The objectives of the Department of Chemistry are: (1) to prepare students for graduate and/or professional schools (i.e. medical); (2) to prepare students for positions in industry, government service, and teaching; (3) to allow science students with non-chemistry majors to relate chemistry to their major science; and (4) to acquaint non-science students with the methods, concepts, and achievements of the science of chemistry. The Chemistry curriculum has the approval of the American Chemical Society for training professional chemists. The Chemistry program is designed to be flexible which allows students to choose electives best suited for their future career goals. Students completing the Bachelor of Science for professional chemists (American Chemical Society certified degree) can pursue opportunities in various industrial labs across the country, or can continue their education in graduate school. Students interested in professional schools, chemistry associated industries, secondary education or other options may pursue the Bachelor of Science non-certified degree. This degree is designed to prepare students interested in careers combining the knowledge of chemistry with other areas.
A minimum of 130 semester hours of course work is required for the B.S. degree. Of these 130 hours, 44 hours must be in chemistry and must include: CHE 133, 134, 231, 241, 331, 332, 337, 338, 443, 452 and 470. General education courses, PHY 241 and 242, and mathematics courses through MTH 234 are also required. A maximum of 4 hours of CHE 475/476 may be counted towards the major.
A minor in chemistry consists of a minimum of 18 hours of chemistry course work. The hours for a minor must include: CHE 133, 134, 231, 331, and two advanced hours in chemistry. A maximum of 2 semester hours of CHE 475/476 can be counted for a minor.
CHE 111, 112, 125, 302, 320, 330, and 336 cannot be counted as hours of chemistry for a major or minor in chemistry.
American Chemical Society Certified B.S. Degree
An American Chemical Society certified B.S.
degree in chemistry consists of CHE 133, 134, 231, 241, 331,
332, 337, 338, 441, 442, 443, 455, and 475 as a minimum.
Certification for Physical Science (Chemistry-Physics) Teaching (Grades 8-12)
Students who wish to qualify for teaching
certificates should consult the
the general bulletin.
The Overlap Graduate Degree Program permits qualified undergraduates to pursue a limited amount of graduate study (usually 12 credit hours or less) concurrently with undergraduate study. The Department of Chemistry offers a thesis and non-thesis master’s degree (thesis option highly recommended). Thesis master’s degree requires a minimum 21 of the required 30 semester hours in chemistry (including CHE 589 and 590). The non-thesis master’s degree requires a minimum 27 of the required 36 semester hours in chemistry. Both options require a minimum of one graduate course in each area of chemistry. For more information and eligibility requirements, consult the Graduate Bulletin.
(Suggested Sequence)
All students must complete a major and a minor (or second major), take the appropriate Core Curriculum Requirements, and have at least 130 semester hours for graduation. The sequence listed below is for an American Chemical Society Certified B.S. degree. The Chemistry Department faculty strongly recommend that all chemistry majors seek this degree. Students not wishing to obtain an ACS certified degree must take all the chemistry courses listed except CHE 441, 442, and 455.
CHE 133/133L 4 CHE 134/134L 4
ENG 131 or 133 3 ENG 132 3
HIS 133, 134, or 335 3 HIS 133, 134, or 335 3
Minor 3 Minor 3
MTH 3 MTH 3
TOTALS 16 16 32
Students interested in teaching
certification should follow the same curriculum for the freshman year. The
CHE 241/241L 4 CHE 231 4
CHE 331/331L 4 CHE 332/332L 4
MTH 233 3 MTH 234 3
PHY 241/241L 4 PHY 242/242L 4
TOTALS 15 15 30
CHE 337/337L 4 CHE 338/338L 4
CHE 452 3 CHE 452L or 475 1
CSC 101 or 201 3 Core elective * 6
ENG 273 3
Minor 3 Minor 3
TOTALS 16 17 33
CHE 443/443L 4 CHE 441 3
CHE 475 or 476 1 CHE 442 1
Core elective * 3 CHE 455 4
Minor 6 CHE 470 1
PSC 141 3 Minor or elective 6
PSC 142 3
TOTALS 17 18 35
*Core Requirements
Communication Skills - 3 semester hours from:
BCM 247; COM 111, 170; FRE 131, ILA 111; SPA 131; SPH 172
Visual and Performing Arts - 3 semester hours from:
ART 280, 281, 282; MUS 140, 160; THR 161, 370; DAN 140, 341
Social/Behavioral Science - 3 semester hours from:
ANT 231; ECO 231, 232; GEO 131, 230; PSY 133, 153; SOC 137, 139
Courses that are co-requisites must be taken together during the same semester. Separate grades will be awarded for these courses. Withdrawal from one co-requisite course requires the dropping of the other course. A student is not required to repeat a co-requisite course for which the student has received a passing grade.
A minimum grade of C is required in all courses that are prerequisites to a chemistry course. Unless otherwise indicated, courses are 3 semester hours credit, 3 hours lecture per week.
111. Introductory Chemistry I (CHEM 1305) - Introduction to the principles and concepts of chemical thought. Co-requisite: CHE 111L. Prerequisite: Eligibility for MTH 138. (F, Sp, Sum)
111L. Introductory Laboratory I (CHEM 1105) - 1 semester hour, 2 hours lab per week. Introductory laboratory experiments. Co-requisite: CHE 111. Lab fee required. (F, Sp, Sum)
112. Introductory Chemistry II (CHEM 1307) - Elementary organic and biochemical systems. Prerequisites: CHE 111 and 111L. Co-requisite: CHE 112L. (Sp, Sum II)
112L. Introductory Laboratory II (CHEM 1107) - 1 semester hour, 2 hours lab per week. Introductory organic laboratory experiments. Co-requisite: CHE 112. Lab fee required. (Sp, Sum II)
125. Introductory
Physical Science - 4 semester hours, 3 hours lecture, 2 hours lab per week.
Presents introductory concepts in physics and chemistry. Seamless combination of content and
interactive lectures with hands-on laboratory exercises to give both conceptual
and kinetic understanding of physical science principles. Not open to students who have received credit
in PHY 125. May not be used to meet
graduation requirements by students majoring/minoring in the
133. General Chemistry I (1311) - Atomic and molecular structures, stoichiometry, gas laws and thermodynamics. Co-requisite: CHE 133L. Prerequisite: Eligibility for MTH 138. (F, Sp, Sum I)
133L. General Laboratory I (CHEM 1111) - 1 semester hour, 3 hours laboratory per week. Spectroscopy, quantitative experiments. Co-requisite: CHE 133. Lab fee required. (F, Sp, Sum I)
134. General Chemistry II (CHEM 1312) - Equilibrium, kinetics, redox, descriptive chemistry and radiochemistry. Prerequisites: CHE 133 and 133L. Co-requisite: CHE 134L. (F, Sp, Sum II)
134L. General Laboratory II (CHEM 1112) - 1 semester hour, 3 hours laboratory per week. Kinetics, spectrophotometry, quantitative/qualitative experiments. Prerequisites: CHE 133 and 133L. Co-requisite: CHE 134. Lab fee required. (F, Sp, Sum II)
231. Quantitative Analysis - 4 semester hours, 3 hours lecture, 3 hours lab per week. Analytical applications of solution chemistry. Prerequisite: CHE 134. Lab fee required. (Sp)
241. Inorganic Chemistry - Fundamental concepts of the descriptive inorganic chemistry of the elements. Prerequisite: CHE 134. Co-requisite: CHE 241L. (F)
241L. Inorganic Chemistry Laboratory - 1 semester hour, 3 hours lab per week. Study of syntheses and reactions of inorganic chemistry. Prerequisites: CHE 134. Co-requisite: CHE 241. Required lab fee. (F)
271. Special Topics in Chemistry - Special studies in chemistry. May be repeated once on a different topic. Prerequisite: Permission of the instructor.
271L. Special Topics Lab - 1 semester hour, 3 hours laboratory per week. Special studies in chemistry laboratory techniques. May be repeated once on a different topic. Prerequisite: Permission of the instructor. Required lab fee.
275. Special Problems - 1-4 semester hours. Individual study and/or laboratory research. Prerequisite: Permission of instructor.
276. Special Problems - 1-4 semester hours. Continuation of CHE 275. Individual study and/or laboratory research. Prerequisite: Permission of instructor.
302. Fundamental Applications of Chemistry - 4 semester hours, 3 hours lecture, 2 hours lab per week. Presentation of the applications of chemistry and chemical principles to everyday life with an emphasis on hands-on investigations. This course will not count toward a major or minor in chemistry. Prerequisites: CHE 111, CHE 125, PHY 125, or consent of instructor. Required lab fee. (F, Sum II)
320. Chemical Concepts - Review of fundamentals of chemistry as related to teaching. Does not count toward a major or minor in chemistry. Prerequisite: Eight hours of chemistry.
321. Applied Chemical Concepts - Continuation of CHE 320 with emphasis on laboratory safety and stockroom management. Prerequisites: CHE 320 or consent of instructor. (as needed)
330. Fundamentals of Organic Chemistry - Comprehensive one semester course for students requiring only one semester of organic. Prerequisites: CHE 133 and 134 with a minimum of a C in both. Co-requisite: CHE 330L. (Sp, Sum I)
330L. Fundamentals of Organic Lab - 1 semester hour, 4 hours of lab per week. Synthesis and characterization of organic compounds. Prerequisites: CHE 133 and 134 with a minimum of a C in both. Co-requisite: CHE 330. Required lab fee. (Sp, Sum I)
331. Organic Chemistry I - Development of organic chemistry for chemistry majors, minors and pre-professionals. Recommended prerequisite: C average in CHE 133-134. Prerequisites: CHE 134 and 134L. Co-requisite: CHE 331L. (F, Sum I)
331L. Organic Laboratory I - 1 semester hour, 4 hours of lab per week. Synthesis and characterization of organic compounds. Prerequisites: CHE 134 and 134L. Co-requisite: CHE 331. Required lab fee. (F, Sum I)
332. Organic Chemistry II - Continuation of CHE 331. Prerequisites: CHE 331 and 331L. Co-requisite: CHE 332L. (Sp, Sum II)
332L. Organic Laboratory II - 1 semester hour, 4 hours lab per week. Continuation of 331L. Prerequisites: CHE 331 and 331L. Co-requisite: CHE 332. Required lab fee. (Sp, Sum II)
336. Fundamentals of Physical Chemistry - 4 semester hours, 3 hours lecture, 3 hours lab per week. Fundamentals of physical chemistry from a non-mathematically rigorous point of view. May not substitute for CHE 337-338. Prerequisites: CHE 330; MTH 144. Required lab fee.
337. Physical Chemistry I - 4 semester hours, 3 hours lecture, 3 hours lab per week. Laws, principles, and theories concerning the structure of matter as related to properties. Prerequisites: CHE 231 and MTH 234. Fall. Required lab fee. (F)
338. Physical Chemistry II - 4 semester hours, 3 hours lecture, 3 hours lab per week. Continuation of CHE 337. Prerequisite: CHE 337. Required lab fee. (Sp)
420. Environmental Chemistry - 4 semester hours, 3 hours lecture, 3 hours lab per week. Chemical processes involved in the environment. Prerequisite: CHE 134,134L and 330 or 331. Required lab fee. (Sp)
441. Advanced Inorganic Chemistry - Reactions and structures of inorganic molecules and ions are studied. Prerequisite: CHE 338. (Sp as needed)
442. Advanced Inorganic Chemistry Laboratory - 1 semester hour, 3 hours laboratory per week. The preparation and characterization of inorganic compounds. Prerequisite: CHE 441 or concurrent enrollment. Lab fee required. (Sp as needed)
443. Instrumental Analysis - 4 semester hours, 3 hours lecture, 3 hours lab per week. Spectrochemical and electrochemical methods of analysis. Prerequisite: CHE 338 or concurrent enrollment. Required lab fee. (F)
452. Comprehensive Biochemistry I - Structure, function, and chemistry of proteins, nucleic acids, and carbohydrates; kinetics, mechanisms, and regulation of enzymes, mechanism and kinetics; metabolism. Prerequisites: CHE 330 or 331 with a minimum of a C. (F, Sp)
452L. Comprehensive Biochemistry I Laboratory - 1 semester hour, 3 hours of lab per week. Purification and characterization of biomolecules. Prerequisites: CHE 330 or 331. Required lab fee. (F)
453. Comprehensive Biochemistry II - Continuation of Comprehensive Biochemistry I; study of the structure, function, chemistry, and metabolism of lipids and nucleic acids; cellular metabolism from the perspective of bioenergetic and control mechanisms; interrelationships of metabolic pathways. Prerequisite: CHE 452. (even Sp)
454. Biotechniques - 3 semester hours, 1 hour lecture, 6 hours lab per week. Introduction to basic techniques of biotechnology. Required lab fee.
455. Advanced Organic Chemistry - 4 semester hours, 2 hours lecture, 6 hours lab per week. Continuation of CHE 331-332, emphasizing spectroscopic methods and advanced topics. Focus of lab work on advanced techniques and sequential reactions. Prerequisite: CHE 332. Required lab fee. (Sp as needed)
470. A, B, C, D. Seminar - 1 semester hour. Written and oral reports. Individual instruction. May be repeated for a total of four credit hours. Prerequisite: 24 hours of chemistry. (Sp)
471. Advanced Special Topics - Special studies in chemistry. May be repeated once on a different topic. Prerequisite: Permission of the instructor.
471L. Advanced Special Topics Lab - 1 semester hour, 3 hours laboratory per week. Special studies in chemistry laboratory techniques. May be repeated once on a different topic. Prerequisite: Permission of the instructor. Lab fee required.
475. A, B, C, D. Special Problems - 1-4 semester hours. May be repeated for a total of 4 hours credit. Undergraduate only. Individual study and/or laboratory research. Prerequisite: Consent of the instructor.
476. A, B, C. Special Problems - 1-3 semester hours. May be repeated for a total of 3 hours credit. Undergraduates only. Individual study and/or laboratory research. Prerequisite: Consent of the instructor.