Students seeking this degree option must complete their bachelor’s degree in three years and then enter a one-year non-thesis master’s degree program. This option is not for all students. Students are encouraged to plan their course of studies early and meet with an undergraduate advisor in the Department of Chemistry to create a plan to graduate in three years. Electives must include courses that meet General Education Requirements (Foreign Language, Humanities, etc.). In order for students to complete both the B.A. and M.S. or B.S. and M.S. in four years, all undergraduate requirements must be completed by the end of the third year (which can include transfer credits and summer sessions as needed). In some cases students may begin taking master’s level courses while completing their bachelor’s degree. Up to two graduate level (5000) courses can be taken as an undergraduate and applied toward the ten courses required for the Non-thesis M.S. degree, provided that they are not used to satisfy any undergraduate requirements. For information on the master's degree in chemistry, please click here. For more information on the 3+1 degree option in general, please click here.
Four Plus One Degree Option – Students that require four years to complete their bachelor’s degree in chemistry (B.A. or B.S.) still have the option to apply to graduate school M.S. program in chemistry. For more information about the master's program and applying, please click here.
An example of the BA/MS is as follows:
First Year – Credits: 24-34
- General Area Requirements or electives – Credits: 5-20
- CHEM 1410, 1411, 1420, 1421 – Introductory College Chemistry I and II and Laboratories – Credits: 8
or
CHEM 1810, 1811, 1820, 1821 – Principles of Chemical Structure and Lab and Principles of Organic Chemistry
and Lab – Credits: 11 - MATH 1210, 1220 – Survey of Calculus I and II – Credits: 6
(MATH 1190 may be taken in place of MATH 1210)
or
MATH 1310, 1320 – Calculus I and II – Credits: 8
Second Year – Credits: 24-34
- General Area Requirements or electives – Credits: 4-17
- CHEM 2410, 2411, 2420, 2421 – Organic Chemistry I and II and Laboratories – Credits: 12
or
CHEM 2810, 2811, 2820 – Principles of Organic and Bioorganic Chemistry and Lab and Principles of Thermodynamics and Kinetics – Credits: 9 - PHYS 1425, 2415, 1429, 2419 – Introductory Physics 1 and 2 for Engineers and Workshops – Credits: 8
(PHYS 2030, 2040 or 2630, 2640 may be taken as the workshops/laboratories)
or
PHYS 2010, 2020, 2030, 2040 – Principles of Physics 1 and 2 for Pre-Health Students and Workshops – Credits: 8 - ***Note that the 1425 sequence is calculus based; The 2010 sequence is algebra based. We, along with grad/med schools, accept both. It's whatever you are most comfortable with.
Third Year – Credits: 15-34
- General Area Requirements or electives – Credits: 0-19
- CHEM 3410, 3420 – Physical Chemistry-Quantum Theory and Physical Chemistry-Thermodynamics – Credits: 6
- CHEM 3811, 3821 – Physical Chemistry I and II Laboratory – Credits: 6
- CHEM ELECTIVE – Credits: 3
The chemistry elective course required to complete the B. A. in Chemistry may be any three-credit-hour chemistry course numbered at the 4000 level or higher, excluding laboratory research courses. It need not be specified at the time of declaring the major. [e.g., Analytical Chemistry [CHEM 4090, (previously CHEM 5710)], Advanced Organic Chemistry (CHEM 5110), Inorganic Chemistry (CHEM 4320), Biological Chemistry (CHEM 4410), Advanced Physical Chemistry (CHEM 5210 or 5220), Biochemistry for Pre-Health (CHEM 4440).
In addition, CHEM 3721 – Analytical Chemistry Laboratory is highly recommended prior to enrollment in advanced laboratories and is best taken in the third year.
Fourth Year – Credits: 30
-
Any TEN of the graduate courses available. Examples include:
- 5110 Organic Chemistry III: Structure, Reactivity, and Mechanism
- 5120 Organic Chemistry IV: Survey of Synthetic Methods- Selectivity, Scope, and Limitations
- 5180 Instrumental Theory and Techniques in Organic Chemistry
- 5210 Advanced Physical Chemistry I: Quantum Mechanics
- 5220 Advanced Physical Chemistry II: Statistical Mechanics
- 5224 Reaction Kinetics and Dynamics
- 5250 Molecular Spectroscopy
- 5260 Introduction to Astrochemistry
- 5310 Advanced Inorganic Chemistry I: Reaction Mechanisms
- 5320 Advanced Inorganic Chemistry II: Organometallics and Synthesis
- 5330 Structural Inorganic Chemistry: Characterization and Spectroscopy
- 5340 Nanomaterials: Synthesis, Properties, and Applications
- 5350 Main Group Inorganic Chemistry
- 5380 Determination of Molecular Structure by Diffraction Methods
- 5410 Advanced Biological Chemistry I: Molecular Assembly and Information Flow
- 5420 Advanced Biological Chemistry II: Macromolecular Structure and Function
- 5430 Nanoscale Imaging of Complex Systems in Chemistry and Biology
- 5440 Methods at the Interface of Chemistry and Biology
- 5540 Selected Topics in Organic Chemistry (Drug Discovery)
- 5610 Evidence-Based Teaching Methods for the Postsecondary Science Classroom
- 5710 Advanced Analytical Chemistry
- 5720 Methods in Bioanalytical Chemistry
- 5740 Analytical Chemistry: Separations
- 5760 Bioanalytical Microsystems
- 7010 Research Seminar I: Introduction to Research
- 7020 Research Seminar II: Research, Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Ethics
- 8999 Masters Research
*Course offerings are subject to change so please refer to SIS each semester when selecting your courses. A typical course schedule for each semester of the fourth year (or M.S. program) includes three 5000-level courses, one 7000-level course, and 8999.
The BS/MS plan would be similar in that all fourth year courses would be moved up to the third year. We encourage you to meet with your advisor, Laura Serbulea, or Cindy Knight to help in planning this should you be interested.