Chemistry Major

Location(s): Main Campus

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The chemistry major can prepare students for graduate study in chemistry, for teaching chemistry at the high school level, or for a career as a professional chemist in government or industrial labs. In addition, a chemistry major can prepare students for work in such fields as environmental control or science marketing and sales.

The basic chemistry major consists of 10 courses plus a Capstone Course as shown below. Depending on a student’s intended application of the major, additional courses may be advisable. Students should consult with a faculty member in the department to determine what additional courses would best meet their needs. For example, the additonal courses suggested for students planning on graduate work in chemistry are listed below.

Students will complete ten courses plus a capstone as follows:

Required:

CHEM 101 - General Chemistry I Credit(s): 4
CHEM 102 - General Chemistry II Credit(s): 4
CHEM 201 - Organic Chemistry I Credit(s): 4
CHEM 202 - Organic Chemistry II Credit(s): 4
CHEM 205 - Quantitative Analysis Credit(s): 4
CHEM 301 - Physical Chemistry I Credit(s): 4
CHEM 330 - Biochemistry Credit(s): 4
MATH 151 - Calculus I Credit(s): 4
PHYS 191 - General Physics I Credit(s): 4
PHYS 192 - General Physics II Credit(s): 4

Capstone:

CHEM 385 - Capstone Writing and Presentation Credit(s): 2 AND
CHEM 369 - Chemistry Seminar Credit(s): 2
OR
CHEM 319 - Internship in Chemistry Credit(s): 1 to 4
OR
CHEM 398 - Independent Research in Chemistry Credit(s): 1 to 4

Capstone Experience

The department allows students to fulfill the requirement of a capstone experience in a variety of ways. Students can combine a summer research experience (like an REU), an internship, a seminar (CHEM 369 or CHEM 370 ) and/or on campus research experience (CHEM 398 ) with CHEM 385 - Capstone Writing and Presentation to complete the capstone requirement. Students using a seminar as part of the capstone experience will need to complete a literature review of a topic explored in the seminar as a basis for their paper and presentation in CHEM 385 .

Students interested in graduate work should plan on taking the following additional courses:

CHEM 302 - Physical Chemistry II Credit(s): 4
CHEM 303 - Experimental Physical Chemistry Credit(s): 2
CHEM 307 - Instrumental Analysis Credit(s): 4
CHEM 369 - Chemistry Seminar Credit(s): 2
CHEM 398 - Independent Research in Chemistry Credit(s): 1 to 4
CHEM 350 - Advanced Organic Chemistry Credit(s): 4
CHEM 290 - Special Topics in Chemistry Credit(s): 1 to 4
CHEM 290 - Special Topics in Chemistry Credit(s): 1 to 4 (as offered)
OR
CHEM 390 - Special Topics in Chemistry Credit(s): 1 to 4 (as offered)
MATH 152 - Calculus II Credit(s): 4

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