Course Requirements for a Chemistry Undergraduate Minor

Required Courses

Pathway #1 (used by 95%+ of students seeking a minor in Chemistry):

• Two semesters of general chemistry — CHEM 031 (or CHEM 035) & CHEM 032 (or CHEM 036)
• Two semesters of organic chemistry — CHEM 141 (or CHEM 143) & CHEM 142 (or CHEM 144)
• One speciality course in chemistry:
  • Analytical – CHEM 121
  • Inorganic – CHEM 131
  • Physical – CHEM 161 or 162
• Notes:
  • CHEM 205 Biochemistry 1 is not an allowed option for the minor

Pathway #2:

• Two semesters of physical chemistry — CHEM 161 & 162
• Organic chemistry, either:
  • CHEM 042 Intro Organic Chemistry
  • CHEM 141 Organic Chemistry 1
• There are several prerequisite courses for this track:
  • Two semesters of general chemistry: CHEM 031 & 032 (or CHEM 035 & 036)
  • Calculus-based physics: PHYS 152, which has a prerequisite of PHYS 031 or 051 (PHYS 011 and 012 are ineligible)
  • Three semesters of calculus:
    • MATH 021 & 022 (MATH 019 & 020 are ineligible)
    • Either MATH 121 or CHEM 167

Ineligible majors

• You may not declare a chemistry minor IF your major is
  • Any Chemistry major
  • A Biochemistry major
  • An Environmental Science major with a Chemistry focus track

Why do most students choose path #1?

• Many UVM students routinely take our 4 semester introductory sequence of chemistry (CHEM 031, 032, 141, & 142) to satisfy a variety of degree requirements, either at the undergraduate level or as a requirement for a postgraduate degree program:
  • Undergraduate life science majors (e.g. Biology, Zoology, Microbiology or Molecular Genetics)
  • All professional postgraduate medical degree programs (e.g. M.D., D.D.S., D.V.M., O.D., ...)
  • Postgraduate biomedical degree programs where a Ph.D. is sought (e.g. Cell & Molecular Biology programs)
• Once the 4 semester introductory sequence of chemistry courses have been completed, only one more course in chemistry is required for completion of a minor.

Last modified April 19 2011 03:16 PM