The Ph.D. program is designed towards developing within each student the
ability to do creative scientific research. Accordingly, the single
most important facet of the curriculum for an individual is his or
her own research project. A graduate student spends a good deal of
time during the first week of the first semester at Berkeley talking
to various faculty members about possible research projects, studying
pertinent literature references, and choosing an individual project.
New graduate students meet shortly after their arrival with a faculty
adviser. From the faculty adviser the student obtains a list of faculty
members whose research may interest the student. After visiting these
and additional faculty, if necessary, the student chooses a research
director, with the consent of the faculty member and the graduate
adviser. By the end of the first semester most students have made
a choice and are full-fledged members of research group. Thereafter,
all students become involved in library research on their projects
and many begin actual experimental or theoretical work.
In keeping with the goal of fostering an atmosphere of scholarly, independent study, formal course requirements are minimal and vary among disciplines; advisor's tailor course requirements to best prepare the student for the chosen research field. For example, a student who chooses to specialize in physical chemistry is normally expected to take two courses per semester during the first year and one or two additional semesters of coursework sometimes during the second year. These may include topics such Quantum Mechanics, Statistical Mechanics, Group Theory, Interactions of Radiation with Matter, and many more. At the other extreme, a student specializing in inorganic chemistry will concentrate more heavily on special topics seminars and take fewer courses. The course offerings in the University are varied so that individual students have the opportunity to take other courses which serve their own needs. Such as, a student working on nuclear chemistry will probably elect additional graduate physics courses, while a student working on biophysical or bio-organic problems may take courses offered by the Biochemistry Department.
Seminars are an important part of the curriculum. Because of the size and diversity of the Berkeley faculty, there are many seminars on a variety of topics which students may choose to attend. There are regular weekly seminars in several major areas, including biophysical, physical, nuclear, organic, theoretical, solid state, and inorganic chemistry. These seminars are presented by members of the Berkeley faculty, as well as distinguished visitors to the campus. These seminars allow the students to become aware of the most important current research going on in the field. In addition to these regular seminars, there are several regular department seminars devoted to presentations by graduate students. One of the doctoral program requirements is that each student delivers a departmental seminar known as a graduate research conference during the second year. Individual research groups also hold regular research seminars. The format of these small, informal seminars varies. In some cases, graduate students discuss their own current research before the other members of the research group. On other occasions, the group seminars may be devoted to group discussions of recent papers which are of interest to the particular research group. In any event, small group seminars are one of the most important ways in which students learn by organizing and interpreting their own results before their peers.