Chemistry Degrees Online

At Green River Community College you may begin your studies by taking courses that prepare you to be “major ready” and transfer to a university. While you are taking your major prerequisites within your transfer degree, you can focus your distribution choices and elective credits toward meeting your educational goals and area of interest.
Chemistry, study of the composition, structure, properties, and interactions of matter. Much of chemistry can be described as taking substances apart and putting the parts together again in different ways. Using this approach, the chemical industry produces materials that are vital to the industrialized world.

Chemistry is the study of the property, composition and transformation of matter. As such it affects all aspects of our lives. Our food, clothing, fuel, and medicine could not be produced without the work of chemists. Chemists with bachelor’s degrees find employment in all areas of manufacturing, agribusiness, energy production, and health care, and in a wide variety of industrial, governmental, and medical laboratories. Areas of employment include product development and testing, quality control, environmental monitoring, and pollution control. Outside of the laboratory, chemists are employed by chemical and pharmaceutical companies in sales, technical service, and various other phases of business. High school teaching is another option for the chemist with a bachelor’s degree and appropriate certification.

A degree in chemistry is excellent preparation for further study in biochemistry, medicine, food science, oceanography, environmental science, patent law, microbiology, physiology, and engineering. Advanced degrees in chemistry qualify individuals for careers in research and higher education.

Master’s degree programs in chemical engineering accept students with degrees in chemistry. The B.S. in Chemistry, professional emphasis, with additional mathematics coursework, is recommended for admission to such programs.

Integrated Science Major for the B.S. Degree

The integrated science major is designed for students seeking certification to teach at the elementary school level. It provides the pre-service teacher broad exposure in all the sciences and emphasizes the connections among the scientific disciplines, their relationship with technology, and their relevance to society. In order to be certified, students must complete this major and the elementary teaching minor with at least a 2.7 GPA in each. Students are advised to take the MDE subject test after they have completed the major with a 2.7 GPA. The following requirements must be completed for the major.

Integrated Science Secondary Endorsement

Students who have declared or completed a major and minor in a science discipline may complete additional courses for an Integrated Science Secondary endorsement. The Michigan Department of Education will allow teachers with the Integrated Science Secondary endorsement to teach biology, chemistry, earth science and physics at the secondary level.

Chair: Carlson; Professors: Baum, Carlson, Gracki, Matchett, Miller, Nikkel, Richmond, Smart; Associate Professors: Bender, Henderleiter, Karpen, Leonard, McBane, Qi, Schaertel, Soman, Tanis, Witucki; Assistant Professors: Hart, Herrington, Kovacs, Lawrence, Ngassa, Powers, Wallar, Winchester, Yezierski.

For additional information about opportunities your college offers, please refer to your college’s section in this catalog.

Degrees offered: Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Arts in Chemistry: minor in chemistry. Teaching certification (secondary) in chemistry major and minor. Masters of Education (General Education, Middle and High School Emphasis, with a concentration in Chemistry) offered in cooperation with the College of Education.

Accreditation: The Chemistry Department is accredited by the Committee on Professional Training of the American Chemical Society.

Students who select a chemistry major must choose one of five emphases: the professional emphasis, the technical emphasis, the education emphasis, the biochemistry and biotechnology emphasis, or the environmental emphasis. The professional emphasis offers a well-rounded education in chemistry and provides a strong background for employment at the bachelor level or entry into graduate school. Completion of the professional emphasis leads to a degree certified by the American Chemical Society. The technical emphasis is designed for students who wish to work in industry and do not intend to enter graduate or professional school. Students interested in attending biochemistry graduate school or in obtaining employment in biochemical and biomedical laboratories may choose the biochemistry and biotechnology emphasis. This emphasis is also appropriate for students interested in attending professional health schools, such as medical school and pharmacy school. Students interested in teaching high school chemistry may choose the education emphasis. This emphasis includes courses in chemistry teaching methods and also requires a certified minor and completion of the Secondary Education Professional Program.

Students may select the environmental emphasis if they wish to seek employment in a position related to environmental chemistry or an advanced degree that may be related to environmental issues.

We recommend that students start in the professional emphasis, because it is easier to transfer from there to one of the other emphases than vice versa. For any degree program in chemistry it is important to start the proper sequence of chemistry courses as soon as possible. Students who wish to major in chemistry should see a member of the Chemistry Department to plan their program at the earliest opportunity.

CHM 115 - Principles of Chemistry I Credits: 5
CHM 116 - Principles of Chemistry II Credits: 5
CHM 222 - Quantitative Analysis Credits: 3
CHM 225 - Instrumental Analysis I Credits: 3
CHM 245 - Principles of Organic Chemistry I Credits: 3
CHM 246 - Principles of Organic Chemistry I Lab Credits: 1
CHM 247 - Principles of Organic Chemistry II Credits: 3
CHM 248 - Principles of Organic Chemistry II Lab Credits: 1
CHM 391 - Chemistry Seminar I Credits: 1

(See footnote 1 below)

CHM 115 - Principles of Chemistry I Credits:
CHM 221 - Survey of Analytical Chemistry Credits:
CHM 241 - Organic Chemistry For Life Sciences I Credits:
CHM 245 - Principles of Organic Chemistry I Credits:
CHM 246 - Principles of Organic Chemistry I Lab Credits:
And Either
CHM 242 - Organic Chemistry For Life Sciences II Credits:
CHM 247 - Principles of Organic Chemistry II Credits:
CHM 248 - Principles of Organic Chemistry II Lab Credits:
Plus one elective course from the following:
CHM 232 - Biological Chemistry Credits:
CHM 321 - Environmental Chemistry Credits:
CHM 322 - Environmental Chemical Analysis Credits:
CHM 351 - Introduction to Physical Chemistry Credits: 3
CHM 419 - Chemistry in Secondary Education Credits: 3
CHM 442 - Polymer Chemistry Credits:
CHM 461 - Biochemistry I Credits:

CHM 115 - Principles of Chemistry I Credits: 5
CHM 116 - Principles of Chemistry II Credits: 5

Completion of CHM 116, GEO 445, and MTH 201 satisfies the general education B.S. degree cognate requirements for dual majors.
CHM 222 - Quantitative Analysis Credits: 3
CHM 225 - Instrumental Analysis I Credits: 3
CHM 351 - Introduction to Physical Chemistry Credits: 3
CHM 352 - Applied Physical Chemistry Credits: 1
CHM 491 - Chemistry Seminar II Credits: 1

CHM 111 General Chemistry I 4
@ CHM 113 General Chemistry I Lab 0
@ CHM 112 General Chemistry II 4
@ CHM 114 General Chemistry II Lab 0
@ CHM 211 Organic Chemistry I 4
@ CHM 213 Organic Chemistry I Lab 0
@ @ CHM 212 Organic Chemistry II 4
@ CHM 214 Organic Chemistry II Lab 0
@ Elective Chemistry courses 3
@ BSC 245 Biochemistry (3)
@ ENB 321 Environmental Chemistry (4)
@ ENB 322 Environmental Chemistry Lab (0)

The following courses must be taken at the lower-division level:
General Chemistry II with Laboratory (4)
Calculus II (4)
The following courses can be taken at either the lower- OR upper-division level:
Organic Chemistry with Laboratory (8)
Physics with Laboratory (8)
CHEM315 Analytical Chemistry (3)
CHEM3l6 Analytical Chemistry Laboratory (1)
MATH 455 Differential Equations (3)

The following courses must be taken at the upper-division level:
CHEM350 Chemical Safety (1)
CHEM351 Chemistry and Ethics (1)
CHEM366 Physical Chemistry I: Lecture (3)
CHEM367 Physical Chemistry I: Laboratory (1)
CHEM368 Physical Chemistry II: Lecture (3)
CHEM369 Physical Chemistry II: Laboratory (1)
CHEM426 Instrumental Analysis (3)
CHEM427 Instrumental Analysis Laboratory (1)
CHEM433 Advanced Inorganic Chemistry (3)
CHEM434 Advanced Inorganic Chemistry Laboratory (1)
CHEM452 Introduction to Chemistry Software and Molecular Modeling (1)
CHEM455 Chemical Literature (1)
CHEM544 Biochemistry: Lecture (3)
CHEM545 Biochemistry: Laboratory (1)
STAT 520 Statistical Methods (3)
Advanced Laboratory Selective (2 Hours)

CHEM 450 Organic Synthesis and Structural Methods (2)
CHEM 485 Undergraduate Research Experience (2)
Computer Science Selective (3 hours)

Select one of the following which may be taken at either the lower- OR upper-division level:
CPSC 305 Introduction to Computer Technology (3)
CPSC 320 Computer Programming: QBASIC and Visual BASIC (3)
CPSC 330 Computer Programming: FORTRAN (3)
Biology Selective (3 hours)*

Select three hours of lower-division or upper-division biology course work.
Advanced Selectives (6 hours)

Select six hours from the following courses.
CHEM490 Chemistry Research (1-3)
CHEM505 Environmental Chemistry Lecture (3)
CHEM 506 Environmental Chemistry Laboratory ( 1 )
CHEM535 Industrial Chemistry (3)CHEM546 Biochemistry Lecture II (3)
CHEM546 Biochemistry: Lecture II (3)
CHEM550 Polymer Chemistry (3)
Other science courses as approved by academic advisor

Students must meet all university requirements for a bachelor’s degree. In addition, only grades of “C” or better will be accepted for transfer for the following courses normally taken at the lower-division level:
Eight hours of general chemistry with laboratory
Eight hours of organic chemistry with laboratory
Eight hours of physics with laboratory
Eight hours of calculus

The curriculum for the undergraduate major in Chemistry provides a strong background in the basic concepts of analytical, organic, physical, and inorganic chemistry. Laboratory courses provide hands-on experience in the operation of a number of modern scientific instruments.

Upon graduation, the student is prepared for employment in government and industrial laboratories in a variety of entry level positions. The student also has the necessary preparation for graduate work in chemistry and meets all requirements for admission to the M.S. in Analytical Chemistry at Governors State University.
American Chemical Society Certification

The B.S. in Chemistry at Governors State University is approved by the American Chemical Society. The American Chemical Society approves professional programs designed to meet guidelines that define high quality undergraduate education. Students qualify for certification by completing the degree requirements below, including at least six trimester hours of advanced courses and sufficient laboratory course work for a total of 500 laboratory hours. All qualified graduates will receive certification by the American Chemical Society. Certified graduates are eligible for full membership in the American Chemical Society immediately upon graduation.