of the instrumentation, instrumentation components, ion formation and ionization sources, tandem mass spectrometry, quantitative data analysis, fragmentation and data interpretation, accelerator mass spectrometry, and new topics. Graduate students will read additional primary literature articles and prepare oral presentations and/or written projects. Prer., CHEM 3111 or CHEM 3211 with a grade of "C" or higher. Meets with CHEM 4501.

• 3 Credits

Lecture and Lab. This course will focus on the practical application of bioanalytical techniques for the detection and quantification of biomolecules in complex sample matrices. Students will gain understanding of basic bioanalytical instrumentation, sample preparation and analysis techniques, and apply them in a variety of laboratory experiments. Graduate students will read primary literature articles and prepare oral presentations or written projects. Prer., CHEM 4001, CHEM 4002, and either CHEM 4211 or CHEM 4221 or CHEM 5221 with grades of "C" or higher. Meets with CHEM 4502.

• 3 Credits

Introduction to the elements of clinical chemistry and forensic toxicology, concepts of pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics,and chemical reaction mechanisms associated with drug metabolism and effects on neurotransmission. Graduate students will read primary literature articles and prepare oral presentations or written projects. Prer., CHEM 3111 or CHEM 3211, and CHEM 4001 with grades of “C” or higher. Meets with CHEM 4511.

• 3 Credits

An in-depth survey of the macroscopic and microscopic principles of environmental chemistry processes in land, air, and water; energy and climate change; chemical equilibrium, kinetics, reduction-oxidation reactions, acid-base chemistry, and thermodynamics. A focus on current environmental problems, impact, and sustainability. Approved for LAS Global Awareness requirement. Approved for Compass Curriculum requirement: Sustainability. Graduate students will read primary literature articles and prepare oral presentations or written projects. Prer., CHEM 3111 or CHEM 3211 with a grade of “C” or higher. Meets with CHEM 4521.

• 3 Credits

Crystalline structure formulation of two-, one-, and zero-dimensional materials and the presence of quantum mechanical wave functions in such periodic potentials. Time-dependent perturbation-theory formulation of absorbance and emission phenomena. The application of band structure and spectroscopic properties to the design of modern devices, sensors, and imaging schemes. Graduate students will read primary literature articles and prepare oral presentations or written projects. Prer., CHEM 4101 or PES 4250 with a grade of “C” or higher. Meets with CHEM 4601.

• 3 Credits

A study of the physical chemistry of surfaces and interfaces. Topics include interfacial tension, wetting, monolayers, adsorption, heterogeneous catalysis, surface diffusion, kinetics of phase transformations, electrocapillarity, and the characterization of solid surfaces. Graduate students will read primary literature articles and prepare oral presentations or written projects. Prer., CHEM 4101 or CHEM 5101 with a grade of “C” or higher. Meets with CHEM 4621.

• 3 Credits

Computational modeling of small molecules and biomolecules including introduction to programming, interacting with a high-performance computing (HPC) system, and performing and analyzing results of molecular simulations. Graduate students will read primary literature articles and prepare a project proposal. Prer., CHEM 4101 and CHEM 4111, or CHEM 4701; or CHEM 5101 and CHEM 5111, or CHEM 5701 with a grade of “C” or higher. Meets with CHEM 4631.

Covers physical chemistry topics such as thermodynamics, chemical equilibrium and kinetics, illustrating these topics with important biological processes. In addition, an introduction to quantum theory will be presented with an emphasis on its application to biochemical problems. Graduate students will read primary literature articles and prepare oral presentations or written projects. Prer., CHEM 3111 or CHEM 3211, MATH 1330 or MATH 1350, and PES 1020 or PES 1120 with grades of “C” or higher. Meets with CHEM 4701.

• 3 Credits

Covers topics of interest in bioinorganic chemistry. Structures of metal active sites, mechanisms, and model complexes will be discussed. Relevant inorganic protein structures will be covered. Graduate students will read primary literature articles and prepare oral presentations or written projects. Prer., CHEM 3111 or CHEM 3211, and CHEM 4211, CHEM 4221, or CHEM 5221 with grades of “C” or higher. Meets with CHEM 4711.

• 3 Credits

This course examines in detail the mechanisms of action and biochemical basis of both pharmaceutical and recreational drugs. The use of primary research literature is emphasized. Graduate students will be asked to read and present advances in relevant research areas. Prer., CHEM 4211, CHEM 4221, or CHEM 5221 with a grade of "C" or higher. Meets with CHEM 4721.

• 3 Credits

Topics include DNA/protein sequences and conservation, genomics experiments (including published work), genomics datasets, and programs required for analysis of genomics data. The class will focus on application of these techniques for genomics data analysis. Coreq., CHEM 4221 or CHEM 5221. Meets with CHEM 4731.

• 3 Credits

Applications such as X-Ray Crystallography, Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy, Cryo-Electron Microscopy, and Molecular Docking will be studied. Both theory and practical aspects of each technique will be explored. Graduate students will read primary literature articles and prepare oral presentations or written projects. Prer., CHEM 4211, CHEM 4221, or CHEM 5221 a with grade of "C" or higher. Coreq., CHEM 4701 or CHEM 5701. Meets with CHEM 4741.

• 3 Credits

This course focuses on a central, timely topic to deepen understanding of human biochemistry. Example topics include the biochemistry of various diseases, the biochemistry of behavior and mental illness, and the biochemistry of sleep. Graduate students will read primary literature articles and prepare oral presentations or written projects. Prer., CHEM 4211 or CHEM 4221 or CHEM 5221 with a grade of “C” or higher. Meets with CHEM 4751.

• 3 credits

Covers the fundamental processes associated with the interaction of light and molecules. Topics include absorption, emission, radiationless decay processes, energy transfer, and photochemistry. Experimental techniques and equipment will also be discussed. Graduate students will present a fifty-minute talk on an article from a photochemistry journal and a four-page (minimum) summary evaluation of that article. Prer., CHEM 4111, CHEM 4701, CHEM 5111, or CHEM 5701 with a grade of “C” or higher. Meets with CHEM 4801.

• 3 Credits

Examination of selected topics in chemistry in lecture, seminar or laboratory format. Topic will change according to the interest of the instructor and students. Students may repeat the course for credit when the topic changes. Consult Course Search on the UCCS website or the MyUCCS Portal for topic. Graduate students will read primary literature articles and prepare oral presentations or written projects. Consent of instructor required. Meets with CHEM 4901.

• 1 to 4 Credits

Open to qualified graduate students by arrangement with a faculty member. Students will plan a project with the faculty member prior to registering for the course. A written report must be submitted at the end of the semester summarizing the research results. Students may take CHEM 5904 under only one faculty member in a given semester. Consent of instructor required.

• 1 to 5 Credits

Students arrange a program with a faculty member through the auspices of local government or industrial facilities. The program will generally require independent laboratory or literature work, resulting in a report or series of reports. During the semester the instructor will communicate regularly with the student and the student’s internship mentor to ensure that satisfactory progress is being made. Graduate students internships will require work at a higher level of quantity and quality than undergraduate internships. Consent of instructor required.

• 1 to 5 Credits

Graduate students will become oriented to research activities and resources within the department before receiving training in research best practices, ethical conduct in research, and writing for the chemical sciences.

• 1 Credit

Graduate students will rotate in presenting and leading discussion of chemistry and biochemistry journal articles from the peer-reviewed literature. Students will become familiar with the literature in their field while building skills of reviewing and critiquing research articles.

• 1 Credit

Graduate students will attend a biweekly departmental seminar series and deliver a seminar: research progress mid-way through their data collection phase for those on the research-track or library research project over a thematic topic of choice for those on the course-track.

• 1 Credit

Masters Thesis

• 1 to 6 Credits

Master's Project

• 1 to 6 Credits

Candidate for Degree

• 0 Credits