Program Overview
College of Natural and Health Sciences
Contact: Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
Location: Ross Hall 3480
Email: chemistry@unco.edu
Website: www.unco.edu/nhs/chemistry
Advising Information:
Students must consult with their assigned major advisor each semester prior to registering.
To find your advisor, log into ursa.unco.edu; go to 'Student' tab and click 'View Student Information' link. If no advisor is listed, contact the major program for advisor information.
The program consists of three parts:
- Liberal Arts Curriculum (LAC) Credits
- Required Major Credits
- University-Wide Credits
Program Description:
This program offers training in chemistry, mathematics and physics with a broad base in biological sciences and biochemistry. It provides a solid foundation in chemistry and biological sciences for those students planning to pursue professional studies in dentistry, medicine, optometry, podiatry, pharmacy or veterinary medicine.
Students completing this degree concentration will meet the prerequisites to the professional schools listed above. Acceptance into these schools is competitive and students should register with and be advised by a faculty member in the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry. Students completing this degree concentration who wish to pursue graduate study in chemistry may be required to complete additional coursework in physical chemistry and/or mathematics depending on the entrance requirements of the specific graduate school.
Program Admission Requirements:
Academic Good Standing
Program Requirements:
- All students in the program must take an assessment examination before graduation.
- Students majoring in chemistry must earn a grade of “C” or better (C- is not acceptable) in all courses having a CHEM prefix which count toward the major.
- In accordance with University Policies, coursework earned more than 10 years prior to the date of matriculation to UNC may not be used to satisfy any major or minor requirements. Any exception to this policy is at the discretion of the academic program.
Program Recommendations:
- Graduate level CHEM courses are recommended for juniors and seniors. Other recommended electives include MATH 132, MATH 221, MATH 335, STAT 150, PHYS 321 and PHYS 343.
- It is recommended that students have a fundamental background in computers.
- Juniors and seniors are expected to participate in Chemistry and Biochemistry’s undergraduate research program.
- Qualifying students may be eligible for a five-year program resulting in a B.S./M.S. degree. Consult your advisor early in your program for details.
Pre-Medical, Pre-Dental,
Pre-Optometry, Pre-Veterinary,
Pre-Podiatry, and Pre-Pharmacy
Degree Requirements — 120 Credits
1. Liberal Arts Curriculum — 31 credits
To complete the degree in 120 credits as outlined, the program recommends the below LAC courses that also count toward the 74 required major credits.
Any additional coursework completed outside of the recommended list below may extend the length of the program of study.
Written Communication — 6 credits
SCI 291 is recommended to fulfill the Intermediate Writing Course in the Written Communication requirement and will fulfill both LAC and major requirements.
See Written Communication courses
Mathematics — 3 credits
MATH 131 is recommended to fulfill Mathematics requirement and will fulfill both LAC and major requirements.
See Mathematics courses
Arts & Humanities, History, Social & Behavioral Sciences, U.S. Multicultural Studies [MS], and International Studies [IS] — 15 credits
To complete the LAC in the minimum number of credits, be sure to choose at least one course with an IS designation and one course with an MS designation.
Select any courses to fulfill this requirement from the currently approved LAC course list.
See Arts & Humanities, History, and Social & Behavioral Sciences courses
Natural & Physical Sciences — 7 credits
CHEM 111, CHEM 111L, and BIO 110 are recommended to fulfill Natural & Physical Sciences requirement and will fulfill both LAC and major requirements.
See Natural & Physical Sciences courses
See Liberal Arts Curriculum
2. Required Major — 74 credits
Take all of the following courses:
Choose 2 of the following courses:
Choose 1 course from the CS or STAT prefixes — 3 credits
| Any CS or STAT prefix course | 3 |
3. University-Wide Credits — 15 credits*
Complete additional credits to achieve the minimum credits needed for any degree at UNC; for this program, that will typically be 15 credits.
*Note: Students who apply the recommended courses to both the liberal arts curriculum and the major requirements will have an increased number of university wide electives to apply to this degree. See your advisor for details.
Program Notes
Students wishing to participate in the Honors Program should consult their advisors about Liberal Arts Curriculum selections and other requirements.
Four Year Plan
This four year plan is a recommended schedule to complete this bachelor's degree in 4 years. Courses are subject to availability. Students must consult with their major advisor to receive information on any additional graduation requirements and course sequence guidance.
Year 1 – 30 credits
Fall Semester
| BIO 110 | Biology: Atoms to CellsLAS1LASL | 4 |
| CHEM 111 | Principles of Chemistry ILAS1 | 4 |
| CHEM 111L | Principles of Chemistry I LaboratoryLAS1LASL | 1 |
| ENG 122 | College CompositionLAW1 | 3 |
| | LAC Arts and HumanitiesLAA1LAA2LAA3LAA4 | 3 |
| Total Credit Hours: | 15 |
LAC Arts and Humanities: Choose one U.S. Multicultural Studies (MS) or one International Studies (IS) course.
Spring Semester
| CHEM 112 | Principles of Chemistry II | 4 |
| CHEM 112L | Principles of Chemistry II Laboratory | 1 |
| MATH 131 | Calculus ILAX1 | 4 |
| | LAC HistoryLAH1 | 3 |
| | LAC Social and Behavioral SciencesLAB1LAB2LAB3 | 3 |
| Total Credit Hours: | 15 |
LAC History and LAC Social and Behavior Sciences: Choose U.S. Multicultural Studies (MS) or International Studies (IS) course.
Year 2 – 32 credits
Fall Semester
| BIO 210 | Cell Biology | 3 |
| CHEM 331 | Organic Chemistry I | 4 |
| CHEM 331L | Organic Chemistry I Laboratory | 1 |
| PHYS 220 | Introductory Physics ILAS1LASL | 5 |
| | LAC Arts and HumanitiesLAA1LAA2LAA3LAA4 | 3 |
| Total Credit Hours: | 16 |
Spring Semester
| CHEM 332 | Organic Chemistry II | 4 |
| CHEM 332L | Organic Chemistry II Laboratory | 1 |
| PHYS 221 | Introductory Physics II | 5 |
| Any CS or STAT prefix course | 3 |
| | LAC Arts and Humanities, History, or Social and Behavioral SciencesLAA1LAA2LAA3LAA4LAB1LAB2LAB3LAH1 | 3 |
| Total Credit Hours: | 16 |
Year 3 – 28 credits
Fall Semester
Spring Semester
| CHEM 450 | Survey of Physical Chemistry | 3 |
| CHEM 450L | Survey of Physical Chemistry Laboratory | 1 |
| CHEM 482 | General Biochemistry II | 3 |
| CHEM 482L | Experimental Biochemistry II | 1 |
| | University-Wide Elective | 3 |
| | University-Wide Elective | 3 |
| Total Credit Hours: | 14 |
Year 4 – 30 credits
Fall Semester
| | Major Elective | 4 |
| | University-Wide Elective | 3 |
| | University-Wide Elective | 3 |
| | University-Wide Elective | 4 |
| Total Credit Hours: | 14 |
Spring Semester
| | Major Elective | 4 |
| | University-Wide Elective | 4 |
| | University-Wide Elective | 4 |
| | University-Wide Elective | 4 |
| | Chemistry Assessment Exam | |
| Total Credit Hours: | 16 |
Advising Notes –
- Students who lack sufficient preparation in mathematics may need to start in MATH 124 College Algebra (4), MATH 125 Plane Trigonometry (3), or MATH 127 Elementary Functions (4). MATH 171 may be substituted for MATH 131. Consult your advisor.
- Consult advisor for computer science (CS) or statistics (STAT) courses to fulfill mathematics electives.
- It is highly recommended that students substitute ENG 123 for SCI 291.
- Upper-level courses are generally taught only one semester per year. In the four year plan courses are listed in order of required prerequisites first.
- Some upper-level courses are separate from laboratory, e.g., CHEM 481/CHEM 481L General Biochemistry I and Experimental Biochemistry I and CHEM 482/CHEM 482L General Biochemistry II and Experimental Biochemistry II. In these cases, CHEM 481/CHEM 481L are taught in Fall and CHEM 482/CHEM 482L are taught in the Spring.