Literature Review (Candidacy Exam) - for PhD Applied Chemistry

Literature Review Requirement for PhD Students Update as of Fall 2024:

Schedule for students who matriculated Fall 2024 or later: 

Complete literature review requirement by the end of fourth academic year semester. (i.e. end of Spring 2026 semester if you matriculated in Fall 2024)

Present a 40-minute department research seminar in the Fall or Spring semester of Year 3. (20 minutes intro/context/literature + 20 minutes research approach, methods, results, critique of results, future plans + 10 minute Q&A) 

Schedule for students who matriculated Fall 2022 or earlier: 

Requirements stay as is: 560 in Y2, lit review in Y3, 660 close to but before thesis defense. Students can request to waive the 660 requirement by emailing proof of two conference presentations that you presented, including scheduling and abstracts, to Dr. Tina Voelker, your advisor, and Megan Paulson.  At least one of the presentations must be an oral and the second may be a poster.

Schedule for students who matriculated between Spring 2023 and Spring 2024: 

Students can choose between the two schedules above.

LITERATURE REVIEW (PhD STUDENTS ONLY)

The Applied Chemistry Candidacy Exam consists of a written Literature Review of the student’s field of research, a 30-40 minute oral presentation of the literature review before the student's thesis committee, and oral answers to questions posed by the thesis committee during the defense.

The Literature Review should be formatted like a journal review article. There is no standard format so please reach out to your Thesis Committee for recommendations and examples of other Literature Reviews you may reference.