Message from the Chair:

Why Pursue Your Graduate Degree in Chemistry at the University of Vermont?

Excitement: In the department, in the bright, energetic young faculty, in the other graduate students, in the other science departments on campus, including the medical school, and excitement in where you live, Burlington, Vermont with all of its outdoor and cultural activities.

Faculty: The Department of Chemistry is anchored by established, internationally respected senior faculty, but is also populated with young, highly motivated faculty. Our Department is getting younger every year as new faculty members are added. The younger faculty that have been here for a few years have demonstrated their abilities in research, teaching, and obtaining research funding. They are gaining national attention. There is an atmosphere of excitement about research and program-building in Chemistry at the University of Vermont (UVM).

Biomedical facilities: With the medical school integrally associated with the main campus, we have numerous collaborations with the biological and biomedical sciences. Students use their "central science" chemistry to address problems of human health from drug design to bioorganic and bioinorganic applications to developing instrumentation for solving biomedical problems. Another evolving area at UVM is materials science. Young faculty members are making great strides in this area. The College of Medicine and its departments add resources for biomaterials research through faculty and institutional resources such as confocal and electron microscopy. The College of Engineering is also adjacent to the chemistry building and provides resources in the engineering of materials, materials science, computer science, and electronics/electrical engineering.

Size: The Department of Chemistry has sufficient numbers of faculty in all areas with group sizes appropriate for students to receive individual attention from their advisors. The camaraderie among faculty, staff and students is outstanding. People genuinely want you to succeed at UVM and will help in every way possible to make that happen. Faculty members are quick to assist each other and to help out any student who has a question or problem. The departmental staff is excellent from the main office, to instrumentation support, to glass blowing and the machine shop.

Quality of life: Finally, search the web to find kudos after kudos about Burlington, Vermont. Graduate school is a work hard environment, but you should be able to play hard as well. Burlington is a vibrant young person's city with numerous events and activities downtown and in the environs. Burlington is a great place for young people to meet. Vermont offers the best of outdoor activities summer and winter. In the summer, the hiking, backpacking, on and off the road cycling, sailing, kayaking and canoeing are outstanding. The winter is even better with your choice of downhill skiing or touring the countryside on cross-country skis or snowshoes. Don't ski? It's not hard to learn when you are living in Burlington. Join the Chair of Chemistry for a mid-winter break at a local ski resort where chemistry is discussed from the top to the bottom of the mountain.

If you are looking for an environment where you can thrive and grow personally in more ways than by spending time in the back of a lab, a place where people are bright, hard working and value success, a place where these same people value you, then Chemistry at the University of Vermont is where you should be. You will obtain the tools and education you need to succeed after leaving UVM, and you will have greatly enjoyed your time here in the process.