PhD in Chemistry - Khalifa University

The PhD in Chemistry (PhD CHEM) builds on Khalifa University’s internationally leading research activity in science, engineering, and medicine. It supports the University’s alignment with the Abu Dhabi Economic Vision 2030 plan through the provision of internationally excellent education and student experience in Chemistry, producing highly skilled science professionals capable of transferring state-of-the-art technologies to priority sectors of industry, business and government. The aim of the PhD in Chemistry program is to produce graduates who are able to conduct independent research in Chemistry at the highest levels of originality and quality. The degree will be awarded to students who demonstrate a range of advanced knowledge and skills at the forefront of Chemistry and who complete an independent investigation of a novel specialist topic in order to present a dissertation addressing a problem in cutting edge research. Candidates for the degree will be supervised by teams of experienced researchers.

The objectives of the PhD in Chemistry program are to produce graduates who have the ability to:

Synthesize and critically evaluate complex current knowledge in the chemical sciences in order to plan and implement new and creative approaches so as to generate new knowledge and solve research challenges with effective dissemination of the results to a variety of audiences;
Work to the highest professional and ethical standards in an area of chemical sciences and develop their individual academic, professional and career skills; and
Keep abreast of the latest developments in chemistry that contribute to the advancement of knowledge for the benefit of society.

Upon successful completion of the PhD in Chemistry, a graduate will be able to:

Demonstrate and critically analyze comprehensive, deep and overarching knowledge that is at the frontier of recent developments in chemical sciences.
Conduct and defend original independent research that creates significant new knowledge in chemical sciences of publishable quality that leads to scholarly articles or other intellectual outputs.
Analyze and critically evaluate the uses and limitations of diverse methodologies and techniques for solving problems in chemical research, leading to informed and valid judgements.
Select and deploy advanced experimental and related skills to investigate and solve complex problems in chemical research.
Communicate effectively and professionally, in written and oral forms as appropriate, the major tenets of areas of chemistry and their individual specializations to a variety of audiences.
Demonstrate a commitment to safe, responsible and ethical behavior in all research and professional activities.
Reflect upon their role(s) in their research specialization and in the wider research community to ensure that they take responsibility for their own development and that of peer groups and networks.

The structure and requirements for the PhD in Engineering program for candidates with a Master’s degree and those with only a Bachelor’s degree are detailed below.

Candidates with a Master’s Degree

Overall Program Structure

The PhD in Chemistry consists of a minimum 60 credit hours, distributed as follows: 24 credit hours of coursework, 36 credit hours of PhD Dissertation and two zero credit PhD Seminar courses. The components of the program are summarized in the table below:

Category	Credit Hours
CHEM 701 Methods and Techniques of Chemical Research	3
SCIE 701 Research Methods Science	3
SCIE 702 Research Seminar I	0
SCIE 703 Research Seminar II	0
Program Electives	18
SCIE 799 PhD Research Dissertation	36
Total	60

Program Requirements

Students seeking the degree of PhD in Chemistry must successfully complete a minimum 60 credit hours as specified in the program requirements detailed below, with a minimum CGPA of 3.0. Course selection should be made in consultation with the student’s Main Advisor.

Program Core (6 credit hours)

Students must complete the following core courses:

CHEM 701 Methods and Techniques of Chemical Research
SCIE 701 Research Methods Science
SCIE 702 Research Seminar I (0 credits)
SCIE 703 Research Seminar II (0 credits)

Program Electives (18 credit hours)

Students must complete a total of six elective courses (18 credits). Program electives are listed below:

CHEM 711 Recent Developments in Inorganic Chemistry
CHEM 712 Recent Developments in Organic Chemistry
CHEM 713 Recent Developments in Physical Chemistry
CHEM 714 Recent Developments in Analytical Chemistry
CHEM 715 Recent Developments in Nanomaterials Chemistry
CHEM 716 Recent Developments in Environmental Chemistry
CHEM 717 Recent Developments in Bioorganic Chemistry
CHEM 799 Entrepreneurship in Chemistry-Science

Subject to approval of the Main Advisor and the Program Coordinator, up to two electives (6 credits) may be taken from outside the student’s department and chosen from the list below, if these courses support the student’s dissertation topic.

Course	Department	Area of Interest
PHYS 702 Advanced Quantum Mechanics	Physics	Molecular structure, simulation and theoretical chemistry.
PHYS 705 Nanophysics and Nanotechnology	Physics	Nanomaterials preparation and application.
PHYS 707 Advanced Solid State Physics	Physics	Solid state chemistry, diffraction and simulation.
ERTH 720 Organic Geochemistry	Earth Sciences	Alternative applications of organic chemistry.
ERTH 723 Isotope Geochemistry	Earth Sciences	Analytical chemistry.
MATH 705 Mechanics of interacting particle	Mathematics	Molecular structure, simulation and theoretical chemistry.
MATH 707 Nonlinear Optimization	Mathematics	Molecular structure, simulation and theoretical chemistry.
MATH 708 Partial Differential Equations	Mathematics	Molecular structure, simulation and theoretical chemistry or physical chemistry e.g. kinetic and mechanistic analysis.
MATH 777 Mathematical Models for Biology & Epidemiology	Mathematics	Analytical chemistry, large-data set analysis.
BMED 716 Medical Device Innovation	Biomedical Engineering	Materials synthesis – applied to biosensors, medicine.
CHEG 700 / CIVE 714 Sustainable Desalination Processes	Chemical Engineering	Materials synthesis – desalination is a topic of research in chemistry. An engineering approach complements chemistry.
CHEG 703 Applied Nanotechnology	Chemical Engineering	Materials synthesis is a topic of research in chemistry. An engineering approach complements chemical work.
CHEG 710 Kinetics and Mechanisms	Chemical Engineering	Physical and mechanistic chemistry Scale-up etc. provides an alternative view.
CHEG 750 Molecular Thermodynamics	Chemical Engineering	Molecular structure, simulation and theoretical chemistry.
CHEG 770 Heterogeneous Catalysis	Chemical Engineering	An engineering approach complements chemical synthesis and characterization.
CIVE 720 Nanotechnology in Water Purification	Civil Engineering	Materials synthesis is a topic of research in chemistry. An engineering approach complements chemical work.
ECCE 781 The Physics of Solar Cells	Electrical Engineering	Materials for solar cells are being developed – background engineering information will help students.
MSEN 712 Imaging of Materials: Scanning Electron Microscopy and X-ray Microanalysis	Mechanical Engineering	Materials synthesis – these techniques are commonly applied in Chemistry.
MEEN 781 Materials Selection in Mechanical Design	Mechanical Engineering	An engineering approach complements chemical synthesis and characterization.
MSEN 715 Advanced Imaging of Materials: Transmission Electron Microscopy	Mechanical Engineering	Materials synthesis – these techniques are commonly applied in Chemistry.
MSEN 750 High Efficiency Silicon Solar Cells: Designs and Technologies	Mechanical Engineering	Materials for solar cells are being developed – background engineering information will help students.
MEEN 782 Materials Characterization Techniques	Mechanical Engineering	Materials synthesis – this approach will complement that in Chemistry.
MEEN 792 Advanced Nanomaterials and Their Mechanical Applications	Mechanical Engineering	Materials synthesis is a topic of research in chemistry. An engineering approach complements chemical work.

SCIE 799 PhD Research Dissertation (36 credit hours)

Students must complete a Dissertation that involves creative, research-oriented work within the field of chemistry, under direct supervision of a full-time faculty advisor from the Chemistry Department, and at least one other full-time faculty who acts as a co-advisor. The outcome of research should demonstrate the synthesis of information into knowledge in a form that may be used by others. The research findings must be documented in a formal dissertation and defended successfully in a viva voce examination.

Study Plan

A typical study plan for students enrolled in the PhD in Chemistry is shown below.

Typical Study Plan for Full-Time Students
	Semester 1	Semester 2
Year 1	CHEM 701 Methods and Techniques of Chemical Research SCIE 701 Research Methods Science Elective Course 1 Elective Course 2	Elective Course 3 Elective Course 4 Elective Course 5 SCIE 799 PhD Research Dissertation
Year 2	Elective Course 6 SCIE 795 PhD Written Qualifying Examination SCIE 799 Research Dissertation in Science	SCIE 702 Research Seminar I SCIE 796 PhD Research Proposal Examination SCIE 799 Research Dissertation in Science
Year 3	SCIE 799 PhD Research Dissertation	SCIE 703 Research Seminar II SCIE 799 PhD Research Dissertation
Year 4	SCIE 799 PhD Research Dissertation	SCIE 799 PhD Research Dissertation PhD Research Dissertation Examination

Candidates with only a Bachelor’s Degree

Overall Program Structure

Students with only a Bachelor’s degree must enroll on full-time basis. The PhD in Chemistry consists of a minimum 72 credit hours, distributed as follows: 36 credit hours of coursework, 36 credit hours of PhD Dissertation and two zero credit PhD Seminar courses. The components of the program are summarized in the table below:

Category	Credit Hours
Core Courses	12
Technical Electives	24
CSCIE 702 PhD Research Seminar I	0
SCIE 703 PhD Research Seminar II	0
SCIE 795 PhD Written Qualifying Exam	0
SCIE 796 PhD Research Proposal Exam	0
PhD Research Dissertation	36
Total	72

All the courses that the students will take are at PhD level. The students will only be able to attempt SCIE 795 PhD Written Qualifying Exam (WQE) after successfully completing a minimum of 27 credits of formal coursework.

Typical Study Plan

All courses in the study plan are 3 credit hours each. PhD Research Seminar I & II are zero credit each.

Typical Study Plan for Full-Time Students

Semester 1

Semester 2

Year 1

SCIE 701 Research Methods in Science

Core Course 1

Core Course 2

Core Course 3

Technical Elective 1

Technical Elective 2

Technical Elective 3

Year 2

Technical Elective 4

Technical Elective 5