Chemistry Honours Program
Department of Chemistry | Faculty of Science
¶¡ÏãÔ°AV Calendar 2013 Spring
Students intending to specialize in Chemistry
The point at which a high school or regional college student enters the chemistry program is governed by the student's subject knowledge. CHEM 110 and 111 are not required for the BSc degree but are available as electives to those with no chemistry knowledge or who are starting from BC high school chemistry 11. Those with BC high school chemistry 12 (or equivalent) normally start with CHEM 121. Major and honours students must fulfil program requirements below. Whether majoring in chemistry or not, students may not enrol in any CHEM course for which a D grade was obtained in any prerequisite.
Students are encouraged to complete the Department of Physics' standard stream (PHYS 120, 121, 131) or advanced stream (PHYS 125, 126, 131). Students may also choose to complete the studio physics stream (PHYS 140, 141). Students who complete the life sciences stream (PHYS 101, 102, 130, with a minimum B grade), which has a BISC 100 or 101 or 102 corequisite, should have sufficient preparation for the major program.
The following statements clarify and standardize the minimum requirements that a student must fulfil to complete a chemistry course as well as those to pass a combination lecture/laboratory course.
Course non-completion
The following will constitute non-completion of the required material in a chemistry course.
- not writing the final examination or its equivalent
- not completing the required minimum number of experiments in a laboratory course or the laboratory component of a course
- not completing additional or alternative material specified by the instructor
The letter grade N will be awarded in these cases.
Students must pass both the lecture and laboratory components individually to obtain a passing grade in lecture/laboratory combination courses.
Program Requirements
Mathematics and physics courses should be completed as early as possible.
For an example of a typical program schedule, visit
Lower Division Requirements
Students complete 62-63 units, including all of
- CHEM 121-4 General Chemistry and Laboratory I
- CHEM 122-2 General Chemistry II
- CHEM 126-2 General Chemistry Laboratory II
- CHEM 215-4 Introduction to Analytical Chemistry
- CHEM 230-3 Inorganic Chemistry
- CHEM 236W -3 Inorganic Chemistry Laboratory
- CHEM 260-4 Atoms, Molecules, Spectroscopy
- CHEM 266-2 Physical Chemistry Laboratory I -- The Microscopic World of Chemistry
- CHEM 281-4 Organic Chemistry I
- CHEM 283-3 Organic Chemistry IIb
- CHEM 286-2 Organic Chemistry Laboratory II
- MATH 152-3 Calculus II
- MATH 232-3 Applied Linear Algebra
- MATH 251-3 Calculus III
- MBB 222-3 Molecular Biology and Biochemistry
- PHYS 211-3 Intermediate Mechanics
- PHYS 231-3 Physics Laboratory II
and one of
- MATH 150-4 Calculus I with Review
- MATH 151-3 Calculus I
and all of
- PHYS 120-3 Mechanics and Modern Physics
- PHYS 121-3 Optics, Electricity and Magnetism
- PHYS 131-2 Physics Laboratory I
or all of
- PHYS 125-3 Mechanics and Special Relativity
- PHYS 126-3 Electricity, Magnetism and Light
- PHYS 131-2 Physics Laboratory I
or both of
- PHYS 140-4 Studio Physics – Mechanics and Modern Physics
- PHYS 141-4 Studio Physics – Optics, Electricity and Magnetism
Upper Division Requirements
Students complete 48 units, including all of
- CHEM 316-4 Introductory Instrumental Analysis
- CHEM 332-3 The Chemistry of Transition Metals
- CHEM 336-2 Advanced Inorganic Chemistry Laboratory
- CHEM 360-3 Thermodynamics and Chemical Kinetics
- CHEM 366W -3 Physical Chemistry Laboratory II
- CHEM 380-4 Chemical and Instrumental Methods of Identification of Organic Compounds
- CHEM 481-5 Undergraduate Research
- NUSC 341-3 Introduction to Radiochemistry
and one of
- CHEM 460-3 Advanced Physical Chemistry
- CHEM 464-3 Quantum Chemistry
and an additional 18 upper division units in CHEM, MBB or NUSC courses, including at least nine units of 400 division CHEM courses.
Electives
In addition to the above, students complete 21-22 elective units, including
- courses chosen to fulfil the WQB requirements
- upper division courses from any faculty (excluding EDUC 401-407) to total a minimum of 60 upper division units
- electives at any division from any faculty to provide the minimum 132 units for the honours
Those specializing in physical or theoretical chemistry should complete more mathematics courses than specified above and a course in computer programming.
Faculty of Science Requirements
In addition to the above requirements, students must also satisfy Faculty of Science honours program requirements as follows.
- students are required to complete additional upper division units to total a minimum of 60 upper division units (excluding EDUC 401 to 406)
- students who were enrolled at ¶¡ÏãÔ°AV between fall 1991 and summer 2006 are required to complete a minimum of 12 units in subjects outside the Faculty of Science (excluding EDUC 401 to 406) including six units minimum to be completed in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
Writing, Quantitative, and Breadth Requirements
Students admitted to ¶¡ÏãÔ°AV beginning in the fall 2006 term must meet writing, quantitative and breadth requirements as part of any degree program they may undertake. See Writing, Quantitative, and Breadth Requirements for university-wide information.
WQB Graduation Requirements A grade of C- or better is required to earn W, Q or B credit. |
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Requirement | Units |
Notes | |
W - Writing | 6 |
Must include at least one upper division course, taken at ¶¡ÏãÔ°AV within the student’s major subject | |
Q - Quantitative | 6 |
Q courses may be lower or upper division | |
B - Breadth | 18 |
Designated Breadth | Must be outside the student’s major subject, and may be lower or upper division 6 units Social Sciences: B-Soc 6 units Humanities: B-Hum 6 units Sciences: B-Sci |
6 |
Additional Breadth | 6 units outside the student’s major subject (may or may not be B-designated courses, and will likely help fulfil individual degree program requirements) |
Residency Requirements and Transfer Credit
The University’s residency requirement stipulates that, in most cases, total transfer and course challenge credit may not exceed 60 units, and may not include more than 15 units as upper division work.
Elective Courses
In addition to the courses listed above, students should consult an academic advisor to plan the remaining required elective courses.
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