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Why Choose UT

The University of Texas at Austin is the 15th-best university in the world, according to a new global ranking produced by The Times of London newspaper in its Nov. 5th 2004 edition. Among U.S. public universities, only the University of California at Berkeley, which is listed second in the world, ranked higher than UT Austin. This ranking is based on the amount of cited research produced by faculty members, the ratio of faculty to student numbers, a university’s success in attracting foreign students and in attracting internationally renowned academics. Complementing its overall rank of 15th, The University of Texas at Austin was rated seventh in the world in the amount of cited research by faculty members.

With over 40 research-active professors, the University of Texas at Austin’s Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry graduate program is ranked among the top 13 departments in North America and among the top five in public institutions, according to this year’s U.S. News and World Report (2005 ed.). We maintain excellent standings in the five traditional areas of chemistry (analytical, biochemistry, inorganic, organic, and physical) and are making significant contributions to the emergent areas of chemical biology and material science. Additionally, opportunities for interdisciplinary research are facilitated by research centers such as the Texas Materials Institute, the Institute for Cellular and Molecular Biology, the Center for Molecular and Cellular Toxicology, and the Center for Nano-Molecular Science and Technology, and programs such as IGERT: Cellular and Molecular Imaging for Diagnostics and Therapeutics.

The Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry has a wide variety of facilities to support research, including a fully staffed state-of-the-art mass spectrometry facility (LRMS, HRMS, Electrospray, MALDI-TOF, etc.), NMR facility (Nicolet NT200, NT 360, QE300, GN500, Bruker AC250, Varian 300, 400 and 500), X-ray crystallographic facility (Siemens P3 and P4 X-ray diffractometer equipped with Nicolet LT2A low temperature device and CD detector), and a center for computer multi-media support. Additionally, a fully staffed machine shop, electronics shop and glassblowing shop are housed in the department’s over 500,000 square feet of modern research and teaching space.

The University Libraries form one of the largest academic library systems in the U.S., holding over 9 million volumes and providing access to hundreds of scholarly databases and tens of thousands of electronic journals in all subject areas. Located within Welch Hall, the Mallet Chemistry Library holds nearly 100,000 volumes and is one of the largest academic chemistry libraries in the country. It assists students and researchers who need to navigate the complex information environments in the chemical sciences. Students have access to major chemical database systems such as SciFinder Scholar and Beilstein Crossfire, as well as a large number of current and historical chemistry journals both online and in print.