Students who elect the program which does not lead to ACS certification may substitute a maximum of three upper level courses with certain upper level biology or physics courses provided that these biology or physics courses are not counted towards that major. In addition, junior and senior majors in both programs leading to the B.S. degree in Chemistry participate in a four-semester Chemistry Seminar which constitutes one course equivalent. Each junior and each senior gives one seminar each year on a topic of his or her choice that has been approved by a department member. Each senior presents a poster on the results of his or her senior research. In collaboration with a chemistry faculty member, chemistry majors fulfill the senior obligation by conducting a yearlong research project.
Many research projects involve synthetic and preparative procedures.
The results of this activity are presented in the department's seminar program and are included in a written, thesis-quality report. For those students meeting college-wide standards of eligibility for departmental honors at graduation, the project also forms the basis of an oral examination given at the end of the student's final semester. The Joseph H. McLain Prize is awarded to the graduating senior, who, in the opinion of the Department of Chemistry, shows the greatest promise for making a future contribution to man's understanding of chemistry. A number of stipend-bearing internships and research opportunities exist for chemistry majors and minors. Off-campus internships may or may not bear credit.