Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
Chemistry Building Room 238
T: 512.245.2156 F: 512.245.2374
www.txstate.edu/chemistry
The department offers M.S. degree programs in both Chemistry and Biochemistry. In addition, the department offers a M.A. degree program in Chemistry. The M.S. degrees are research-based and require a thesis while the M.A. degree is course-based and requires successful completion of a cumulative examination. Our faculty are dedicated to maintaining excellence in education and research to serve the people of Texas and beyond. The department fosters innovative research programs that expand knowledge through discovery and development, actively contribute to the broader scientific community, and address critical global needs. We are committed to the professional development and mentoring of a diverse and inclusive community of faculty, staff, and students. The curriculum provides opportunities for research and learning in all areas of chemistry and biochemistry and encourages a hands-on approach to the use of a wide variety of modern instrumentation. Many of our graduates have advanced to industrial positions and/or professional and doctoral programs.
Research Areas
The department's graduate faculty conducts research in numerous areas of the five subdisciplines of chemistry. Specific research areas include:
| Field of Chemistry | Research Areas |
| Analytical | mass spectrometry, chromatography, electrochemistry, spectral methods |
| Biochemistry | enzyme isolation, and mechanisms, protein structure-function relationships, molecular genetics, gene delivery, nucleic acid biochemistry, ribonucleoprotein complex function and regulation, genomics, biophysical chemistry, biomaterials |
| Inorganic | synthesis and structure of high conductivity solid-state electrolyte compounds, bioinorganic chemistry, solid state synthesis, metal complex catalysis, intercalation chemistry, crystallography, synthetic main group organometallic chemistry |
| Organic | medicinal chemistry, small molecule synthesis, physical organic chemistry, reactive intermediates, polymer synthesis, photochromism |
| Physical | nanocomposites, thin organic films, structure-property relationships, electronic polymers, computational chemistry |
Research Facilities
Research instruments available include 400 and 500 MHz NMR, X-ray Diffractometer, UV and IR spectrophotometers, atomic absorption, liquid and gas chromatographs, electrospray ionization/mass spectrometer, high-speed centrifuges, TGA, DSC, DMA, particle size analyzer, GPC, epi-fluorescent microscope, CO2 incubators, and multi-well plate readers. A complete list of instrumentation can be found here.
Financial Assistance
Graduate students are encouraged to work as graduate instructional assistants. Applications can be obtained from the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry website. A limited number of research assistantships are also available based on available funding from individual research advisors. The Graduate College can provide information about the availability of graduate scholarships. To be considered for assistantships or scholarships, applicants must have submitted a completed application for review by the priority application deadline.
