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Bachelor of Science: Chemistry

Bachelor of Science in Chemistry

1. Students graduating with a baccalaureate degree in chemistry should be proficient in the basic skills of chemistry. They will:
  • Have a functional knowledge of all the basic areas of chemistry including analytical, organic, physical, inorganic and biochemistry.
  • Be able to integrate their knowledge in these areas and use their critical thinking skills in order to become problem solvers.
  • Be proficient in chemistry laboratories, especially with respect to:
    • Following and understanding general laboratory practice guidelines, especially proper laboratory safety.
    • Performing chemical analyses.
    • Performing simple chemical synthesis.
    • Understanding and using modern chemical instrumentation.
  • Be able to articulate clearly scientific information, both in written and oral forms.
  • Be able to use effectively the scientific literature.
2. Students graduating with a baccalaureate degree in chemistry will be prepared for entry into professional schools (e.g., medical, dental, pharmaceutical, or veterinary), graduate programs, or chemical industries.

Degree Requirements
The Chemistry Department bachelor of science degree is approved by the American Chemical Society (ACS). There are two types of bachelor of science degrees. Both require a minimum of 43 credit hours in chemistry. An ACS-approved B.S. degree requires taking 2 credit hours of CHEM 382, and 3 credit hours of CHEM 367
or LS-BIOC 341 or higher*. The other type of B.S. degree does not require CHEM 382 or CHEM 367, or LS-BIOC 341. This program includes:

   1. General chemistry (CHEM 211, CHEM 211L, CHEM 212RCHEM 212LR).
   2. Organic chemistry (CHEM 321, CHEM 321L, CHEM 322R, CHEM 322L).
   3. Analytical chemistry (CHEM 341, CHEM 442R).
   4. Physical chemistry (CHEM 431, CHEM 437WI [writing intensive for which the WEPT is an enforced prerequisite ], CHEM 432).
   5. Chemical literature (CHEM 410).
   6. Inorganic chemistry (CHEM 382*, CHEM 451R).
   7. A biochemistry course* (CHEM 367) or (LS-BIOC 341 or higher).
   8. A minimum of 3 credit hours of advanced work in either chemistry (courses numbered 400 or higher), mathematics (courses other than MATH 250 that have MATH 220 as a prerequisite), biology (courses numbered 300 or higher), or physics (courses numbered 300 or higher).
   9. MATH 210, MATH 220, MATH 250.
  10. One year of engineering physics. PHYSICS 240 and PHYSICS 250.
  11. The total credit hours of laboratory time in the required courses and any advanced elective laboratories must be at least 12. No more than 3 hours of CHEM 495 and CHEM 499 may be used in meeting the major course requirements.
  12. CHEM 499 cannot be used to meet both laboratory requirements and the 3 hours of advanced work.
  13. All majors must receive a C- or better in all chemistry courses with an overall chemistry GPA of 2.0 for graduation.
  14. A minimum grade of C- is required for all prerequisite courses (including physics and mathematics courses). In exceptional cases, students may receive written consent by submitting a petition to the Chemistry Undergraduate Curriculum Committee which has to be approved to waive this requirement.
  15. Each chemistry major must be advised by the Chemistry Undergraduate Adviser every semester.
  16. In order to meet The College's residency requirement for a major in Chemistry, a minimum of 12 credit hours must be completed in the Department of Chemistry at UMKC, of which 9 out of the 12 hours must be at the 300/400 level.  While credit as a result of advanced placement (AP) scores and courses in Biochemistry (LS-BIOC 341, LS-BIOC 365, or LS-BIOC 366) may be used towards meeting major requirements, they do not count towards the residency requirement.

Suggested Plan of Study
Because plans of study are dependent on the students' backgrounds and preparation, each student admitted should develop a plan of study in conjunction with an adviser in the department. General chemistry, organic chemistry, calculus and physics should be completed by the end of the second year. Physical chemistry should be taken in the third year. Students should note that although a fair amount of flexibility is available for setting up a plan of study, the structured nature of prerequisites and corequisites in chemistry, physics, and mathematics necessitates very careful organization of any program.

For students starting at UMKC as freshmen, the department recommends the following plan of study to fulfill the major requirements for a bachelor of science degree in chemistry:

                Chemistry                     Courses in
                Courses                        Other Disciplines                
                 
Freshman    CHEM 211 (4)                MATH 210 (4)
                CHEM 211L (1)               MATH 220 (4)
                CHEM 212R (4)     
                CHEM 212LR (1)    

Sophomore CHEM 321 (3)                MATH 250 (4)
                CHEM 321L (1)              PHYSICS 240 (5)
                CHEM 322R (3)              PHYSICS 250 (5)
                CHEM 322L (1)

Junior        CHEM 341 (4)               4XX+ in CHEM (3)
                CHEM 431 (3)              -or-
                CHEM 432 (3)              3XX+ in BIOL,
                CHEM 442R (3)            PHYSCS -or-
                CHEM 437WI (3)          MATH (3)

Senior       CHEM 410 (1)
               CHEM 451R (3)
               CHEM 367* (3) -or- LS-BIOC 341* (3)
                -or-
               CHEM 3XX** -or- 4XX** (3)
               CHEM 382* (2)
                -or-
               CHEM 499** (2)
    

Total Chemistry Credit Hours: 43

*Required for ACS-approved degree.
**For non-ACS-approved degree.

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