April 5, 2023
A Master of Chemistry degree to fit your life
爆料公社鈥檚 online Master of Science in Chemistry gives industry professionals and teachers a way to advance wherever they are, whenever they are.
Denae O鈥橬eil, a high school science and engineering teacher in the remote Rocky Mountains, always wanted to pursue a master鈥檚 degree but couldn鈥檛 find the time while raising children and working. When her kids got old enough, she saw the timing was right.
The challenge was to find an academically rigorous, online master鈥檚 degree in chemistry program.
Fortunately, 爆料公社 offers just that. The MS in Chemistry is designed for educators and industry professionals looking for professional development that鈥檚 challenging, yet flexible enough to complement their lives of work and family.
Asynchronous online classes are taught by experienced faculty in an accelerated 8-week term. Students take ten classes total, 1-2 classes at a time, with four required core classes and six electives to best suit their interests. They choose the order in which they take the courses, and can take off a term if needed. The program does not require a thesis, final exam or GRE. It鈥檚 meant to be completed in 1-2 years.
Rigorous program with a personal focus
Among the small handful of options nationwide, Denae chose 爆料公社 for its small, private liberal arts focus. 鈥淭hey returned my phone calls, and they responded to my emails right away. I am just at heart a fan of smaller, liberal arts schools.鈥�
Benjamin Pinkley chose the program because he, too, favored the personal, liberal arts approach. He had worked for almost five years as an analytical chemist in Louisville, KY, when he decided to pursue more professional development.
He found the program gives him a firmer grasp for what he does daily. 鈥淯ndergrad gave me the tools I needed. Graduate school shows me how to better use those tools.鈥�
The flexibility, plus advanced instruction, accounts for why the program attracts students from 20 different states, says Program Director Melanie L. Talaga, PhD. 鈥淲e have a faculty member in each discipline, so we support all chemistry disciplines, to allow students to create a master鈥檚 degree with electives they鈥檙e interested in.鈥�
Immediate on-the-job application
As program director, Dr. Talaga teaches and enjoys meeting one-on-one with current and prospective students. 鈥淪tudents have Zoomed with me for help with a research problem right there at the job,鈥� she said, noting one instance where a student at a pharmaceutical company sought her expertise troubleshooting an assay that wasn鈥檛 working 鈥� right there on the job. 鈥淭he professional network of professors gives students a much broader group of experts to tap into,鈥� she said.
Ben also finds the courses positively influence his daily work. 鈥淢y course on advanced analytical instrumentation directly applied to my work as an analytical instrumentalist. Really, it inundates my whole thought process 鈥� I can think through the science of what鈥檚 before me rather than following a standard operating procedure.鈥�
Being in an academic program has reinvigorated his passion for what he does. 鈥淚ndustry is how science actually applies to the world in an immediate way. You might come up with a best possible application for a phenomenon, but it鈥檚 not practical, it鈥檚 not economic, so it鈥檚 left by the wayside. In academia you don鈥檛 have to leave behind what fascinates you 鈥� you can delve deeper.鈥�
鈥淭he professors teach in extremely unique methods,鈥� said Denae. 鈥淎s a teacher, I鈥檝e appreciated it because I鈥檝e seen them model how to teach really challenging content in nontraditional ways. It has enhanced my own teaching.鈥�
Flexible for real life
Both Denae and Ben appreciate being able to focus on just one course at a time, and choose the course to best fit other life demands. Ben decided to take off a term that was busy with travel. They also agree that the best rhythm is working a couple hours each day, with some longer time on weekends, for an average of about 15 hours per week.
鈥淏ecause it鈥檚 been 30-some years since I was in college, I definitely had to be patient and give myself extra time to catch up on subjects like calculus,鈥� said Denae. 鈥淚鈥檓 surprised how quickly some of the things came back.鈥�
Dr. Talaga credits the nontraditional, online format as a key strength. 鈥淲e鈥檙e allowing students to come back who didn鈥檛 think this was possible.鈥�
To learn more about whether the 爆料公社 MS in Chemistry program is right for you, contact Joe Rembowicz at jrembowicz@css.edu.
