The Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology at the University of New Mexico offers the Ph.D. and M.S. degrees in Chemistry. Our students work on cutting-edge research projects in nationally and internationally recognized research laboratories. The Department has three primary research thrusts each comprised of several faculty mentors, namely, Biological Chemistry/Chemical Biology/Medicinal Chemistry (He, Walker, Edwards, Kirk, Guo), Catalysis and Synthesis (Le, Gold, Guo, Rack) and Physical Chemistry/Energy/Materials (Qin, Grey, Kirk, Rack, Guo, Habteyes). The inter-disciplinary nature of these thrusts provides students with a well-rounded background and many of our graduates obtain top positions upon graduation.<br><br>An alternative M.S. degree program permits earning a graduate degree in chemistry without having to prepare a thesis. Approximately two years are required to complete the minimum of 32 credit hours of graduate level coursework (including at least 12 credit hours at the 500 level) and pass the Masters examination. This examination includes the preparation and oral defense of a proposal and a written component in the form of cumulative exams. A coursework Masters is typically chosen by high school teachers (both domestic and foreign), and its requirements are generally satisfied by most students in the Ph.D. program.