CHM 5716 is a graduate (5000-level) chemistry course in materials, carried by two Florida public universities, Florida Atlantic University and Florida State University. ⚠ The two universities use the number for different courses, and the statewide record matches neither of them. Read the section for your institution, and check the table in Special Information before relying on this number for a degree plan or a transfer.
FAU's CHM 5716 is Materials Chemistry, 3 credits: "An introduction to solid-state and inorganic materials chemistry. Preparative techniques and methods of characterization are discussed, particularly X-ray diffraction. Semiconductors, carbon-based electronics, nanomaterials, etc. are discussed in context with their structures and optical, magnetic and conductive properties. A crystallography workshop is included." It is open to graduate students in FAU's College of Science or College of Engineering.
It is the graduate half of a dual-numbered pair. FAU's undergraduate CHM 4714 Materials Chemistry carries the same description without the workshop. In FAU's 2013 course proposal and syllabus, graduate students sit additional exam problems, give an oral presentation, write a paper, and attend a crystallography workshop: each is given single-crystal and powder X-ray diffraction data, refines it and builds a crystal model of the compound. The syllabus moves from crystal structures and crystallography through physical methods, defects, preparative methods, bonding and band theory to electronic, optical, magnetic and dielectric properties, superconductivity, carbon-based electronics and nanochemistry.
FSU's CHM 5716 is Characterization of Materials I: "This course deals with microscopic and diffraction methods used for structural characterization of materials, as well as with transport and magnetic measurements. Recommended for students involved in materials research." It is one of a set of graduate materials courses at FSU: CHM 5715 Chemistry of Materials (the survey), CHM 5717 Characterization of Materials II (polymers and small molecules by NMR and other spectroscopies, with an instrument practical), CHM 5718 Topics in Materials Chemistry II (polymers, organic, soft and bio-inspired materials) and CHM 5713 Nanomaterials. FSU's bulletin says CHM 5716 may be repeated within the same term to a maximum of nine credit hours, which is the shape of a course run in technique-specific sections.
They overlap in one place, diffraction. Otherwise FAU's is the course a student takes to learn what solid materials are and why they behave as they do (structure, bonding, band theory, properties), while FSU's is the course a student takes to learn how to measure a material (microscopy, diffraction, transport and magnetic measurement). FSU's equivalent of FAU's course is CHM 5715, not CHM 5716. Because SCNS equivalency follows the number, a transcript showing CHM 5716 from one of these universities will look like the other's course to an evaluator who matches on the number alone.
⚠ The statewide record matches neither. It titles CHM x716 Topics in Materials Chemistry II with a description about hybrid materials. That title is a deleted FSU entry on this number from 2009; FSU now teaches that subject as CHM 5718, and the statewide record for x718 carries the same title and description. Ignore the statewide title for this number.
These are common to both universities' courses: the characterization of crystalline materials by diffraction, and the link between structure and properties.
FAU (Materials Chemistry survey):
FSU (Characterization of Materials I):
FAU:
FSU:
This is a graduate course taken mostly by chemistry, physics, materials science and engineering students whose research involves solid materials. It prepares for research careers rather than for a credential.
| Institution | Its title | Credits | Prerequisite or restriction |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida Atlantic University | Materials Chemistry | 3 | Graduate students in the College of Science or the College of Engineering. Dual-numbered with the undergraduate CHM 4714 (prerequisite CHM 2210). |
| Florida State University | Characterization of Materials I | 3 in FSU's 2026–27 bulletin; ⚠ 1 in the state course file | None listed. Repeatable within the same term to a maximum of 9 credit hours. |
Hours. Neither university publishes contact hours. The figure of 45 hours on this page is derived from Florida's convention for a 3-credit lecture course; FAU's graduate students also attend the crystallography workshop sessions on top of the lecture.
⚠ FSU's credit value disagrees between FSU's own records. The 2026–27 FSU bulletin lists CHM 5716 at 3 credits; the statewide course file has carried it at 1 credit since 2009. Check your registration and the section you are in.
Use this test to tell which course a syllabus describes:
| FAU Materials Chemistry | FSU Characterization of Materials I |
|---|---|
| bonding, band theory, defects, synthesis and properties across the semester | measurement techniques: microscopy, diffraction, transport, magnetism |
| a solid-state chemistry textbook (Smart and Moore, or West) | characterization texts and instrument practice |
| exams plus a journal-article final and a crystallography workshop | sections tied to techniques; repeatable to 9 credits |
A student moving between FAU and FSU should send the syllabus, not the number. The FAU course corresponds to FSU's CHM 5715, and FSU's CHM 5716 has no counterpart at FAU.
FAU teaches this course alongside its undergraduate CHM 4714, with extra work for graduate students. ⚠ A student who took CHM 4714 at FAU as an undergraduate should ask the department before registering for CHM 5716: dual-numbered pairs usually cannot both be taken for credit.
Neither university requires the course for every chemistry graduate student; both aim it at students doing materials research. At FSU it sits beside CHM 5715, 5717 and 5718 as a menu from which a materials student builds coursework; at FAU it is the department's main graduate materials course. Graduate students should confirm with their advisor which courses count toward their plan of study.
Materials chemistry is one of the fields where AI has moved fastest. Machine-learning models now predict properties and propose new crystal structures in large numbers: Google DeepMind's GNoME project reported 2.2 million predicted stable crystals in 2023, and databases such as the Materials Project put computed properties for well over a hundred thousand compounds a search away. A published commentary by Anthony Cheetham and Ram Seshadri (Chemistry of Materials, 2024) then examined a sample of the GNoME predictions and found little evidence of useful new materials: many were close variants of compounds already known.
That episode is this course's subject. A predicted structure is a hypothesis; what makes it a material is characterization, which is a diffraction pattern that refines to the model and measured properties that match the prediction. The characteristic failure of AI tools here is a structure or an assignment that looks plausible and has not been validated, which is exactly the error this course trains a chemist to catch.
Generated November 2, 2026 · Updated November 2, 2026