BS in Biochemistry

The BS in Biochemistry is intended for those with an interest in the chemistry of living systems. It is an interdepartmental major for students interests in the chemistry of living systems, and is offered jointly by the Department of Chemistry and the Department of Biology.

Program Requirements and Policies

• Sixteen courses and their accompanying labs are required to complete the major.
• No major course may be taken Pass/Fail.
• If you have more than one major, please see Bulletin for rules on double-counting courses across majors.
• If you have a minor, no more than two course credits used toward the minor may be used toward foundation, distribution, major, or other minor requirements.
• Note: A student majoring in biochemistry no longer needs to complete biology or chemistry research to be eligible for a summa cum laude degree.

Course Requirements

Chemistry Courses

• Chemistry 1: Chemical Fundamentals w/lab OR Chemistry 11: General Chemistry 
• Chemistry 2: Chemical Principles w/lab OR Chemistry 12: General Chemistry
• Chemistry 31: Physical Chemistry I*
• Chemistry 43: Bioanalytical Chemistry (Recommend) OR Chemistry 42: Quantitative Analysis)
• Chemistry 51: Organic Chemistry I
• Chemistry 53: Organic Chemistry I Lab
• Chemistry 52: Organic Chemistry II
• Chemistry 54: Organic Chemistry II Lab
• Chemistry 171: Biochemistry I
• Chemistry 172: Biochemistry II

Biology Courses

• Biology 13: Cells and Organisms w/ Lab
• Biology 41: General Genetics
• Biology 50: Experiments in Molecular Biology or Biology 54: Molecular Genetics Project Lab or Chemical & Biological Engineering 163: Recombinant DNA Technology
• Biology 105: Molecular Biology

Other Required Courses

• Math 34: Calculus II*
• Physics 2: Introduction to Physics II w/ Lab or Physics 12: General Physics II w/ Lab

* The Biochemistry major requires Chemistry 31: Physical Chemistry, which has Math 34 and Phys 2 as prerequisites. Thus, the timing for completion of Math 32, Math 34, Phys 1 and Phys 2 (or their equivalents, such as AP credit) is flexible, but must be completed in the first three years.

Recommended Course Sequence Options for Biochemistry Majors

Chem UL = intermediate or upper-level chemistry course

Option 1
Year	Fall	Spring
1	Chem 1 or 11 Math 32	Chem 2 or 12 Math 34
2	Chem 51/53 Bio 13	Chem 52/54 Chem 171
3	Chem 43 Chem 172 Phys 1 or 11	Bio 41 Phys 2 or 12
4	Chem 31 Bio 50* Bio 105
Option 2
Year	Fall	Spring
1	Bio 13 Math 32	Bio 41 Math 34
2	Chem 1 or 11 Phys 1or 11 Bio 50*	Chem 2 or 12 Phys 2 or 12
3	Chem 51/53 Bio 105	Chem 52/54 Chem 171
4	Chem 31 Chem 43 Chem 172
Option 3
Year	Fall	Spring
1	Chem 1 or 11 Bio 13	Chem 2 or 12 Math 32
2	Chem 51/53 Phys 1 or 11 Math 34	Chem 52/54 Phys 2 or 12 Chem 171
3	Chem 172 Chem 43 (or 42 in Spring)	Bio 41
4	Chem 31 Bio 50* Bio 105

Note: Students who deviate from the proposed course sequences should check for class time overlap. For example, BIO 41 (Genetics) and Chem 52 (Organic Chemistry 2) are typically offered in the same time block in the Spring semester.

* For seniors graduating after Spring 2022, the Bio50 requirement can be fulfilled with Bio 50, Bio 54, ChBE 163, or a graded independent research course. ChBE 163 is a summer course and it is not offered every summer.

To fulfill the Bio 50 requirement, independent research must: 1) include a graded research-for-credit course such as Bio193 and Chem82 (but not Chem81), 2) involve molecular or cellular biology, and 3) be pre-approved.

To apply for the substitution, please prepare a one-page document with the following information:

• A summary of the research project and progress made (or expected to be made) during the graded semester(s) (no more than 200 words).
• A list of the research course(s) taken, grade(s) received, number of weeks worked each semester of graded research, and an average hours per week worked. If you are registering for research-for-credit for an upcoming semester, please list the course number and the expected number of hours per week.
• A bulleted list of techniques/procedures you personally performed (or will perform) as part of this research. No details are necessary, just list the names of the different methods. Note that you can list all techniques you have performed over the course of this research project, not just the ones you performed (or will perform) during the graded semester.

Please send the document to your Principal Investigator. The PI should read the document and provide feedback if necessary. Once the PI approves of the document, the PI should send it to Prof. Mace with their approval that the statement is accurate. You are encouraged to send this document before the semester in which you are doing research, in order to get pre-approved that your planned course of research indeed qualifies for the Bio50 substitution. For questions about pre-approval, please email Prof. Mace at charles.mace@tufts.edu

For Biochemistry majors graduating in or before Spring 2022, we will allow several additional Biology lab courses to take the place of Bio50 for the purposes of fulfilling the Bio50 requirement upon graduation. These courses are: Bio 49: Experiments in Physiology, Bio 52: Experiments in Cell Biology, Bio 55: Microbiome Research Lab, Bio 133: Ecological Statistics and Data with Lab, Bio 143: Evolutionary Biology with Lab.