Click here to view the Suggested Plan of Study
General Education Foundations
Please use this link to view a list of courses that meet each GEF requirement.
NOTE: Some major requirements will fulfill specific GEF requirements. Please see the curriculum requirements listed below for details on which GEFs you will need to select.
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| General Education Foundations | ||
| F1 - Composition & Rhetoric | 3-6 | |
| Introduction to Composition and Rhetoric and Composition, Rhetoric, and Research | ||
or ENGL 103 | Accelerated Academic Writing | |
| F2A/F2B - Science & Technology | 4-6 | |
| F3 - Math & Quantitative Reasoning | 3-4 | |
| F4 - Society & Connections | 3 | |
| F5 - Human Inquiry & the Past | 3 | |
| F6 - The Arts & Creativity | 3 | |
| F7 - Global Studies & Diversity | 3 | |
| F8 - Focus (may be satisfied by completion of a minor, double major, or dual degree) | 9 | |
| Total Hours | 31-37 | |
Please note that not all of the GEF courses are offered at all campuses. Students should consult with their advisor or academic department regarding the GEF course offerings available at their campus.
Degree Requirements
Students must complete WVU General Education Foundations requirements, College B.A. requirements, major requirements, and electives to total a minimum of 120 hours. For complete details on these requirements, visit the B.A. Degrees tab on the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences page. Students may not earn both a B.A. and a B.S. in Chemistry.
Departmental Requirements for the B.A. in Chemistry
- Capstone Requirement: The university requires the successful completion of a Capstone. Chemistry majors must take CHEM 402. WVUTeach students may substitute CHEM 376L for CHEM 402.
- Writing and Communication Skills: Chemistry Bachelor of Arts students fulfill the Writing and Communication Skills requirement by completing ENGL 101 and ENGL 102 (or ENGL 103), and two additional SpeakWrite Certified CoursesTM: CHEM 402, and a 2nd course selected from WRIT 304 or WRIT 305. WVUTeach Students may substitute CHEM 376L in place of CHEM 402 .
- Calculation of GPA in the major: A grade of C- or better in all chemistry is required in all courses applied to major requirements, including the STEM Foundations. If a course is repeated, all attempts will be included in the calculation of the GPA, unless the course is eligible for a D/F repeat.
- Course Requirement: Students in the B.A. program may use AGBI 410 to meet part of the seven-hour chemistry elective requirement; however, at least three hours must be selected from chemistry courses numbered 310 or higher. Students in the B.A. program may take CHEM 346, and CHEM 348 in lieu of CHEM 341 and CHEM 341L and three hours of chemistry electives. CHEM 348L may be taken as two hours of chemistry elective.
Curriculum Requirements
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| University Requirements | 51 | |
| ECAS B.A. Requirements | 12 | |
| Chemistry Major Requirements | 57 | |
| Total Hours | 120 | |
University Requirements
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| General Education Foundations (GEF) 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 (31-37 Credits) | ||
| Outstanding GEF Requirements 1, 4, 5, 6, and 7 | 18 | |
| CHEM 191 | First-Year Seminar | 1 |
| General Electives | 32 | |
| Total Hours | 51 | |
ECAS Bachelor of Arts Requirements
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Fine Arts Requirement | ||
| Foreign Language | 12 | |
| Global Studies and Diversity Requirement | ||
| Total Hours | 12 | |
Chemistry Major Requirements
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| STEM FOUNDATIONS * | 16 | |
| Calculus 1a with Precalculus and Calculus 1b with Precalculus | ||
or MATH 155 | Calculus 1 | |
| Calculus 2 | ||
| Introductory Physics 1 and Introductory Physics 2 | ||
| General Physics 1 and General Physics 2 | ||
| CORE CHEMISTRY COURSES | 24 | |
| Fundamentals of Chemistry 1 and Fundamentals of Chemistry 1 Laboratory | ||
| Fundamentals of Chemistry 2 and Fundamentals of Chemistry 2 Laboratory | ||
| Introductory Analytical Chemistry and Introductory Analytical Chemistry Laboratory | ||
| Organic Chemistry 1 | ||
| Organic Chemistry 1 Laboratory | ||
| Organic Chemistry 2 | ||
| Organic Chemistry 2 Laboratory | ||
| Physical Chemistry: Brief Course | ||
| Physical Chemistry: Brief Course Laboratory | ||
| UPPER-DIVISION ELECTIVES ** | 14 | |
| Select from the following: | ||
| Instrumental Analysis | ||
| Instrumental Analysis Laboratory | ||
| Environmental Chemistry | ||
| Methods of Structure Determination | ||
| Organic Syntheses Laboratory | ||
| Inorganic Chemistry 2 | ||
| Inorganic Synthesis Laboratory | ||
| Forensic Chemistry | ||
| Forensic Chemistry Laboratory | ||
| Senior Thesis | ||
| Research | ||
| Honors | ||
| Introductory Biochemistry | ||
| CAPSTONE EXPERIENCE | 3 | |
| Chemistry Capstone: Chemical Literature | ||
| Total Hours | 57 | |
Footnotes
- *
STEM foundation courses are common to most STEM majors and excluded from the calculation of the percentage of upper-division courses.
- **
Only six hours of CHEM 497 may be counted toward the fourteen-hour elective requirement.
Suggested Plan of Study
| First Year | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours |
| CHEM 191 | 1 | ENGL 101 (GEF 1) | 3 |
| Foreign Language 101 | 3 | Foreign Language 102 | 3 |
| ECAS Global Studies and Diversity Requirement (GEF 7) | 3 | CHEM 116 & 116L (GEF 8)* | 4 |
| CHEM 115 & 115L (GEF 2)* | 4 | MATH 156 (GEF 8) | 4 |
| MATH 155 (GEF 3) | 4 | General Elective | 1 |
| 15 | 15 | ||
| Second Year | |||
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours |
| ENGL 102 (GEF 1) | 3 | GEF 4 | 3 |
| Foreign Language 203 | 3 | Foreign Language 204 | 3 |
| CHEM 233 & 233L | 4 | CHEM 234 & 234L | 4 |
| PHYS 101 (GEF 8) | 4 | PHYS 102 | 4 |
| General Elective | 1 | General Elective | 1 |
| 15 | 15 | ||
| Third Year | |||
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours |
| GEF 5 | 3 | ECAS Fine Arts Requirement (GEF 6) | 3 |
| CHEM 215 & 215L | 4 | CHEM 341 & 341L | 4 |
| General Elective | 3 | Chemistry Elective 1 | 3 |
| General Elective | 3 | General Elective | 3 |
| General Elective | 2 | General Elective | 2 |
| 15 | 15 | ||
| Fourth Year | |||
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours |
| Chemistry Elective 2 | 4 | CHEM 402 | 3 |
| Chemistry Elective 3 | 3 | Chemistry Elective 4 | 4 |
| General Elective | 3 | General Elective | 3 |
| General Elective | 3 | General Elective | 3 |
| General Elective | 2 | General Elective | 2 |
| 15 | 15 | ||
| Total credit hours: 120 | |||
Major Learning Outcomes
Chemistry
- Will have sufficient knowledge of the fundamental chemical principles and an understanding of the methods of chemistry to be able to formulate solutions to problems of chemical relevance.
- Will have acquired sufficient training to perform accurate and precise quantitative analyses, to utilize modern instrumental methods of analysis, to analyze and report the results of chemical experimentation, to work safely with chemicals, and to work effectively both as an individual and in a small group.
- Will understand how to retrieve information from the chemical literature and be able to organize and communicate chemical information effectively in written reports and oral presentations.
- Will possess the basic laboratory skills and chemical knowledge to qualify for entry level industrial or government laboratory positions or to be able to apply and gain admission to competitive graduate and professional schools.