Graduates of the department continue to excel in the field of chemistry. Gertrude Elion, winner of the 1988 Nobel Prize in physiology and medicine, received her M.S. from New York University. New York University's programs in chemistry have trained hundreds of B. S., M. S. and Ph. D. students. The department carries out research and offers graduate programs in the general areas of physical, biomolecular, theoretical, organic and inorganic chemistry. Graduate students undertake research in collaboration with faculty members in modern, well-equipped laboratories, and have access to advanced instrumentation and exceptionally fine computational and library facilities.
Students select a research supervisor early in their graduate careers.
The department has 30 faculty members directing research, approximately 100 graduate students, and a substantial number of postdoctoral fellows and affiliated scientists. Virtually all full-time students are supported financially as teaching fellows, research assistants, or holders of unrestricted fellowships. The initial appointment is customarily a teaching fellowship. These awards are made on the basis of merit and are not related to financial need. Seminars and colloquia are a regular part of the departmental programs, and visiting scientists from all parts of the country and abroad, as well as students, present the results of current research.