Program Description
This active and collaborative program will prepare you for what’s next. You start collecting chemical knowledge and skills through core courses and shadowing faculty and upper-level student researchers. As a sophomore, you will start helping with authentic, real-world research projects – experience many biochemistry students don’t get until graduate programs. This is possible thanks to the individual attention you get in our small classes and our well-equipped research laboratories.
Learning Goals/Outcomes
- Describe laws & theories of chemistry pertaining to the properties of matter, chemical reactions and their stoichiometry, properties of gases, solution chemistry and acid/base chemistry.
- Describe chemistry of organic molecules including functional group structure and properties, structure and stereochemistry of alkanes, nucleophilic substitution and elimination reactions of alkyl halides, the structure/synthesis/reactions of alkenes, alcohols, aromatic compounds, amines, carboxylic acids, carboxylic acid derivatives and aldehydes/ketones.
- Summarize chemical thermodynamics, chemical kinetics & quantum mechanics and relate information to modern day chemistry.
- Develop language, terms & critical thinking/problem solving skills to use and understand analytical instrumentation used in chemistry and biochemistry today.
- Acquire laboratory skills, including knowledge of laboratory safety, proper laboratory behavior, and to be functional with laboratory equipment and techniques.
- Describe the chemistry of inorganic compounds, to include symmetry and group theory, molecular orbital theory, coordination chemistry, main group element chemistry and the chemistry of the solid state.
- Describe metabolism (including signaling mechanisms, basic biochemistry of DNA and RNA and mechanisms of control of gene expression), protein structure-function and laboratory techniques used in biochemical research.
- Garner information and critically analyze information (Information Literacy skills in general).
- Effectively communicate in written formats germane to the sciences.
- Successfully use their garnered research skills to probe new avenues of scientific inquiry.
- Utilize communication skills to disseminate research to both the general public and the scientific community.
Curriculum: 4 Year, 124-125 Credits
First Year | Credits | |
---|---|---|
FYS 100 | Pathways Seminar | 1 |
WRIT 101 | Writing Sem I: Written Comm. | 3 |
DBTU 114 | Debating U.S. Issues | 3 |
CHEM 103 & 103L |
Chemistry I and Chemistry I Lab |
4 |
BIOL 103 & 103L |
Biology I and Biology I Lab |
4 |
MATH 111 | Calculus I | 4 |
MATH 112 | Calculus II | 4 |
CHEM 104 & 104L |
Chemistry II and Chemistry II Lab |
4 |
BIOL 104 & 104L |
Biology II and Biology II Lab |
4 |
Credits | 31 | |
Second Year | ||
ETHC 1XX | Ethics | 3 |
WRIT 201 | Writing Seminar II:Multi Comm | 3 |
GDIV 1XX | Diversity | 3 |
MATH 213 | Calculus III | 4 |
STAT 301 | 4 | |
PHYS 201 | 4 | |
PHYS 203 | 4 | |
CHEM 201 & 201L |
Organic Chemistry I and Organic Chemistry I Lab |
4 |
CHEM 202 & 202L |
Organic Chemistry II and Organic Chemistry II Lab |
4 |
Credits | 33 | |
Third Year | ||
ADIV 1XX | American Diversity | 3 |
GCIT 2XX | Global Citizenship | 3 |
DBTG 300 | 3 | |
ISEM 3XX | Integrative Seminar | 3 |
BCHEM 312 & BCHEM 312L |
and |
4 |
BCHEM 313 & BCHEM 313L |
and |
4 |
CHEM 305 | Physical Chemistry I | 4 |
CHEM 323 | Instrumental Meth of Analysis | 4 |
Credits | 28 | |
Fourth Year | ||
HALLMK 499 | 3 | |
CHEM 309 | Inorganic Chemistry | 4 |
General Electives | 9-10 | |
General Electives | 12 | |
Credits | 28-29 | |
Total Credits | 120-121 |