Prospective Students | Department of Chemistry

Prospective Students

Why Choose UNT?

UNT is ranked as a Tier One Research University by the Carnegie Classification system, is the fourth-largest university in Texas, and is the most comprehensive in the Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) area. The Chemistry Department strongly supports that ranking, with research funded by the National Science Foundation, U.S. Departments of Energy and Education, U.S. Air Force, the Semiconductor Research Corporation, the Welch Foundation, the American Chemical Society - Petroleum Research Fund, and many other federal and industrial sources.

Of the 37,000 students enrolled at UNT, about one in four is enrolled at the graduate level, making UNT one of the three largest graduate institutions in Texas. The UNT campus is located in Denton, ranked as a top College Town and Small Town in America. With a diverse population, Denton is home to a vibrant community centered around the historic Courthouse Square.

Within our many research faculty groups, their interests span the traditional areas of analytical, inorganic, organic and physical chemistry. Increasingly, however, new frontiers fall at the intersections of two or more of these areas. As a result, interdisciplinary studies are encouraged within Chemistry and other science departments. Notable areas of strength include top groups in computational chemistry, materials chemistry and forensic chemistry.

With just under 100 graduate students, our department is proud to maintain a student:faculty ratio of 5:1, offering our students mentorships in a community of collaborative researchers. Our graduates go on from UNT to work in both the public and private sectors, with a Ph.D. employment rate of nearly 100%, much higher than the national average. Our graduates work for national laboratories, governmental agencies, and top industrial companies.

The Chemistry Building (which opened in 2004) is a 105,000 sq ft facility equipped with state-of-the-art research facilities and lots of space for students and faculty to interact both formally and informally. The informal gathering places continue to promote the department's culture of community and cooperation in research. It is also a student-friendly space with high-speed and wireless internet connections.

The department maintains an extensive range of modern instrumentation to facilitate sophisticated research, in areas that include chemical synthesis, spectroscopy, computational chemistry, materials and surface science, and chemical analysis. The largest research facilities are maintained by full-time professional (doctoral level) staff who help design experiments, or teach students how to use the equipment. UNT Chemistry has also an enviable in-house computing facility, ca. 2000 cores and 5Tflops of performance dedicated to computational chemistry.

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