BA/MA in Chemistry

The BA/MA program in chemistry allows the student to receive both the bachelor of arts (BA) and master of arts (MA) degrees in five years. With advanced placement credits and/or summer classes, the program may be completed in less than five years. The BA/MA program provides intensive training in all fields of chemistry, with additional graduate-level education designed to enable the student to succeed in a research environment in both industry and academics. A typical BA/MA graduate will either go on to graduate school for a PhD, or enter the industrial research field. Applications for the BA/MA program should be submitted prior to March 1 of the junior year.

Learning Outcomes

Learning outcomes are the same as detailed for the Chemistry major, with additional knowledge and graduate research experience gained in a chosen area of chemistry.

Requirements

This program comprises a minimum of 37 4-credit courses. All requirements for the BA in Chemistry as well as the requirements for the MA in Chemistry must be fulfilled. Students are required to successfully complete eight 4-credit graduate courses, of which at least five are nonresearch courses. Of the five, two must be outside the candidate’s major area of specialization, and at least four must be at the 600 level or above. A maximum of two of these five nonresearch graduate courses may count toward both BA and MA requirements. Research courses must be at the 900 level. Thus, one cannot count earlier undergraduate research courses for master’s research. The student must complete GRS CH 903 and 904 for a minimum of 8 credits; a maximum of 12 research credits can count toward the BA/MA degree. The departmental BA/MA statement and further information are available from the Director of Graduate Studies or Graduate Academic Administrator.

All students should refer to the Departmental Regulations section of the Chemistry Department page for important stipulations.

For more general information about BA/master’s programs in the College and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences, please refer to the BA/MA and BA/MS Programs section of this Bulletin.

Honors in the Major

Requirements

  • CAS CH 401, CAS CH 402 Honors Research in Chemistry

Minimum 16 hours per week of experimental or theoretical research within a chemistry department, or approved research group outside the chemistry department undertaking research in the chemical sciences. An Honors thesis will be submitted at the end of the spring semester and defended before a committee of three faculty members. A grade of B or higher is required in CH 401 and CH 402 in order to graduate with Honors in Chemistry. An oral presentation at the Undergraduate Research Symposium at the end of the spring semester is also required.

Prereq: 3.0 overall GPA, 3.2 GPA in required major courses, and approval of Honors application by Undergraduate Programs Committee.