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Home Department of Chemistry Programs BS in Chemistry (BSCH degree)

Bachelor of Science in Chemistry (BSCH)

This degree is usually taken by students preparing for careers as professional chemists, and by those intending to pursue advanced degrees in chemistry. This program is approved by the American Chemical Society (ACS) Committee on Professional Training (CPT). Graduates with this degree are certified by the ACS.

The following is a summary from the current University of Memphis Undergraduate Catalog. Degree requirements from earlier catalogs are valid for seven years.

Approved descriptions for all courses in the list below can be found in the Undergraduate Catalog. Prerequisites are strictly enforced, and these courses may not be repeated more than three times to earn the minimum required grade of "C-".

The B. S. CH. degree requires 42 - 43 hours in chemistry courses, 11 - 12 hours in mathematics courses, 8 hours in physics courses and one upper division ethics course as listed below. Graduates must complete the General Education Program (30 hours in addition to the science and math courses in the degree) and elective credits to bring the total to 120 hours, with at least 42 hours at the upper division.

An ACT MATH sub-score of at least 24, or credit for MATH 1710: College Algebra or higher, is required to register for CHEM 1110. An ACT MATH sub-score of at least 26, or credit for MATH 1720: Trigonometry or MATH 1730: Pre-Calculus, is required to register for MATH 1910.

  • CHEM 1110 & 1111: General Chemistry I, Lecture and Laboratory
  • CHEM 1120 & 1121: General Chemistry II, Lecture and Laboratory
  • CHEM 3111: Foundations of Inorganic Chemistry
  • CHEM 3211 & 3201: Foundations of Analytical Chemistry, Lecture and Laboratory
  • CHEM 3311 & 3301: General Organic Chemistry I, Lecture and Laboratory
  • CHEM 3312 & 3302: General Organic Chemistry II, Lecture and Laboratory
  • CHEM 3411: Foundations of Physical Chemistry
  • Nine additional upper division hours in CHEM lecture courses
  • Two upper division CHEM laboratory courses
  • CHEM 4901, 4902, & 4903: Chemical Research I, II, & III
  • CHEM 4999: Senior Survey
  • MATH 1910: Calculus I
  • MATH 1920: Calculus II
  • One additional course from MATH 2110, 2120, 4611, 4635, or COMP 1900
  • One of PHIL 3512, 3514, 3515, 3806, or other approved upper division ethics course
  • PHYS 2110 & 2111: Physics for Scientists and Engineers I, Lecture and Laboratory
  • PHYS 2120 & 2121: Physics for Scientists and Engineers II, Lecture and Laboratory

Note: Students who have already completed PHYS 2010/2011/2020/2021: General Physics I & II with labs, may substitute these for PHYS 2110/2111/2120/2121.

For information on the Biochemistry concentration in this degree, see this page.