Definition of Major and Minor
A minimum of 120 semester hours of coursework is required for a Bachelor of Science degree. The department offers a Bachelor of Science that requires all students to complete a major track and minor, take the appropriate core curriculum requirements and have the required semester hours for graduation.
The Chemistry major consists of 19 core chemistry hours and one area of concentration from: BioChemical/Pre-Medical, Interdisciplinary, Professional Chemist, Interdisciplinary with Minor and Chemistry Teaching. A maximum of four hours of CHE 475 /CHE 476 may be counted toward the major.
A Research Intensive concentration may be added to any of the above listed concentrations. See the program listing below for further information.
The Chemistry Minor consists of a minimum of 18 hours of chemistry coursework.
The following courses may not be used in either the Chemistry major or Chemistry minor: CHE 111 , CHE 112 , CHE 302 , CHE 320 and CHE 330 .
Certification for Chemistry or Physical Science Teaching (Grades 8-12)
Students who wish to qualify for teaching certificates should consult the Teacher Certification section of this bulletin.
Graduate Study in Chemistry
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 and Biochemistry offers a thesis and non-thesis natural science master’s degree (thesis option highly recommended). Thesis master’s degree requires a minimum 24 of the required 30 semester hours in chemistry (including CHE 589 and 590). The non-thesis master’s degree requires a minimum 18 of the required 36 semester hours in chemistry.
The department also offers an overlap graduate degree program that permits qualified undergraduates to pursue a limited amount of graduate study (usually 12 credit hours or less) concurrently with their undergraduate study giving a student the opportunity to obtain a B.S. and M.S. in only five years of study.
For more information and eligibility requirements, consult the Graduate Bulletin or the Overlap Program in the Academic Programs and Policies section of this bulletin.