Those individuals who wish to gain advanced specialized skills and knowledge in a specific area of chemical study such as computational chemistry, organic synthesis, inorganic chemistry, materials characterization, or bioinorganic chemistry will benefit most strongly from pursuing a graduate degree. Certain career paths such as teaching at the college or university level require graduate study as a pre-requisite.
Most students apply to full-time graduate school in chemistry to pursue a Ph.D. degree.
Though the time required to complete the degree will vary somewhat from institution to institution and from faculty member to faculty member, the average time to Ph.D. is approximately 4-6 years. Most first-year students in a graduate program will be expected to complete a fairly heavy course load their first year in their intended area of specialization. Also during the first year, beginning graduate students are expected to identify a research mentor or major research professor. This is person in whose laboratory they will investigate some research problem for the duration of their graduate study. During the second year, contingent on having performed well in their coursework, most graduate students take some form of an examination or series of examinations for formal admission into the Ph.D. program.