The Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry has a built-in flexibility that is designed to accommodate the goals of each student while maintaining a rigorous approach to chemistry. All students take a core set of foundational courses, and then choose in-depth courses to meet their educational needs. This includes students who wish to pursue a health profession with a focus in biochemistry. We also have students who pursue the Five-Year Dual-Degree Engineering Program with the University of Notre Dame in chemical or environmental engineering. Students who wish to pursue graduate school in chemistry should consider the American Chemical Society certification (see below). There is the opportunity for students who wish to become high school teachers to satisfy the certification of the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education. For those planning on entering careers in the health professions, individual counseling is provided to insure that their programs will provide the depth and breadth that is expected in medical and other professional schools in the health sciences.
Saint Mary’s College is an American Chemical Society (ACS) approved school in chemistry. For those students interested in a more intensive chemistry program, an ACS-certified curriculum is available. Interested students should contact the department chair for information.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Required | ||
| CHEM 121 & 121L | Principles of Chemistry I and Principles of Chemistry I Laboratory | 4 |
| CHEM 122 & 122L | Principles of Chemistry II and Principles of Chemistry II Laboratory | 4 |
| CHEM 221 & 221L | Organic Chemistry I and Organic Chemistry I Laboratory | 4 |
| CHEM 222 & 222L | Organic Chemistry II and Organic Chemistry II Laboratory | 4 |
| CHEM 311 | Thermodynamics | 3 |
| or CHEM 312 | Quantum Chemistry | |
| CHEM 324 | Biochemistry | 3 |
| CHEM 332 | Analytical Chemistry | 3 |
| CHEM 342 | Bio-Inorganic Chemistry | 3 |
| CHEM 361 | Advanced Laboratory I | 4 |
| CHEM 362 | Advanced Laboratory II | 4 |
| CHEM 495 | Senior Seminar | 1 |
| Select one of the following (not taken above): | 3 | |
| Thermodynamics | ||
| Quantum Chemistry | ||
| Advanced Biochemistry | ||
| Advanced Inorganic Chemistry | ||
| Required Supporting Courses | ||
| MATH 131 | Calculus I (or equivalent) | 4 |
| MATH 132 | Calculus II for STEM majors (or equivalent) | 4 |
| PHYS 121 & 121L | General Physics I: Mechanics and Waves and General Physics I Lab | 4 |
| PHYS 122 & 122L | General Physics II: Temperature, Electricity, and Light and General Physics II Laboratory | 4 |
| Total Credits | 56 | |
Each student writes a formal paper consisting of a research topic of her choosing. The formal paper is an in-depth presentation of chemistry and reflects a command of the subject appropriate to a senior chemistry major. Students will work closely with a department faculty member to meet this requirement. It is due by the end of the fall semester of the student’s senior year.
The Senior Comprehensive consists of a poster presentation at the Physical Sciences Poster Session and a 15-minute oral presentation at the Physical Sciences Symposium. The public presentations are on a chemistry topic of the student’s choosing and may or may not be related to the research topic of the formal paper. Both presentations are given in the spring semester of the senior year and include a question and answer period. The goal for students is to demonstrate their ability to orally communicate data/results to a scientific audience in formats that they are most likely to experience as professional scientists.
Undergraduate students upon graduation with a B.S. degree in Chemistry:
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