A person wearing safety goggles, a blue sweatshirt, and purple gloves works in a lab. They are handling substances in small containers under a ventilation hood with various glassware and lab equipment around them.

Curriculum

The Chemistry Department, with the financial help of the National Science Foundation, is implementing a chemistry curriculum that will prepare students to learn and practice science in a modern world in which disciplinary boundaries are removed and collaboration and integration of disciplines is essential. Here are some of the innovative features of our curriculum, which has received approval from graduate, medical, DO and PT schools:

  • An introductory, “atoms first” course which shows how chemical properties emerge from structure
  • Integration of the five subdisciplines of chemistry into a series of innovative foundation courses
  • A new model for a skills and techiques-based chemistry labs with use of advanced instrumentation
  • A problem-based learning pedagogy
  • Expanded student choice of concentrations and in-depth courses

Chemistry Major with Concentration

We offer one concentration in chemistry so that students can focus in areas of modern chemistry. One of the most compelling reasons to offer this concentration is to provide students with a modern but flexible curriculum that maximizes choice.

ACS Certification

The American Chemical Society also provide a certification for students who complete a bachelor’s degree meeting the ACS guidelines. An ACS-certified degree signifies that a student has completed an integrated, rigorous program including introductory and foundational course work in chemistry and in-depth course work in chemistry or chemistry-related fields. The certified degree also emphasizes laboratory experience and the development of professional skills needed to be an effective chemist.