Washington College

Department of Chemistry

Get to Know the Department Faculty


Program Requirements

The program in chemistry at Washington College strives to integrate classroom instruction with laboratory experimentation and faculty-student collaborative research. Our program is approved by the American Chemical Society. The program is designed to prepare students for graduate work in pure chemistry, for professional work in other scientific fields such as environmental science, engineering, medicine, dentistry, nursing, pharmacy, neuroscience and veterinary science, for teaching at the secondary school level, and for work in industrial or governmental laboratories. Chemistry graduates have established diverse career paths that range from a dedication to pure or applied scientific research, to management of scientific and business concerns, to consultantships with industries and governments on scientific, environmental, legal, and business issues, and to service as medical personnel and elected public officials.

Freshman Courses

Sophomore courses

Premedical students are advised to take CHE 111, 112 and BIO 111, and 112 during their first year. Students intending to teach at the secondary school level should consult with the Chair of the Department of Education and the Chair of Chemistry about planning a full-course schedule as early as possible in their college career. Such students need to be aware that NASDTEC Certification in Chemistry requires BIO 111, 112 and at least one course in computer science.

Programs in Chemistry

The Department offers two programs leading to the Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry. Each program involves a core chemistry curriculum, four auxiliary courses in math and physics, and chemistry electives. The auxiliary courses should be completed in the first two years.

Requirements for the Non-ACS Certified Chemistry Major

Non-ACS Core Curriculum -(offered annually)

Four Auxiliary Courses in Math and Physics

In addition to the above, students who elect this program take four elective courses at the 200 level or above. A maximum of three of these four courses can be certain upper level biology or physics courses provided that these biology or physics courses are not counted towards that major. These courses include but are not limited to:

Substitute Biology and Physics Courses

Requirements for the ACS Certified Chemistry Major

ACS Core Curriculum -(offered annually)

Four Auxiliary Courses in Math and Physics

Students who elect this program must take at least one advanced course at the 400-level.

Advanced Chemistry Courses

Chemistry Seminar

All junior and senior majors participate in a four-semester Chemistry Seminar which constitutes one course equivalent. Each junior and each senior gives one seminar each semester on a topic of his or her choice that has been approved by a department member.

Senior Capstone Experience

Chemistry majors fulfill the Senior Capstone Experienceby conducting a yearlong research project in collaboration with a chemistry faculty member and writing a thesis-quality report. Many projects involve synthetic and preparative procedures. All projects involve the application of analytical techniques including the use of the department's research-grade UV-VIS, FTIR, AA, NMR, GC, HPLC, GC-MS, electrochemical analyzer, and polarimeter. Seniors present the results of their project in a poster session that is open to the College community. The department has a set of Senior Capstone ExperienceGuidelines that are distributed to both junior and senior chemistry majors each fall. For those students meeting the College-wide standards of eligibility for departmental honors at graduation, the capstone experience also forms the basis of an oral examination given at the end of the student's final semester. Students must enroll in CHE SCE in their final semester to obtain credit for the Senior Capstone Experience. The Senior Capstone Experience is graded according to the Washington College grading system, which involves the use of letter grades (A-F) that may be modified by a minus or a plus.

Requirements for the Chemistry Minor

Students intending to minor in Chemistry should meet with the Department Chair early in their career to insure that they are able to complete the following:

Internship and Research Opportunities

A number of stipend-bearing internships and research opportunities exist for chemistry majors and minors. Summer on-campus research projects as well as summer and semester-long off-campus internships not only provide additional laboratory experience, but also allow students the opportunity to explore, in depth, areas of chemistry not covered in the core curriculum. Off-campus internships may or may not bear credit. On-campus summer internships are credit bearing.

Honors Courses

The Department of Chemistry offers Honors sections of General Chemistry I and General Chemistry II.

Distribution Courses

For distribution credit in Natural Sciences, the Chemistry department offers CHE 111, 112. General Chemistry I, II, CHE 110. Chemistry of the Environment, and CHE 100. Introduction to Contemporary Chemistry.

Advanced Placement Credit

Students scoring 4 or 5 on the chemistry advanced placement examination may, with the approval of the department, receive credit for General Chemistry I, II.

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