If you have questions at any point during your admissions process, please contact us at chemistry.admissions@oregonstate.edu.

Know what to expect

Our graduate program components include:

Ph.D. program

• Required coursework
• Divisional requirements for seminars
• A preliminary oral examination
• A thesis research project
• Each student works with a faculty advisor in order to determine the program of courses that he or she will take after matriculation, and to undertake their research.

M.S. program

• Required coursework
• Divisional requirements for seminars
• A thesis research project (thesis M.S.) or a project report (non-thesis M.S.*)
• Each student works with a faculty advisor in order to determine the program of courses that they will take after matriculation and to undertake their research

Admission deadlines

We request that applications be turned in prior to our extended deadline of Jan 15, 2025, for full consideration.

GRE requirements

GRE (Graduate Record Examination) general exam scores are optional. If submitting GRE scores, OSU's code is 4586. No departmental code is required.

The Department of Chemistry recommends but does not require the submission of GRE scores.

Review our directory of faculty & contact potential mentors

Please refer to our faculty directory for the tenure-track and adjunct faculty in our department. You are encouraged to contact faculty directly to get more information about their current research and to inquire whether they are accepting new graduate students in their groups.

International students

International students have additional requirements:

• GRE scores are recommended but not required for all applicants
• Your TOEFL or IELTS scores unless you received a greater than a B average during two terms in an accredited institution in the U.S., U.K., New Zealand, Australia or Canada
• Please note that the deadline to apply is Feb 15th and that we only bring new students in during fall term

Apply for graduate school at OSU

Please include the following with your application:

• Your personal statement
  please include your area of interest and three potential mentor(s), career goals, relevant academic and research experiences, your strengths and potential challenges with strategies to overcome hurdles, and other points that are relevant for your application)
  Please only chose mentors that are research active faculty
• Your CV
• Your transcripts
• The names and contact information of three references
• Any awards, posters or publications that you have

Domestic fee waiver

The Department of Chemistry at Oregon State University is pleased to offer all domestic applicants an Application Fee Waiver for the 2024-2025 academic year. To start the process, please send an e-mail with the subject line "Domestic Chemistry application fee waiver" to katie.scott@oregonstate.edu.

For International applicants interested in a Fee Waiver, please see below.

Fee waivers will be considered after the application opens in early September

Apply for an International application fee waiver

Apply now for an application fee waiver (NO application fees)! If we believe that you are a good fit to our program, we will cover the application fee for you! Send in your transcript (unofficial is acceptable), CV, research statement, the top two potential research mentors in a given division area with rationale and commitment to OSU to chemistry.admissions@oregonstate.edu with “Application Fee Waiver” in the e-mail subject line by Dec 31st, 2024.

The decision about an application fee waiver request will follow as soon as possible and by early January at the latest.

*Please note* that this does not guarantee admission, it is just a good gesture from the dept to encourage you to apply. Only a limited number of application fee waivers are available, so please be understanding if we cannot provide you with this kind of assistance. Whatever the outcome of the application fee waiver decision, we welcome your interest and encourage you to apply to our program.

See FAQ for how to apply for the waiver

Frequently asked questions