Program Overview

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Undergraduate Program in Chemistry

The Department of Chemistry at Northwestern University offers a comprehensive undergraduate program in chemistry, designed to provide students with a solid foundation in the principles of chemistry and prepare them for a wide range of career opportunities.

Why Be a Chemistry Major Student?

Students major in chemistry for various reasons, including:

• About 40% of students are interested in pursuing a research career in chemistry.
• About 40% of students are interested in pursuing a career in the medical or dental fields.
• About 20% of students are interested in a career in other professions that can benefit significantly from a solid knowledge of chemistry.

Chemistry Major Requirements

To major in chemistry, students must complete a sequence of related courses outside of chemistry, a set of core courses in chemistry, and a series of courses in an area of concentration.

General Chemistry Major Requirements

Course requirements in the chemistry major include:

• Related courses in other sciences that are required to understand the chemistry course material.
• Core courses in several areas of chemistry.
• Concentration courses allowing students to narrow their area of focus later in the program.

Core Chemistry Courses

The core program consists of the following courses:

• General Chemistry: Chemistry 171 and 172 (with associated lab courses 181 and 182) or Chemistry 151 and 152 (with associated lab courses 161 and 162) or Chemistry 110, 131, and 132 (with associated lab courses 141 and 142).
• Organic Chemistry: Chemistry 217-1, 2, and 3 (with associated lab courses 237-1, 237-2, and 235-3) or Chemistry 215-1, 2, and 3 (with associated lab courses 235-1, 2 and 3).
• Instrumental Analysis: Chemistry 220.
• Inorganic Chemistry: Chemistry 333.
• Physical Chemistry: Chemistry 342-1 (Thermodynamics) and Chemistry 342-2 (Quantum Mechanics) and Chemistry 342-3 (Kinetics and Stat Thermo); or Chemistry 348 (ISP only).
• Advanced Laboratory: Chemistry 350-1, 2, and 3.

Related Courses

The required courses in math and physics are:

• Mathematics: Math 220-1, 220-2, 230-1 and 230-2 or their equivalent.
• Physics: Physics 135-1,2 and 3 OR Physics 125-1,2 and 3 (ISP students).
• Biochemistry: Biological Sciences 301 or Biological Sciences 241 (ISP students).

Areas of Concentration

Areas of concentration draw upon courses within the department as well as in other departments. Each student must complete two courses in a selected area of concentration, typically during their final year of study. The six areas along with their associated courses are:

• Biochemistry: Chem 305, Chem 314, Chem 316, Chem 432, Biol Sci 361.
• Environmental Chemistry: Chem 306, Chem 393, Chem 445 (Chemistry of Alternate Energy), Civil Engineering 260, Civil Engineering 314, Civil Engineering 365, Civil Engineering 367.
• Inorganic Chemistry: Chem 302, Chem 411, Chem 432, Chem 433, Chem 434, Chem 435.
• Organic Chemistry: Chem 309, Chem 313, Chem 314, Chem 316, Chem 319, Chem 410, Chem 411, Chem 412, Chem 415.
• Physical Chemistry: Chem 442-1, Chem 442-2, Chem 443, Chem 444, Chem 445, Chem 448.
• Materials/Nanotechnology: Chem 307, Chem 308, Chem 309, Materials Science 201, Materials Science 301, Materials Science 331, Materials Science 376.

Self-Designed Concentration

Students interested in an area of concentration other than those listed may design a series of two courses with a consistent theme in consultation with the Director of Undergraduate Studies for the Department of Chemistry.

Chemistry Second Major for ISP Students

The Integrated Science Program (ISP) is a highly selective BA program in Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences requiring students to take courses in a wide variety of sciences, including chemistry. Students majoring in ISP who wish to complete a second major in chemistry take a slightly different set of courses for the chemistry major.

Chemistry Major Program for Secondary Teaching

Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences students pursuing a major in chemistry who also wish to be certified for secondary school teaching must be admitted to the Secondary Teaching Program in the School of Education and Social Policy (SESP) and complete all requirements as outlined in the SESP chapter of the course catalog.

Graduation with Honors

Graduating seniors who have demonstrated a solid academic record as well as a strong research effort during their time at Northwestern may want to put themselves forward for consideration by the Department and WCAS for Graduation with Honors in Chemistry.

The Senior Thesis

The thesis should reflect all or some portion of the student's independent research at Northwestern, but the topics selected are up to the student and the student's advisor. To qualify for honors, the research must have an "original" component, where "original" is defined as not being a straightforward repetition of previous work with no changes. The document itself should be in the standard format of any article being submitted for publication to a refereed journal. The deadline for submitting the thesis is the end of the first week of the spring term of the student's final year at Northwestern. Two copies are to be submitted to the department for review by this date.