Offered at: San Luis Obispo Campus
The Chemistry and Biochemistry Department provides curricula leading to the Bachelor of Science in Chemistry and the Bachelor of Science in Chemistry with a concentration in Polymers and Coatings. Both the BS in Chemistry and the BS in Chemistry with a concentration in Polymers and Coatings are certified by the American Chemical Society.
The baccalaureate curriculum in chemistry includes required foundational courses in general chemistry, analytical chemistry, inorganic chemistry, organic chemistry, biochemistry, polymer chemistry, and physical chemistry. Advanced undergraduates choose electives from courses that cover a broad range of specialized topics, such as instrumental and environmental chemistry, nutritional biochemistry, advanced organic and physical chemistry, pharmacology, and polymer chemistry. The curriculum emphasizes laboratory work, especially current techniques and the use of instrumentation in all fields of chemistry. The program provides opportunities for independent research under faculty guidance, including a requirement for a capstone project. Under the department's cooperative education program, bachelor's degree candidates may work full-time in industry or government for one or two semesters, for pay and academic credit.
Career opportunities for chemists lie in traditional areas such as environmental analysis, the health professions, industrial research and production, pharmacology, toxicology, product quality control, and teaching at the secondary or university level. Newer opportunities lie in related areas such as library science, market research, patent law, and safety engineering.
Concentrations
Polymers and Coatings
Offered at: San Luis Obispo Campus
Students may select the Polymers and Coatings concentration instead of advanced approved biochemistry electives in Major Courses. The concentration includes the required courses in the biochemistry curriculum and electives in the area of polymers, coatings, surface chemistry and materials engineering. The concentration gives students the background and practical experience to move into a rewarding career in a wide range of fields including paints and coatings, resins, plastics, adhesives and sealants.
Program Learning Objectives
- Understand and apply the fundamental concepts of chemistry in the following areas: calculation and estimation, structure and properties of atoms, ions and molecules, chemical bonding and chemical reactivity.
- Use techniques and modern tools to conduct, design, analyze, and interpret experiments in chemistry and biochemistry.
- Communicate effectively with the scientific community.
- Apply concepts of math, physical and biological sciences to chemical problems.
- Integrate the concepts, skills and attitudes from a general education with their major program to understand and explain the impact of chemistry, science and technology on issues in global, economic, environmental, and societal contexts.
Degree Requirements and Curriculum
In addition to the program requirements on this page, students must also satisfy requirements outlined in more detail in the Minimum Requirements for Graduation section of this catalog, including:
- 40 units of upper-division courses
- 2.0 GPA
- Graduation Writing Requirement (GWR)
- U.S. Cultural Pluralism (USCP)
Note: No Major, Support or Concentration courses may be selected as credit/no credit. In addition, no more than 12 units of cooperative or internship courses can count towards your degree requirements.
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| MAJOR COURSES | ||
| CHEM 1103 | Research Methods I | 1 |
| CHEM 1120 | Fundamentals of Chemical Structure and Properties (5A & 5C) 1 | 4 |
| CHEM 1122 | Fundamentals of Chemical Reactivity | 4 |
| CHEM 2201 | Undergraduate Research | 1 |
| or CHEM 2203 | Research Methods II | |
| CHEM 2220 | Inorganic Chemistry I: D-Block Chemistry | 3 |
| CHEM 2221 | Inorganic Chemistry I Laboratory | 1 |
| CHEM 2242 | Organic Chemistry I | 5 |
| CHEM 3302 | Undergraduate Seminar II | 1 |
| CHEM 3330 | Foundations of Chemical Analysis | 4 |
| CHEM 3352 | Biochemistry (Upper-Division 2/5) 1 | 4 |
| CHEM 3380 | Foundations of Macromolecular Chemistry | 4 |
| CHEM 3392 | Physical Chemistry I | 3 |
| CHEM 3393 | Physical Chemistry Laboratory I | 1 |
| CHEM 4461 | Senior Project I | 1 |
| CHEM 4462 | Senior Project II | 1 |
| Advanced Lecture/Laboratory Subdiscipline Extension Electives | ||
| Select courses from two different subdisciplines from the following: | 8-10 | |
| Analytical | ||
| Instrumental Analysis | ||
| Biochemistry | ||
| Genetic Information Processing | ||
| Inorganic | ||
| Inorganic Chemistry II: Group Theory and Spectroscopy and Inorganic Chemistry II Laboratory | ||
| Organic | ||
| Organic Chemistry II | ||
| Physical Chemistry | ||
| Physical Chemistry II and Physical Chemistry Laboratory II | ||
| Polymers | ||
| Polymer Synthesis and Characterization and Polymer Synthesis and Characterization Laboratory | ||
| Concentration or Advanced Elective Courses | 13-16 | |
| (See Concentration below) | ||
| Advanced Electives 2,3 | ||
| Organic Chemistry II | ||
| Inorganic Chemistry II: Group Theory and Spectroscopy and Inorganic Chemistry II Laboratory | ||
| Metabolism | ||
| Genetic Information Processing | ||
| Marine Chemistry | ||
| Environmental Chemistry | ||
| Chemical and Biological Warfare | ||
| Physical Chemistry II and Physical Chemistry Laboratory II | ||
| Advanced Undergraduate Research 4 | ||
| Learning Assistant Seminar 5 | ||
| College Teaching Practicum | ||
| Inorganic Chemistry III: Transition Metals in Context | ||
| Instrumental Analysis | ||
| Advanced Techniques in Chemical Analysis | ||
| Advanced Organic Chemistry - Mechanisms | ||
| Advanced Organic Chemistry - Synthesis | ||
| Advanced Organic Chemistry Laboratory | ||
| Nutritional Biochemistry | ||
| Bioinformatics Applications | ||
| Physical Biochemistry Methods and Applications | ||
| Molecular Biology Techniques | ||
| Protein Techniques | ||
| Chemical Biology | ||
| Chemistry of Drugs and Poisons | ||
| Neurochemistry | ||
| Special Advanced Topics | ||
| Special Advanced Laboratory | ||
| Polymer Synthesis and Characterization and Polymer Synthesis and Characterization Laboratory | ||
| Coatings and Formulations | ||
| Coatings and Formulations Laboratory | ||
| Functional Polymeric Materials | ||
| Cooperative Education Experience 5 | ||
| Surface Chemistry of Materials | ||
| Polymers and Coatings Internship | ||
| Computational Chemistry | ||
| Cooperative Education Experience 5 | ||
| The Learn By Doing Lab Teaching Practicum 5 | ||
| SUPPORT COURSES | ||
| BIO 1151 | Life: Molecules and Cells (5B) 1 | 4 |
| MATH 1261 | Calculus I (2) 1 | 4 |
| MATH 1262 | Calculus II | 4 |
| MATH 2263 | Calculus III | 3 |
| PHYS 1141 | General Physics I | 4 |
| PHYS 1143 | General Physics II | 4 |
| GENERAL EDUCATION (GE) | ||
| (See GE program requirements below) | 30 | |
| FREE ELECTIVES | ||
| Free Electives 6, 7 | 3-6 | |
| Total Units | 120 | |
- 1
Required in Major or Support; also satisfies General Education (GE) requirement.
- 2
Courses taken to meet a Major requirement cannot be double-counted in the concentration or in the Advanced Electives.
- 3
Consultation with advisor is recommended prior to selecting advanced electives; bear in mind your selections may impact pursuit of post-baccalaureate studies and/or goals.
- 4
Maximum of 4 units may be applied toward Advanced Electives from CHEM 4401.
- 5
Maximum of 2 units may be applied toward Advanced Electives from the following: CHEM 4404, CHEM 4485, CHEM 4495, or SCM/ENGR 3302.
- 6
If a General Education (GE) course is used to satisfy a Major or Support requirement, additional units of Free Electives may be needed to complete the total units required for the degree.
- 7
Free Electives may need to be at the 3000-4000 level to ensure completion of the required minimum of 40 units of upper-division courses.
Concentrations
Polymers and Coatings
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| REQUIRED COURSES | ||
| CHEM 4480 | Polymer Synthesis and Characterization | 3 |
| CHEM 4481 | Polymer Synthesis and Characterization Laboratory | 2 |
| CHEM 4482 | Coatings and Formulations | 3 |
| CHEM 4483 | Coatings and Formulations Laboratory | 2 |
| CHEM 4486 | Surface Chemistry of Materials | 3 |
| Total Units | 13 | |
General Education (GE) Requirements
- 43 units required, 13 of which are specified in Major and/or Support.
- If any of the remaining 30 Units is used to satisfy a Major or Support requirement, additional units of Free Electives may be needed to complete the total units required for the degree.
- See the complete GE course listing.
- A grade of C- or better is required in one course in each of the following GE Areas: 1A (English Composition), 1B (Critical Thinking), 1C (Oral Communication), and 2 (Mathematics and Quantitative Reasoning).
| Lower-Division General Education | ||
| Area 1 | English Communication and Critical Thinking | |
| 1A | Written Communication | 3 |
| 1B | Critical Thinking | 3 |
| 1C | Oral Communication | 3 |
| Area 2 | Mathematics and Quantitative Reasoning | |
| 2 | Mathematics and Quantitative Reasoning (3 units in Support) 1 | 0 |
| Area 3 | Arts and Humanities | |
| 3A | Arts | 3 |
| 3B | Humanities: Literature, Philosophy, Languages other than English | 3 |
| Area 4 | Social and Behavioral Sciences (Area 4 courses must come from at least two different course prefixes.) | |
| 4A | American Institutions (Title 5, Section 40404 Requirement) | 3 |
| 4B | Social and Behavioral Sciences | 3 |
| Area 5 | Physical and Life Sciences | |
| 5A | Physical Sciences (3 units in Major) 1 | 0 |
| 5B | Life Sciences (3 units in Support) 1 | 0 |
| 5C | Laboratory (may be embedded in a 5A or 5B course) (1 units in Major) 1 | 0 |
| Area 6 | Ethnic Studies | |
| 6 | Ethnic Studies | 3 |
| Upper-Division General Education | ||
| Upper-Division 2/5 | Mathematics and Quantitative Reasoning or Physical and Life Sciences (3 units in Major) 1 | 0 |
| Upper-Division 3 | Arts and Humanities | 3 |
| Upper-Division 4 | Social and Behavioral Sciences (Area 4 courses must come from at least two different course prefixes.) | 3 |
| Total Units | 30 | |
- 1
Required in Major or Support; also satisfies General Education (GE) requirement.