BA in Chemistry

Program Requirements

A minimum total of 120 credit hours is required for the BA in chemistry. In addition to meeting the requirements of the WSU General Education Program and the requirements of Fairmount College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, students must meet the following requirements:

Course Title Hours
General Education
Select courses to meet General Education requirements 134-35
College Requirements
LAS Competencies and Electives - select enough courses to reach 120 credit hours and complete all LAS Competency Areas 116-17
Major Requirements
CHEM 211
& CHEM 212		General Chemistry I
and General Chemistry II		10
CHEM 523
& CHEM 524		Analytical Chemistry
and Instrumental Methods of Chemical Analysis 2		8
CHEM 531
& CHEM 532		Organic Chemistry I
and Organic Chemistry II		10
CHEM 545
& CHEM 546		Physical Chemistry I
and Physical Chemistry II 2		6
CHEM 547Physical Chemistry Lab 22
Select 5 credit hours of world language beyond 111–112 in one language or equivalent to 112 in two languages.5
Prerequisites for the required chemistry courses include the following courses (or their equivalents).
MATH 112Precalculus Mathematics5
MATH 242Calculus I5
MATH 243Calculus II5
MATH 344Calculus III3
PHYS 313Physics for Scientists I4
PHYS 314Physics for Scientists II4
PHYS 315University Physics Lab I1
PHYS 316University Physics Lab II1
Total Credit Hours120
1

Required major courses may also count towards General Education and/or LAS Competencies. Students will need to select additional electives to reach 120 credit hours required for graduation with assistance from an advisor.

2

Students who wish to take biochemistry or inorganic chemistry may satisfy the BA requirements with one of the following three alternatives:

  1. Replace CHEM 524 with CHEM 514 and CHEM 661; or
  2. Replace CHEM 547 and either CHEM 545 or CHEM 546 with CHEM 514 and CHEM 661; or
  3. Replace CHEM 524, CHEM 547 and either CHEM 545 or CHEM 546 with CHEM 662, CHEM 663 and CHEM 664.

Applied Learning

Students in the BA in chemistry program are required to complete an applied learning or research experience to graduate from the program. The requirements can be met by enrollment in two credit hours of CHEM 690 or CHEM 481.