Undergraduate Program

College of Arts and Sciences and Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology Undergraduate Admission Requirements

A minimum of 26 credit hours; 23 credit hours must be in courses acceptable toward graduation.

A cumulative grade point average of at least 2.00 on all work.

  • Transfer students must have a 2.00 transfer GPA.
  • Continuing UNM students must have a 2.00 institutional GPA.

Demonstrated academic achievement by satisfying the following:

  • Completion of General Education Curriculum: Communication.
  • Completion of General Education Curriculum: Mathematics and Statistics.
  • Completion of General Education Curriculum: Second Language.

Completion of Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology admission course work with grades of "C" or better:

  • CHEM 1225 or 1227.
  • MATH 1430 or 1512.

Degrees Offered

  • Bachelor of Arts in Chemistry (B.A.)
  • Bachelor of Science in Chemistry (B.S.)

Major Study Requirements

Bachelor of Arts in Chemistry:

  • CHEM 1215, 1215L, 1225, 1225L, 2310C, **301, **302, 303L, 304L, **315, and sufficient elective credit hours to bring the total to 31 credit hours. Electives must be selected from the following courses: CHEM 421, 425, *431, 471, 495-496 (no more than 2 credit hours in 495-496).
  • MATH 1512, 1522; PHYS 1230, 1230L, 1240, 1240L. Those students who previously majored in a field requiring MATH 1430 and 1440 and then switched to the B.A. in Chemistry program may substitute that sequence for MATH 1512 and 1522 with the permission of the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology Chairperson. If the substitution is approved, the student must also take an additional 3 credit hours of Mathematics in a course approved by the Chemistry and Chemical Biology Department Chairperson.

Bachelor of Science in Chemistry:

  • CHEM 1215, 1215L, 1225, 1225L, 2310C, **301, **302, 303L, 304L, **311, **312, 411L, *431, 453L; at least 7 additional credit hours selected from courses numbered CHEM **325-498 (at least 3 of the 7 credit hours must be a laboratory course). Up to 3 credit hours of CHEM 495-498 or 2 credit hours of 495-498 and 1 credit hour of **325-**326 may be counted toward the B.S. degree.
  • PHYS 1310, 1310L, 1320, 1320L; mathematics equivalent to MATH 2530 and one course from MATH 311-**316.

Notes:

  • The undergraduate programs of the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology conform to the standards prescribed by the American Chemical Society.
  • CHEM 1217 may be substituted for CHEM 1215.
  • CHEM 1227 may be substituted for CHEM 1225.
  • Physics and mathematics courses required for the B.A. or B.S. degree may not be taken with the Credit/No Credit "CR/NC" grade option.
  • If changing from a B.A. to a B.S., students are required to complete: MATH 1512, 1522; PHYS 1310, 1310L, 1320, 1320L. 
  • Students wishing to have their B.S. degree certified by the American Chemical Society (ACS) must include CHEM 421 and 3 credit hours of research in their 6 credit hours of electives.

Credit Conflicts: Content on specific courses overlaps enough to necessitate restricting credit of both courses toward a student’s degree. These courses are not considered equivalent and the completion of the second course in a pair will not affect a student’s earned hours on the transcript. Students should consult their advisor if they feel the incorrect course is applied for credit on their degree audit. 

Students will be allowed to apply only one of the following courses in each pair for credit towards a degree:

  • CHEM 1120C -or- CHEM 1215
  • CHEM 1120C -or- CHEM 1217
  • CHEM 1225 -or- CHEM 1227
  • CHEM 2120 -or- CHEM **301

Distributed Minor for Chemistry Majors (B.S.)

In lieu of a specific minor, a student in the B.S. program may obtain a distributed minor. 

Requirements:

  • Completion of the Chemistry B.S. requirements.
  • One additional course from MATH 311, **314 or **316.
  • ENGL 2210.

No distributed minors are allowed for B.A. majors.


Minor Study Requirements 

20 credit hours in Chemistry to include: CHEM 1215, 1215L, 1225, 1225L, 2310C, **301, **302, 303L, 304L.

Any deviation from the requirements prescribed above must be approved in writing.


Departmental Honors

The student enters the program at the beginning of the junior year. At this time the student's GPA must be at least 3.50 in Chemistry and at least 3.20 overall. This minimum must be maintained throughout the junior and senior years.

Course requirements for graduation with honors are as follows: (CHEM 1215 or 1217) and 1215L, (1225 or 1227) and 1225L, 2310C, **301, **302, 303L, 304L, **311, **312, 411L, 421, *431, 432L, 453L, and 7 credit hours of additional courses from **325-498, including at least 3 credit hours of 497-498.

A senior honors thesis is written based on the senior honors research and submitted to the faculty. An oral presentation is also be made in a departmental or divisional seminar. Honors students also take the Graduate Record Examination Advanced Test in Chemistry in their senior year and must obtain a satisfactory score.


Courses

CHEM 1105. Preparation for College Chemistry. (2)



CHEM 1106. Foundations of Chemistry. (3)



CHEM 1110C. Chemistry in Our Community Lecture and Laboratory. (4)



CHEM 1120C. Introduction to Chemistry for Non-Majors Lecture and Laboratory. (4)



CHEM 1215. General Chemistry I for STEM Majors. (3)



CHEM 1215L. General Chemistry I for STEM Majors Laboratory. (1)



CHEM 1217. Principles of Chemistry I. (3)



CHEM 1225. General Chemistry II for STEM Majors. (3)



CHEM 1225L. General Chemistry II for STEM Majors Laboratory. (1)



CHEM 1227. Principles of Chemistry II. (3)



CHEM 1996. Topics. (1-6, no limit Δ)



CHEM 2120. Integrated Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry. (4)



CHEM 2310C. Quantitative Analysis Lecture and Laboratory. (4)



CHEM **301. Organic Chemistry. (3)



CHEM **302. Organic Chemistry. (3)



CHEM 303L. Organic Chemistry Laboratory. (1)



CHEM 304L. Organic Chemistry Laboratory. (1)



CHEM **311. Physical Chemistry. (3)



CHEM **312. Physical Chemistry. (3)



CHEM **315. Introductory Physical Chemistry. (4)



CHEM **325. Special Topics for Undergraduates. (1-3, may be repeated once Δ)



CHEM **326. Special Topics for Undergraduates. (1-3 to a maximum of 6 Δ)



CHEM **391. Readings in Selected Topics. (1-3 to a maximum of 6 Δ)



CHEM **392. Readings in Selected Topics. (1-3, may be repeated once Δ)



CHEM 411L. Laboratory Methods In Physical Chemistry. (3)



CHEM 421. Biological Chemistry. (3)



CHEM 425. Organic Chemistry of Biological Pathways. (3)



CHEM *431. Advanced Inorganic Chemistry. (3)



CHEM 432L. Advanced Synthetic Chemistry Laboratory. (3)



CHEM 452. Polymer Chemistry. (3)



CHEM 453L. Analytical Instrumentation: Theory and Application. (4)



CHEM 457. Environmental Chemistry. (3)



CHEM 469 / 569. Characterization Methods for Nanostructures. (3)



CHEM 471. Advanced Topics in Chemistry. (2-3 to a maximum of 6 Δ)



CHEM 495. Undergraduate Problems. (1-3)



CHEM 496. Undergraduate Problems. (1-3 to a maximum of 4 Δ)



CHEM 497. Senior Honors Research. (1-3 to a maximum of 4 Δ)



CHEM 498. Senior Honors Research. (1-3 to a maximum of 4 Δ)



CHEM *499. Chemistry Seminar-Research. (1, may be repeated once Δ)



CHEM 500. Scientific Teaching in Chemistry. (1-3, no limit Δ)



CHEM 501. Molecular Structure Theory. (3)



CHEM 504. Chemical Dynamics. (3)



CHEM 511. Mechanisms in Organic Chemistry. (3)



CHEM 514. Synthesis in Organic Chemistry. (3)



CHEM 515. Topics in Organic Chemistry. (1-3 to a maximum of 6 Δ)



CHEM 516. Topics in Organic Chemistry. (1-3 to a maximum of 6 Δ)



CHEM 521. Biological Chemistry. (3)



CHEM 536. Synthesis and Mechanism in Inorganic Chemistry. (3)



CHEM 537. Topics in Inorganic Chemistry. (3, may be repeated twice Δ)



CHEM 538. Topics in Inorganic Chemistry. (3, may be repeated twice Δ)



CHEM 545. Topics in Analytical Chemistry. (3, may be repeated twice Δ)



CHEM 546. Topics in Analytical Chemistry. (3, may be repeated twice Δ)



CHEM 567. Topics in Physical Chemistry. (3, may be repeated twice Δ)



CHEM 569 / 469. Characterization Methods for Nanostructures. (3)



CHEM 587. Advanced Topics in Biological Chemistry. (3, may be repeated twice Δ)



CHEM 599. Master's Thesis. (1-6, no limit Δ)



CHEM 623. Research Colloquium. (1, may be repeated nine times Δ)



CHEM 625. Chemistry Divisional Seminar. (1, no limit Δ)



CHEM 627. Chemistry Instrumentation Seminar. (1, may be repeated once Δ)



CHEM 650. Research/Readings. (2-12, no limit Δ)



CHEM 699. Dissertation. (3-12, no limit Δ)



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Office of the Registrar

MSC11 6325
1 University of New Mexico
Albuquerque, NM 87131

Phone: (505) 277-8900
Fax: (505) 277-6809