Program: Chemistry, ACS Certified Concentration, B.S. - Middle Tennessee State University

Apr 04, 2025

2023-2024 Undergraduate Catalog

Department of Chemistry
615-898-2475
Keying Ding, program coordinator
Keying.Ding@mtsu.edu

This curriculum is approved by the American Chemical Society. With this degree students are more likely to be hired as practicing chemists or gain admission to professional programs or graduate schools.

NOTE: A grade of C or better is required on all transfer credits accepted as part of a major or minor in the Department of Chemistry. Students must have a grade point average of at least 2.00 on courses counting toward a major or minor in any of the department’s programs.

Academic Map

Following is a printable, suggested four-year schedule of courses:

Chemistry, ACS Certified Concentration, B.S., Academic Map

Degree Requirements

General Education	41 hours
Major Requirements	48 hours*
Supporting Courses	20 hours*
Electives	11-22 hours
TOTAL	120 hours

*This program requires courses that can also fulfill requirements of the General Education curriculum. If program requirements are also used to fulfill General Education requirements, the number of elective hours will increase.

General Education (41 hours)

General Education requirements (shown in curricular listings below) include courses in Communication, History, Humanities and/or Fine Arts, Mathematics, Natural Sciences, and Social/Behavioral Sciences.

The following courses required by the program meet General Education requirements:

MATH 1730 (Math) (See Note 1)
CHEM 1110 /CHEM 1111 (Nat/Sci) (See Note 2)
PHYS 2110 /PHYS 2111 (Nat/Sci)

Major Requirements (48 hours)

CHEM 1110 - General Chemistry I 4 credit hours AND
CHEM 1111 - General Chemistry I Lab 0 credit hours (may be counted in General Education)
CHEM 1120 - General Chemistry II 4 credit hours AND
CHEM 1121 - General Chemistry II Lab 0 credit hours
CHEM 2230 - Quantitative Analysis 3 credit hours AND
CHEM 2231 - Quantitative Analysis Lab 2 credit hours
CHEM 3000 - Careers in Chemistry and Biochemistry 1 credit hour
CHEM 3010 - Organic Chemistry I 3 credit hours AND
CHEM 3011 - Organic Chemistry I Lab 1 credit hour
CHEM 3020 - Organic Chemistry II 3 credit hours AND
CHEM 3021 - Organic Chemistry II Lab 1 credit hour
CHEM 3530 - Principles of Biochemistry 4 credit hours AND
CHEM 3531 - Principles of Biochemistry Lab 0 credit hours
CHEM 4350 - Physical Chemistry I 4 credit hours AND
CHEM 4351 - Physical Chemistry I Lab 0 credit hours
CHEM 4360 - In-depth Physical Chemistry 4 credit hours AND
CHEM 4361 - Physical Chemistry II Lab 0 credit hours
CHEM 4400 - Inorganic Chemistry I 3 credit hours

Choose 4 hours from the following:

CHEM 3890 - Chemistry Instruction Internship 1 to 3 credit hours
CHEM 3980 - Cooperative Education 1 to 4 credit hours
CHEM 4880 - Research 4 credit hours

Upper-division Chemistry Electives (7 hours)

At least 6 hours from:

CHEM 4000 - Medicinal Chemistry 3 credit hours
CHEM 4100 - Organic Spectroscopy 3 credit hours
CHEM 4105 - Advanced Organic Chemistry 3 credit hours
CHEM 4150 - Bioorganic Chemistry 3 credit hours
CHEM 4310 - Modeling Organic and Biological Molecules 3 credit hours
CHEM 4410 - Inorganic Chemistry II 3 credit hours
CHEM 4520 - Topics in Biochemistry 3 credit hours
CHEM 4540 - Foundations of Enzymology 3 credit hours
CHEM 4610 - Environmental Chemistry 3 credit hours
CHEM 4700 - Polymers, an Introduction 3 credit hours
CHEM 4990 - Chemometrics and Statistics for Analytical Chemistry 3 credit hours

At least 1 hour from:

CHEM 3080 - Liquid Chromatography Techniques 1 credit hour
CHEM 3090 - Techniques of Gas Chromatography 1 credit hour
CHEM 4190 - Mass Spectrometry 1 credit hour
CHEM 4230 - Instrumental Analysis 4 credit hours
CHEM 4231 - Instrumental Analysis Lab 0 credit hours
CHEM 4280 - Atomic Absorption Analysis Techniques 1 credit hour
CHEM 4380 - Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Experimental Methods 1 credit hour
CHEM 4530 - Biochemical Techniques 2 credit hours
CHEM 4430 - Advanced Synthetic Laboratory Techniques 3 credit hours
CHEM 4431 - Advanced Synthetic Laboratory Techniques Lab 0 credit hours
CHEM 4780 - Polymer and Materials Chemistry Laboratory 2 credit hours

Supporting Courses (20 hours)

MATH 1730 - Pre-Calculus 4 credit hours (3 credit hours may be counted in General Education, 1 credit hour remaining)
MATH 1910 - Calculus I 4 credit hours
MATH 1920 - Calculus II 4 credit hours
PHYS 2110 - Calculus-Based Physics I 0 credit hours AND
PHYS 2111 - Calculus-Based Physics Laboratory I 4 credit hours (may be counted in General Education)
PHYS 2120 - Calculus-Based Physics II 0 credit hours AND
PHYS 2121 - Calculus-Based Physics Laboratory II 4 credit hours

Electives (11-22 hours)

Sufficient upper-division credit must be taken to equal 36 credit hours

Recommended Curriculum: Chemistry, ACS Certified

Curricular listings include General Education requirements in Communication, History, Humanities and/or Fine Arts, Mathematics, Natural Sciences, and Social/Behavioral Sciences categories

Freshman

CHEM 1110 - General Chemistry I 4 credit hours (Nat Sci) AND
CHEM 1111 - General Chemistry I Lab 0 credit hours (Nat Sci)
CHEM 1120 - General Chemistry II 4 credit hours AND
CHEM 1121 - General Chemistry II Lab 0 credit hours
MATH 1730 - Pre-Calculus 4 credit hours (Math)
MATH 1910 - Calculus I 4 credit hours
ENGL 1010 - Expository Writing 3 credit hours (Comm)
ENGL 1020 - Research and Argumentative Writing 3 credit hours (Comm)
Choose 6 hours from:
HIST 2010 - Survey of United States History I 3 credit hours
HIST 2020 - Survey of United States History II 3 credit hours
HIST 2030 - Tennessee History 3 credit hours
HIST 2040 - Survey African American History I 3 credit hours
HIST 2050 - Survey African American History II 3 credit hours

Subtotal: 28 Hours

Sophomore

CHEM 2230 - Quantitative Analysis 3 credit hours AND
CHEM 2231 - Quantitative Analysis Lab 2 credit hours
CHEM 3010 - Organic Chemistry I 3 credit hours AND
CHEM 3011 - Organic Chemistry I Lab 1 credit hour
CHEM 3020 - Organic Chemistry II 3 credit hours AND
CHEM 3021 - Organic Chemistry II Lab 1 credit hour
PHYS 2110 - Calculus-Based Physics I 0 credit hours AND
PHYS 2111 - Calculus-Based Physics Laboratory I 4 credit hours
PHYS 2120 - Calculus-Based Physics II 0 credit hours AND
PHYS 2121 - Calculus-Based Physics Laboratory II 4 credit hours
MATH 1920 - Calculus II 4 credit hours
ENGL 2020 - Themes in Literature and Culture 3 credit hours (Hum/FA) OR
ENGL 2030 - The Experience of Literature 3 credit hours (Hum/FA) OR
HUM 2610 - World Literatures 3 credit hours (Hum/FA)
Elective 3 credit hours

Subtotal: 31 Hours

Junior

COMM 2200 - Fundamentals of Communication 3 credit hours (Comm)
Social/Behavioral Sciences (2 rubrics) 6 credit hours
Elective 3 credit hours
Humanities and/or Fine Arts 3 credit hours
CHEM 3000 - Careers in Chemistry and Biochemistry 1 credit hour
CHEM 4400 - Inorganic Chemistry I 3 credit hours
CHEM 3530 - Principles of Biochemistry 4 credit hours AND
CHEM 3531 - Principles of Biochemistry Lab 0 credit hours
CHEM 4350 - Physical Chemistry I 4 credit hours AND
CHEM 4351 - Physical Chemistry I Lab 0 credit hours
CHEM 4360 - In-depth Physical Chemistry 4 credit hours AND
CHEM 4361 - Physical Chemistry II Lab 0 credit hours

Subtotal: 31 Hours

Senior

Choose 4 hours from:
CHEM 3880 - Undergraduate Research II 1 to 4 credit hours OR
CHEM 3980 - Cooperative Education 1 to 4 credit hours OR
CHEM 4880 - Research 4 credit hours
Humanities and/or Fine Arts 3 credit hours
Electives 15 credit hours
Upper-division, in-depth CHEM lab elective 7 credit hours
CHEM lab elective 1 credit hour

Subtotal: 30 Hours

NOTE:

Included in the electives will be the hours necessary for the completion of the required 36 upper-division hours for graduation requirements and the necessary hours to satisfy the 120-hour graduation requirement.

NOTE 1: A student who has a sufficiently high score on the ACT Mathematics test may begin with MATH 1910 . If the background in math is weak, MATH 1710 should be taken before MATH 1730 .

NOTE 2: A student who has had little or no high school chemistry or is not satisfied with his/her high school chemistry should first take CHEM 1010 /CHEM 1011 before taking CHEM 1110 /CHEM 1111 .