[LogicX]

Looking for the top schools in a specific field is a little more difficult than just looking for general top schools in chemistry.  I'm a chemist, not an engineer, and I'm interested in pursuing polymer chemistry in grad school.  Does anyone know what the top schools are for this?

[vex]

I don't work in polymer science, so I don't know the state of the field or who the really big names are. But, I work across the hall from the McNeill and Matzger research groups at the University of Michigan. McNeill has won several awards for her research on gradient copolymers and her students are doing well. Matzger is a little bit more solid-state, working on metal-organic frameworks and energetic materials (explosives), but his science is very closely related to polymer science (MOFs are 3-dimensional "coordination polymers").

My advice to you in looking for a graduate program is to find one that has at least one other area you'd like to work in. Labs can sometimes get competitive, and if you come to a school that has only one lab you're even remotely interested in and then you don't get in, you're stranded. Just something to consider. Good luck!

[LogicX]

Yeah I do have other areas I'm interested in and I was looking at Michigan.  I feel like its a balancing act between letting them know you are a good fit for their program by being specific, but not being so specific that they decide you might not fit in, you know?

There are so many subfields that I am interested in, but I don't want to seem flakey by throwing out too many fields I like...