Chemistry Major

The following is a suggested schedule for a degree in chemistry. A student must confer periodically with his/her adviser. This action will enable the program of study to be individualized and will ensure that the student has met all the prerequisites. Refer to the Bulletin for a full and authoritative description of major requirements.

Freshman Year

Sophomore Year

Junior Year

Senior Year

Courses taken under the undifferentiated grading option (pass/no pass) are not acceptable to fulfill department major degree requirements (except for pass/no pass ~Vonly courses.) A grade of "C-" or above, with a combined GPA of 2.25 or higher, is required for all courses taken to satisfy departmental major requirements, including courses from supporting departments (i.e. mathematics and physics). Transfer students see note (g).

1. Initial placement in mathematics depends on mathematics previously taken or results of placement exam administered by the Math Department.

2. Freshman Inquiry -- A year-long, 15-credit course, Freshman Inquiry focuses on a theme, taught by teams of five faculty members. These themes will be approached from various disciplines of the faculty team and will change every two years.

3. Sophomore Inquiry -- Students much choose three 4-credit Sophomore Inquiry courses. In these courses, faculty will continue to emphasize interdisciplinary approaches as well as the four goals of communication, the human experience, inquiry and critical thinking, as well as ethics and social responsibility. These courses will provide the student with a sampling of the upper-division course clusters

4. Junior/Senior Course Clusters -- At this level, students select three courses (among a variety of 4-credit courses) from one cluster area begun in Sophomore Inquiry.

5. Possible 400-level electives: CH401 Research (1 unit max.), CH404 Cooperative Education/Internship (1 unit max.), CH410 Selected Topics, CH411 Chemical Bonding, CH412, 413, Advanced Inorganic Chemistry, CH418 Advanced Chemistry Lab, CH424/5 Electronics and Instrumentation for Chemists/Lab, CH430/1 Advanced Organic Chemistry, CH490/1/2 General Biochemistry, CH 493/4 Biochemistry Lab.

6. Senior Capstone -- This 6-credit capstone course will involve a team of students representing a variety of disciplines as members of a faculty-led team that responds to specific concerns in the business or non-profit community.

7. University Studies and Transfer Students -- For students who are currently in Freshman Inquiry and plan to continue their study at PSU, they will simply proceed to Sophomore Inquiry. Transfer students, however, will use the following model:

   1. Transfer students who have earned less than 30 quarter credit hours of transfer work are required to complete all of the new University Studies program requirements, including the entire sequence or Freshman Inquiry.

   2. Transfer students who have earned 30-44 quarter credit hours of transfer work are required to complete the Transfer Transition course (UnSt 210) and the University Studies program beginning with the Sophomore Inquiry.

   3. Transfer students who have earned 45-89 quarter credit hours of transfer work are required to complete the University Studies program beginning with Sophomore Inquiry as follows: 45-59 credits, three courses; 60-74 credits, two courses; and 75-89 credits, one course. (The upper division cluster must come from one of these Sophomore Inquiry classes.) Transfer Transition 210 taken as a choice counts as a Sophomore Inquiry course.

   4. Transfer students who have earned 90 or more quarter credit hours of transfer work are required to complete the University Studies program beginning with an upper-division cluster. It is recommended that they complete the Sophomore Inquiry course directly linked to the upper-division cluster they choose.