BS in Chemistry
Chemistry majors can choose between completing the requirements for the BS in Chemistry or the American Chemical Society (ACS) certified major in Chemistry.
Chemistry Major
The Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry is intended for those with an interest in chemistry, especially those who have already identified a strong interest in a particular sub-field of chemistry in which they want to focus. This Chemistry Major, though not certified by the American Chemical Society, provides excellent preparation in chemistry for a range of career aspirations, including graduate school and professional fields. Compared to the ACS-Chemistry major, it also offers significant flexibility, allowing each student to specialize in a specific discipline of chemistry, or to customize their own interdisciplinary focus that spans across multiple fields.
Program Requirements and Policies
- Seventeen (17) courses and accompanying labs are required to complete the major. These include six (6) Foundation courses, seven (7) Required Core courses and associated labs, and four (4) upper-level elective courses.
- Two of the four additional upper-level (UL) Chemistry courses may be substituted with intermediate or advanced related field courses.
- In addition to the course requirements below, Chemistry majors with a pre-medical focus should take Bio 13/15 and 14 in their second or third year. Note that Bio 13/15 and 14 may not be counted as related field courses for the Chemistry major.
Course Requirements
Foundation Courses
Level 1 (select one)
- Chem 1: General Chemistry I w/ Lab
- Chem 11: Expanded General Chemistry I w/ Lab
- Chem 16: Chemistry of Materials
Level 2 (select one)
- Chem 2: General Chemistry II w/ Lab
- Chem 12: Expanded General Chemistry II w/ Lab
Math Fundamentals (select all)
- Math 32: Calculus I
- Math 34: Calculus II
Physics Fundamentals (select a first semester course and a second semester course)
- Physics 1: Introduction to Physics I w/ Lab
- Physics 11: General Physics I w/ Lab
- Physics 2: Introduction to Physics II w/ Lab
- Physics 12: General Physics II w/ Lab
Core Courses (select all)
- Chem 31: Physical Chemistry I
- Chem 33: Physical Chemistry I Lab
- Chem 51: Organic Chemistry I
- Chem 52: Organic Chemistry II
- Chem 53: Organic Chemistry I Lab
- Chem 54: Organic Chemistry II Lab
- Chem 42: Analytical Chemistry OR Chem 43: Bioanalytical Chemistry and Chem 45: Bioanalytical Chemistry Lab
Electives (select four)
- The choice of four additional upper-level (UL) Chemistry courses allows each Chemistry major to delve deeper into a specific area of chemistry, or to create a customized, interdisciplinary focus that spans multiple fields. The following suggested focus areas are examples for how students can customize the Chemistry Major to match their interests. However, courses can be easily mixed and matched between areas, so please consider these a jumping off point for further exploration that can be adjusted based on your individual preferences and graduation timeline. Please note that these focus areas do not appear on your transcript.
- Only one course of undergraduate research, either Chem 82 (Research II) or Chem 199 (the second semester of Senior Thesis), may be counted toward the four additional courses in intermediate or advanced chemistry.
- Two of the four UL Chemistry courses may be substituted with intermediate or advanced courses from related fields. For a complete list of approved courses from related fields, please see Approved Courses in Related Fields.
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For students with an interest in the health sciences and bioorganic chemistry, the “Chemical Biology” focus area offers an opportunity to delve deeper into the Chemistry that underpins the processes of life.
- Chem 135: Biophysical Chemistry
- Chem 150: Mechanistic Reasoning in Organic Chemistry
- Chem 157: Molecular Medicine
- Chem 164: Bioinorganic Chemistry
- Chem 171: Organic Chemistry of Living Systems: Biochemistry
- Chem 172: Advanced Biochemistry
- Chem 176: Chemical Biology
- Additional coursework in related fields, including (but not limited to):
- ChBE 159: Synthetic Biology
- ChBE 165: Biomolecular Engineering and Design
- Bio 041 General Genetics
- Bio 046: Cell Biology
- Bio 61: Biology of Aging
- Bio 105: Molecular Biology
- Bio 156 Biophysics of Macromolecules
- Psy 123: Psychopharmacology
- Please note that only two of the four UL Chemistry courses may be substituted with intermediate or advanced course from related fields. For a complete list of approved courses from related fields, please see Approved Courses in Related Fields.
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For students with an interest in organic mechanism, process chemistry, and synthetic chemistry, the “Synthetic & Mechanistic Chemistry” focus area offers an emphasis on molecular structure, organic and inorganic synthesis, and organic reaction mechanisms.
- Chem 150: Mechanistic Reasoning in Organic Chemistry
- Chem 151: Physical Organic Chemistry
- Chem 152: Advanced Organic Synthesis
- Chem 155: Organic Spectroscopy
- Chem 157: Molecular Medicine
- Chem 61: Inorganic Chemistry
- Chem 161: Advanced Inorganic Chemistry
- Chem 162: Chemistry of Transition Elements
- Chem 163: Diffraction Methods of Structure Determination
- Chem 166: Organometallic Chemistry
- Additional coursework in related fields, including (but not limited to):
- CHBE 121: Principles of Polymerization
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For students with an interest in catalysis, nanoscience, and materials chemistry, the “Materials & Surface Science” focus offers an opportunity to study principles of the physical and structural basis of modern industrial processes and materials science.
- Chem 32: Physical Chemistry II
- Chem 61: Inorganic Chemistry
- Chem 161: Advanced Inorganic Chemistry
- Chem 136: Spectroscopy and Molecular Structure
- Chem 138: Atomic Scale Structure & Properties of Surfaces
- Chem 139: Chemistry of Complex Interfaces, Catalysts, and Devices
- Additional coursework in related fields, including (but not limited to):
- ChBE 121: Principles of Polymerization
- ChBE 122: Physical Chemistry of Polymers
- Phy 72: Introduction to Solid State Physics
- Phy 173: Introduction to Solid State Physics I
- Phy 174: Introduction to Solid State Physics II
- BME 155: Surfaces and Interfaces
- Please note that only two of the four UL chemistry courses may be substituted with intermediate or advanced course from related fields. For a complete list of approved courses from related fields, please see Approved Courses in Related Fields.
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For students with a dual interest in computer science and chemistry, the “Chemical Theory & Computation” track offers an opportunity to merge those interests into a cohesive set of classes that expands their chemical, theoretical, and computational toolkit.
- Chem 32: Physical Chemistry II
- Chem 131: Chemical Thermodynamics
- Chem 132: Chemical Kinetics and Dynamics
- Chem 133: Quantum Mechanics
- Chem 134: Statistical Mechanics
- Chem 135: Biophysical Chemistry
- Chem 136: Spectroscopy and Molecular Structure
- Additional coursework in related fields, including (but not limited to):
- Bio 35: Computational Biology
- Phy 42: Electricity and Magnetism I
- Phy 43: Electricity and Magnetism II
- Phy 68: Computational Physics
- Phy 131: Advanced Classical Mechanics
- Math 42: Calculus III
- Math 51: Differential Equations
- Math 70: Linear Algebra
- Math 87: Mathematical Modeling and Computation
- Math 123: Mathematical Aspects of Data Analysis
- Math 153: Ordinary Differential Equations
- Math 155: Partial Differential Equations I
- Math 156 Partial Differential Equations II
- Math 165: Probability
- Math 166: Statistics
- CS 15: Data Structures
- CS 30: Programming for Data Science
- CS 125: Numerical Analysis
- CS 126: Numerical Linear Algebra
- CS 132: Computer Vision
- CS 135: Introduction to Machine Learning
- CS 136: Statistical Pattern Recognition
- CS 137: Deep Neural Networks
- CS 138: Reinforcement Learning
- CS 149: Information Theory
- CS 168: Convex Optimization
- CS 160: Algorithms
- EE 23: Linear Systems
- EE 24: Probabilistic Systems Analysis
- EE 104: Probabilistic Systems Analysis
- EE 105 Feedback-control Systems
- EE 109: Convex Optimization
- EE 110: Optimization in Deep Learning
- EE 127: Information Theory
- EE 143: Iterative Methods for Machine Learning
- Please note that only two of the four UL chemistry courses may be substituted with intermediate or advanced course from related fields. For a complete list of approved courses from related fields, please see Approved Courses in Related Fields.
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For students with an interest in instrumentation and analysis, the “Chemistry for Climate” focus provides skills focused on the separation, identification, and quantification of molecules in the environment.
- Chem 141: Instrumental Analysis
- Chem 142: Advanced Analytical Methods
- Chem 144: Spectroscopic Methods of Analysis
- Chem 145: Separation Science
- Chem 165: Physical Methods in Inorganic Chemistry
- Additional coursework in related fields, including (but not limited to):
- Bio 143 Evolutionary Biology w/lab
- Bio 181 Tropical Ecology Conservation
- AST 32 Galactic and Extragalactic Astrophysics
- ECS 51: Global Climate Change
- ECS 52: Paleoclimate
- ECS 55: Sea Level Change in New England
- ENV 113: Groundwater. (Cross-listed as CEE 113 and ECS 131)
- ENV 125: - Science and Technology of Atmospheric Change (Cross-listed as ES 125)
- ENV 138: Hazardous Waste Treatment Tech
- ENV 139: Bioremediation: Natural & Enhanced (Cross-listed as CEE 139)
- ENV 170: Environmental Data Analysis and Visualization
- Please note that only two of the four UL Chemistry courses may be substituted with intermediate or advanced course from related fields. For a complete list of approved courses from related fields, please see Approved Courses in Related Fields.
Suggested Course Sequence for Chemistry Majors
Chem UL = intermediate or upper-level chemistry course
| Year | Fall | Spring |
| 1 | Chem 1 or 11 Math 32 | Chem 2 or 12 Math 34 |
| 2 | Chem 51/53 Phys 1 or 11 | Chem 52/54 Phys 2 or 12 |
| 3 | Chem 31/33 ChemUL | Chem 42 ChemUL |
| 4 | ChemUL | ChemUL |
Alternate Course Sequence for Chemistry Majors
Chem UL = intermediate or upper-level chemistry course
| Year | Fall | Spring |
| 1 | Math 32 | Chem 1 or 16 Math 34 |
| 2 | Chem 2 Phys 1 or 11 | Chem 42 Phys 2 or 12 |
| 3 | Chem 51/53 ChemUL | Chem 52/54 ChemUL |
| 4 | Chem 31/33 ChemUL | ChemUL |
ACS-Certified Chemistry Major
The American Chemical Society (ACS) certified major is a research-focused major certified by the American Chemical Society, recommended for those whose career goals include employment as a professional chemist or graduate school in chemistry. Students earning this degree will receive certification from the ACS which, for those students proceeding directly from college to employment, often results in higher salaries than those for non-certified majors. In addition, graduate schools and fellowship selection committees may view certified majors more favorably than non-certified ones. Course requirements leading to a certified major include research experience, which offers the student an opportunity to work closely with members of the department's research faculty.
Program Requirements and Policies
- Sixteen courses and accompanying labs are required to complete the major.
- In addition to the below required courses, ACS-Certified Chemistry Majors with a premedical focus should also take Biology 13 and 14 with labs.
Course Requirements
- The following six Foundation courses and accompanying labs:
- Chem 1: Chemical Fundamentals w/Lab (or Chem 11: General Chemistry or Chem 16: Chemistry of Materials)
- Chem 2: Chemical Principles w/Lab (or Chem 12: General Chemistry)
- Physics 1: Introduction to Physics I w/Lab or Physics 11: General Physics I w/Lab
- Physics 2: Introduction to Physics II w/Lab or Physics 12: General Physics II w/Lab
- Mathematics 32: Calculus I
- Mathematics 34: Calculus II
- The following seven Core courses and accompanying labs:
- Chem 31: Physical Chemistry I/Chem 33: Physical Chemistry Lab
- Chem 32: Physical Chemistry II/Chem 34: Physical Chemistry Lab
- Chem 42: Quantitative Analysis
- Chem 51: Organic Chemistry I/Chem 53: Organic Chemistry I Lab
- Chem 52: Organic Chemistry II/Chem 54: Organic Chemistry II Lab
- Chem 61: Inorganic Chemistry/Chem 63: Inorganic and Synthetic Chemistry Lab
- Chem 171: Biochemistry I
- One additional course in intermediate or advanced chemistry that has one of the following courses as a prerequisite: Chemistry 32, 42, 52, 61, or 171.
- One of the following sets of Research courses:
- Chem 81: Research I and Chem 82: Research II
- Chem 195: Senior Thesis I and Chem 199: Senior Thesis II
Recommended Course Sequence for ACS-Certified Chemistry Majors
Chem UL = intermediate or upper-level chemistry course
| Year | Fall | Spring |
| 1 | Chem 1 or 11 Math 32 | Chem 2 or 12 Math 34 Phys 11 |
| 2 | Chem 51/53 Phys 12 | Chem 52/54 Chem 42 |
| 3 | Chem 31/33 Chem 61/63 | Chem 32/34 Chem 171 |
| 4 | Chem 81* Chem UL | Chem 82* |
* Undergraduates are encouraged to pursue research (Chem 81/82) earlier if possible. These course sequences are intended to illustrate only one of the possible course sequences involving undergraduate research (Chem 81/82).
Degree Sheet Submission Instructions
For seniors who plan to graduate in May, follow the instructions below to apply for graduation, complete a Chemistry Major or ACS-Certified Chemistry Major Degree Sheet, and submit Graduation Materials.
- Login to your SIS account and go to your “academics” tab, and choose the last menu item, which is “apply for graduation”. Choose your “time/term of graduation” as May (August for those who are completing the requirements after summer school).
- For the distribution requirements, follow the instructions in the above link to see if they are satisfied.
- For the Chemistry Major or ACS-Certified Chemistry Major requirements, please find the form from our department website and fill it out: https://chem.tufts.edu/resources/forms-and-guides
- Once you fill out your degree sheet and SIGN, please email the pdf of the completed form to your advisor no later than Wednesday, November 20*. Please use Lastname_Firstname_DegreeSheet as your file name. Your advisor will go over the courses, check the grades, then send it to Department Chair via Box to sign it.
When the form is complete you will be notified by a member of Chemistry staff and you will add the signed form to your package and send to registrar via SIS upload.
Instructions from the registrar to upload Graduation Materials.
*If you submit your signed form to your advisor after 11/20, we cannot guarantee that your signed degree sheet will be back in time for you to submit your graduation packet by the 11/30 deadline.