Feb 15, 2024

Students who graduate with a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from St. Bonaventure University are now eligible for automatic acceptance into the Ph.D. in chemistry program at the University at Buffalo.

It is the second such agreement with a doctoral chemistry program signed by St. Bonaventure. In September of 2023, St. Bonaventure entered into a similar automatic acceptance agreement with the University of Rhode Island’s Ph.D. program in chemistry.

In the new agreement, students who graduate from St. Bonaventure with a Bachelor of Science in chemistry, have an overall GPA of 3.5, and a letter of support from the SBU Chemistry Department chair will automatically be accepted into the UB Department of Chemistry Ph.D. program. Upon application to UB, when it is determined that a student has met the special admission criteria, an immediate letter of acceptance will be issued.

Students in UB’s Ph.D. in chemistry program receive free tuition, health and other benefits, and a stipend of approximately $26,000, with the potential to garner additional stipends based on academic performance.

Dr. Scott Simpson, SBU professor of chemistry and department chair, said the agreement is a testament to the high caliber of the department and its students.

“Given our one-on-one student-faculty interactions, rigorous curriculum, and hands-on chemical instrumentation experiences, graduate programs understand the high quality of the graduates generated by the efforts of the faculty at SBU,” he said. “The University at Buffalo Ph.D. program has enrolled several of our students and knows firsthand how prepared our students are.”

A cornerstone of the Chemistry Department at SBU is providing students with the best possible advantage for a successful career, and such automatic acceptance agreements provide students with a springboard to that goal, Simpson said.

“Given that UB’s graduate program provides a sizable stipend, health care benefits, and free tuition, many of our students are interested in continuing on to receive their Ph.D., and getting paid to go to school,” he said. “Articulation agreements like those with UB and URI provide our students with an easier, secure path to the career they want.”

A maximum of three SBU students a year will be accepted by UB through this agreement. Students who do not meet the program’s criteria may still be considered by UB on a standard case-by-case basis.

To learn more about the Department of Chemistry at St. Bonaventure University, go to www.sbu.edu/chemistry.