Engineering student trying to get into a graduate program for Physical Chemistry

[KG11]

Hi, I am an electronics and telecomm. engineering student. I wish to pursue Physical Chemistry for my Master's degree. I intend to give the GRE subject test in chemistry this year. So I will be studying the whole syllabus on my own. I want recommendations on textbooks and video lectures for all 4 parts of the test i.e. Analytical, Inorganic, Organic and Physical. I need books/lectures that will explain the fundamentals clearly without too much extra material. Stuff that focus on concepts. Thanks!

[eeee1923]

Good luck with your endeavors. I was also an engineering student for my first degree before switching to chemistry for my MS (though I came from the chemical engineering side of things so I had some of the prerequisites done + I double majored in chem so it wasn't too much of a transition). Here are some of the books I used during my undergrad (I just included the authors):

 

Organic Chemistry:

 - Leroy Wade (7th & 8th Editions) - One of the best intro level o-chem books I've ever read (I still referenced it when I took my advanced and synthetic o-chem classes)

 - John McCurry (7th Edition) - Good reference

 

Analytical Chemistry:

- Daniel Harris (8th Edition) - pretty solid intro book

- Gary Christian (6th Edition) - good

- Douglas Skoog (6th Edition) - good

 

Physical Chemistry + Quantum:

 - Atkins (8th Edition) - generally ok reference

 - Levine (6th Edition) - good

 - Lowe (3rd Edition) - I found it to be helpful but I found it hard to track down really good quantum books

 

Inorganic Chemistry:

 - Miesslerr (3rd Edition) - I found it to be ok but with the same limitations as the quantum books

 

Of course these are just the materials I used, check google and other resources. Good luck with your studying. 

[KG11]

Thanks a lot, eteschoe!

[lisadaran]

I would also recommend acquiring a copy of the ACS exam study guides for organic and physical chemistry. We had to take them before our first year in grad school. I remember that they would have been extremely helpful for the chem GRE. It is a different exam, but the summaries of each section are very succinct and perfect for preparing for a standardized exam.

[janadias]

Not exactly what you're asking but may be useful advice. This first thing that I would do contact programs and research groups, and see what your chances of getting accepted are. Describe your skills and qualifications. If you want to join a Theory group and you're good at math, you might not even have to take the Chem GRE. 

 

You can also look for schools that allow students from one department to work with professors from other departments. For example you can apply to a physics program (which for you might be easier to get into) and then choose to work in a Physical Chemistry group. We currently have one such student in our group.

 

And lastly, if you're interested in Computational Chemistry, and since you were an electronic engineer major, you may want to try and find groups that do research in computer hardware/software for chemistry (not that many but there are a few). They may take you for your electronics skills while you learn chemistry on the side. 

[Eigen]

Lots of good recommendations here already.

 

I'll suggest McQuarrie for QM, I do like Atkins for general PChem though.

 

Not a fan of Levine, personally.

[KG11]

Not exactly what you're asking but may be useful advice. This first thing that I would do contact programs and research groups, and see what your chances of getting accepted are. Describe your skills and qualifications. If you want to join a Theory group and you're good at math, you might not even have to take the Chem GRE. 

 

You can also look for schools that allow students from one department to work with professors from other departments. For example you can apply to a physics program (which for you might be easier to get into) and then choose to work in a Physical Chemistry group. We currently have one such student in our group.

 

And lastly, if you're interested in Computational Chemistry, and since you were an electronic engineer major, you may want to try and find groups that do research in computer hardware/software for chemistry (not that many but there are a few). They may take you for your electronics skills while you learn chemistry on the side. 

Yep, I'm trying to get in touch with various professors, sending emails. I just don't think I'm doing enough because my to-email list is limited and most of the professors haven't replied. Also, I think I have very little time left. The physics program is a good idea, I didn't know you could do that.