Departments & Programs
Departments of Chemistry and Chemical Biology
Bachelor of Science in Chemistry, Professional Chemistry Major, A.C.S. Certified
This degree is for students who plan to be professional chemists or who plan to pursue graduate studies in chemistry. It carries certification by the Committee on Professional Training of the American Chemical Society. Two options are available: a chemistry option and a biological chemistry option.
Degree Requirements (Chemistry Option)
First-Year Experience Course Beginning freshmen and transfer students with fewer than 18 credit hours are required to take SCI-I120 Windows on Science (1 cr.) or an equivalent first-year experience course.
Area I English Composition and Communication Skills See the School of Science requirements under “Undergraduate Programs” in this bulletin. The second semester of English composition may be satisfied only by ENG-W132 (or ENG-W150), ENG-W231, ENG-W233, ENG-W290, TCM 22000, or TCM 32000.
Area II Foreign Language No foreign language proficiency is required for a Bachelor of Science degree.
Area IIIA Humanities, Social Sciences, and Comparative World Cultures See the School of Science requirements under "Undergraduate Programs" in this bulletin.
Area IIIB Junior/Senior Integrator The Junior/Senior Integrator requirement is suspended indefinitely as a School-level requirement. No junior/senior integrator course is required for chemistry majors.
Area IIIC Physical and Biological Sciences PHYS 15200, PHYS 25100, and at least two additional courses outside chemistry, which may be chosen from, for example, biology, geology, or physics.
Area IIID Mathematical Sciences MATH 16500, MATH 16600, MATH 17100, and MATH 26100. One computer science course is also required.
Note: Computer Science CSCI-N100 level courses and CIT 10600 do not count for any credit toward any degree in the School of Science. Also, CSCI-N241 and CSCI-N299 do not count in Area IIID, but may count as a general elective.
Area IV Chemistry Concentration Requirements CHEM-C105, CHEM-C125, CHEM-C106, CHEM-C126, CHEM-C310, CHEM-C311, CHEM-C341, CHEM-C342, CHEM-C343, CHEM-C344, CHEM-C361, CHEM-C362, CHEM-C363, CHEM-C410, CHEM-C411, CHEM-C430, CHEM-C435, CHEM-C484, CHEM-C494 and CHEM-C495. A total of 47 credit hours of chemistry courses are required. The Department of Chemistry requires a minimum grade of C in all chemistry courses (C- grades are unacceptable).
In addition to the above requirements, a minimum of 6 additional credit hours of advanced chemical elective courses is required. Courses may be chosen from the following: CHEM-C409 (3 cr. min.), CHEM-C309, CHEM-C371, CHEM-C372, CHEM-C485, CHEM-C488, CHEM-C489, certain CHEM-C496 topics courses (permission required) or any graduate-level chemistry course (permission required).
Degree Requirements (Biological Chemistry Option)
First-Year Experience Course Beginning freshmen and transfer students with fewer than 18 credit hours are required to take SCI-I120 Windows on Science (1 cr.) or an equivalent first-year experience course.
Area I English Composition and Communication Skills See the School of Science requirements under “Undergraduate Programs” in this bulletin. The second semester of English composition may be satisfied only by ENG-W132 (or ENG-W150), ENG-W231, ENG-W233, ENG-W290, TCM 22000, or TCM 32000.
Area II Foreign Language No foreign language proficiency is required for a Bachelor of Science degree.
Area IIIA Humanities, Social Sciences, and Comparative World Cultures See the School of Science requirements under “Undergraduate Programs” in this bulletin.
Area IIIB Junior/Senior Integrator The Junior/Senior Integrator requirement is suspended indefinitely as a School-level requirement. No junior/senior integrator course is required for chemistry majors.
Area IIIC Physical and Biological Sciences PHYS 15200, PHYS 25100, BIOL-K101, and BIOL-K103. Beyond the introductory level, an additional 3 credit hours of biology should be chosen from one of the following: BIOL-K324 Cell Biology, BIOL-K356 Microbiology, or BIOL-K322 Genetics and Molecular Biology.
Area IIID Mathematical Sciences MATH 16500, MATH 16600, MATH 17100, and MATH 26100. One computer science course is also required.
Note: Computer Science CSCI-N100 level courses and CIT 10600 do not count for any credit toward any degree in the School of Science. Also, CSCI-N241 and CSCI-N299 do not count in Area IIID, but may count as a general elective.
Area IV Chemistry Concentration Requirements CHEM-C105, CHEM-C125, CHEM-C106, CHEM-C126, CHEM-C310, CHEM-C311, CHEM-C341, CHEM-C342, CHEM-C343, CHEM-C344, CHEM-C361, CHEM-C362, CHEM-C363, CHEM-C430, CHEM-C435, CHEM-C484, CHEM-C485, CHEM-C486, CHEM-C494, and CHEM-C495. A total of 47 credit hours of chemistry courses are required. The Department requires a minimum grade of C in all chemistry courses (C- grades are unacceptable).
In addition to the above requirements, a minimum of 6 additional credit hours of advanced chemical elective courses is required. Courses may be chosen from the following: CHEM-C409 (3 cr. min.), CHEM-C309, CHEM-C371, CHEM-C372, CHEM-C410, CHEM-C485, CHEM-C488, CHEM-C489, certain CHEM-C496 topics courses (permission required), any graduate-level chemistry course (permission required), BIOL 54000, or BIOL 54800 (permission required).
Bachelor of Science: Sample Program, Chemistry Option- Professional Chemistry Major- A.C.S. Certified (124 cr. required)
Freshman Year
| First Semester | |
| CHEM-C105 Principles of Chemistry I | 3 |
| CHEM-C125 Experimental Chemistry I | 2 |
| MATH 16500 Analytic Geometry and Calculus I | 4 |
| MATH 17100 Multidimensional Mathematics | 3 |
| ENG-W131 Elementary Composition I | 3 |
| SCI-I120 Windows on Science | 1 |
| Total | 16 |
| Second Semester | |
| CHEM-C106 Principles of Chemistry II | 3 |
| CHEM-C126 Experimental Chemistry II | 2 |
| MATH 16600 Analytic Geometry and Calculus II | 4 |
| PHYS 15200 Mechanics | 4 |
| Second composition course | 3 |
| Total | 16 |
Sophomore Year
| Third Semester | |
| CHEM-C341 Organic Chemistry I | 3 |
| CHEM-C343 Organic Chemistry Laboratory I | 2 |
| MATH 26100 Multivariate Calculus | 4 |
| PHYS 25100 Heat, Electricity, and Optics | 5 |
| COMM-R110 Fundamentals of Speech Communication | 3 |
| Total | 17 |
| Fourth Semester | |
| CHEM-C342 Organic Chemistry II | 3 |
| CHEM-C344 Organic Chemistry Laboratory II | 2 |
| CSCI course | 3 |
| HIST-H114 History of Western Civilization II or HIST-H109 Perspectives on the World: 1800 to Present | 3 |
| CHEM-C310 Analytical Chemistry | 3 |
| CHEM-C311 Analytical Chemistry Laboratory | 1 |
| Total | 15 |
Junior Year
| Fifth Semester | |
| CHEM-C362 Physical Chemistry of Molecules | 4 |
| Physical or Biological Science Elective | 3 |
| Humanities-List H | 3 |
| Electives | 6 |
| Total | 16 |
| Sixth Semester | |
| CHEM-C361 Physical Chemistry of Bulk Matter | 3 |
| CHEM-C363 Experimental Physical Chemistry | 2 |
| CHEM-C494 Introduction to Capstone | 1 |
| Physical or Biological Science Elective | 3 |
| Comparative World Cultures-List C | 3 |
| Social Sciences-List S | 3 |
| Total | 15 |
Senior Year
| Seventh Semester | |
| CHEM-C410 Principles of Chemical Instrumentation | 3 |
| CHEM-C411 Principles of Chemical Instrumentation Laboratory | 2 |
| CHEM-C484 Biomolecules and Catabolism | 3 |
| Advanced Chemical Elective | 3 |
| Electives | 4 |
| Total | 15 |
| Eighth Semester | |
| CHEM-C430 Inorganic Chemistry | 3 |
| CHEM-C435 Inorganic Chemistry Laboratory | 1 |
| CHEM-C495 Capstone in Chemistry | 1 |
| Advanced Chemical Elective | 3 |
| Electives | 6 |
| CAND 99100 Candidate for Graduation | 0 |
| Total | 14 |
Bachelor of Science: Sample Program Biological Chemistry Option-Professional Chemistry Major-A.C.S. Certified (124 cr. required)
Freshman Year
| First Semester | |
| CHEM-C105 Principles of Chemistry I | 3 |
| CHEM-C125 Experimental Chemistry I | 2 |
| MATH 16500 Analytic Geometry and Calculus I | 4 |
| MATH 17100 Multidimensional Mathematics | 3 |
| ENG-W131 Elementary Composition I | 3 |
| SCI-I120 Windows on Science | 1 |
| Total | 16 |
| Second Semester | |
| CHEM-C106 Principles of Chemistry II | 3 |
| CHEM-C126 Experimental Chemistry II | 2 |
| MATH 16600 Analytic Geometry and Calculus II | 4 |
| PHYS 15200 Mechanics | 4 |
| Second composition course | 3 |
| Total | 16 |
Sophomore Year
| Third Semester | |
| CHEM-C341 Organic Chemistry I | 3 |
| CHEM-C343 Organic Chemistry Laboratory I | 2 |
| MATH 26100 Multivariate Calculus | 4 |
| PHYS 25100 Heat, Electricity, and Optics | 5 |
| COMM-R110 Fundamentals of Speech Communication | 3 |
| Total | 17 |
| Fourth Semester | |
| CHEM-C342 Organic Chemistry II | 3 |
| CHEM-C344 Organic Chemistry Laboratory II | 2 |
| BIOL-K101 Concepts of Biology I | 5 |
| CHEM-C310 Analytical Chemistry | 3 |
| CHEM-C311 Analytical Chemistry Laboratory | 1 |
| HIST-H114 History of Western Civilization II or HIST-H109 Perspectives on the World: 1800 to Present | 3 |
| Total | 17 |
Junior Year
| Fifth Semester | |
| CHEM-C362 Physical Chemistry of Molecules | 4 |
| BIOL-K103 Concepts of Biology II | 5 |
| CSCI elective | 3 |
| Humanities-List H | 3 |
| Total | 15 |
| Sixth Semester | |
| CHEM-C361 Physical Chemistry of Bulk Matter | 3 |
| CHEM-C363 Experimental Physical Chemistry | 2 |
| CHEM-C494 Introduction to Capstone | 1 |
| Advanced biology course | 3 |
| Comparative World Cultures-List C | 3 |
| Social Sciences-List S |
3 |
| Total | 15 |
Senior Year
| Seventh Semester | |
| CHEM-C484 Biomolecules and Catabolism | 3 |
| Advanced Chemical Elective | 3 |
| Electives | 9 |
| Total | 15 |
| Eighth Semester | |
| CHEM-C430 Inorganic Chemistry | 3 |
| CHEM-C435 Inorganic Chemistry Laboratory | 1 |
| CHEM-C485 Biosynthesis and Physiology | 3 |
| CHEM-C486 Biological Chemistry Laboratory | 2 |
| CHEM-C495 Capstone in Chemistry | 1 |
| Advanced Chemical Elective | 3 |
| CAND 99100 Candidate for Graduation | 0 |
| Total | 13 |
The Department will not grant credit for a course when considerable duplication of course content may occur with another course taken. In general, credit will be allowed for the higher-level course, but not for the lower-level course. The following listings are considered to be duplications (lower-level courses listed first):
- CHEM-C360 and CHEM-C361
- MATH 22100 / MATH 22200 and MATH 16500 / MATH 16600
- PHYS-P201 / PHYS-P202 or PHYS 21800 / PHYS 21900 and PHYS 15200 / PHYS 25100
- PHYS 10000 or PHYS 20000 and PHYS-P201, PHYS 21800, or PHYS 15200
For example, if a student has earned credit in MATH 16500 / MATH 16600, the student will receive no credit for MATH 22100 / MATH 22200, even if earned previously.
On occasion, a student who initially enrolled in the preprofessional B.A. in chemistry program decides to transfer to the B.S. in Chemistry program, having already taken one or more of the above-listed lower-level courses. The following policies will apply:
- If a student has a minimum grade of B (B- or lower is unacceptable) in CHEM-C360 and approval of the departmental chairperson, credit will be granted for CHEM-C361 and the student may proceed to CHEM-C362.
- If a student has earned credit for the MATH 22100 / MATH 22200 sequence, the student will be placed in MATH 16600. If the student passes MATH 16600, the MATH 16500 / MATH 16600 requirement will be considered fulfilled. Credit will be granted for MATH 22100 and MATH 16600 only (8 credit hours). If the student does not pass MATH 16600, the student must start with MATH 16500.
- If a student has earned credit for MATH 22100 only, the student must take the MATH 16500 / MATH 16600 sequence, and no credit will be allowed for MATH 22100.
- If a student has earned credit for the PHYS-P201 / PHYS-P202 or PHYS 21800 / PHYS 21900 sequence, the student will be placed in PHYS 25100. If the student passes PHYS 25100, the PHYS 15200 / PHYS 25100 requirement will be considered fulfilled. Credit will be granted for PHYS-P201 and PHYS 25100 only (10 credit hours). If the student does not pass PHYS 25100, the student must start with PHYS 15200.
- If a student has earned credit for PHYS-P201 or PHYS 21800 only, the student must take the PHYS 15200 / PHYS 25100 sequence, and no credit will be allowed for PHYS-P201 or PHYS 21800.
On occasion, a student who initially enrolled in the B.S. in Chemistry program decides to transfer to the preprofessional B.A. in Chemistry program, having already taken one or more of the above-listed higher-level courses. A higher-level course will always substitute for a lower-level course to satisfy the requirement.