2020-21 Catalogs

BA in Chemistry

The chemistry program provides a rigorous and exciting preprofessional education for students interested in pursuing STEM careers or graduate school. To prepare students for a wide variety of career choices, instructional laboratories provide interdisciplinary, project-based experiments for students to explore. The laboratory curriculum also provides students hands-on experience operating analytical instrumentation. Students have opportunities to engage in faculty mentored research projects within the department and to intern with local scientific firms in southern Maine.

Because the chemistry courses in each track are the same for the first two years, students may switch tracks through the junior year. Students considering a chemistry major are strongly urged to consult with a member of the Department of Chemistry faculty to discuss the program.

To graduate as a chemistry major or minor in any program, a student must earn a grade of C or better in all chemistry courses and a minimum grade point average of 2.0 in all other courses required for the major. At least 12 credit hours beyond the 100-level must be taken within the Chemistry Department at USM.

Minimum number of credits in chemistry and related areas (exclusive of the University's Core Curriculum) required for the major: 60.

The following courses are required: (33-36 credit hours)
CHY 113, 114  Principles of Chemistry I and Laboratory Techniques I
CHY 115, 116  Principles of Chemistry II and Laboratory Techniques II
CHY 233  Analytical Chemistry with Laboratory
CHY 251, 252  Organic Chemistry I and Organic Chemistry Laboratory I
CHY 253, 254  Organic Chemistry II and Organic Chemistry Laboratory II
CHY 371  Quantum Chemistry
CHY 373, 374  Chemical Thermodynamics and Chemical Thermodynamics Laboratory
CHY 470 Chemistry in Perspective

Choose two of the following six offerings: (6-8 credit hours)
CHY 345  Polymer Chemistry
CHY 351  Advanced Organic Chemistry
CHY 377, 378  Spectroscopy and Instrumental Analysis Laboratory
CHY 385  Pickles to Pints: Fermentation Science
CHY 421  Inorganic Chemistry
CHY 461  Biochemistry I

The following courses are also required: (21 credit hours)
PHY 121, 114, 123, 116  General Physics I and II and Laboratory
PHY 261 Computational Physics or an approved math/computer science course*
MAT 152  Calculus A
MAT 153  Calculus B

**The following courses are approved by the Chemistry Department: COS 160, 170 Structured Problem Solving: Java and Lab, MAT 120 Introduction to Statistics, MAT 252 Calculus C, PHY 211 Modern Physics I, PHY 251 Principles of Electronics