Chemistry BA

Major: Chemistry
Degree Awarded: Bachelor of Arts (BA)
Calendar Type: Quarter
Minimum Required Credits: 184.0
Co-op Options: One Co-op (Four years)
Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) code: 40.0501
Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) code: 19-2031

About the Program

The BA in Chemistry is designed for students who want a foundational education in chemistry and the flexibility to select courses in other fields. The Bachelor of Arts in Chemistry program is less demanding mathematically compared to the Bachelor of Science, and is well suited for those interested in entering medical school and other chemistry-related fields, as well as those aspiring to careers in biotechnology, forensic chemistry, and environmental chemistry. It is also well suited for students who are interested in double majoring. BA in Chemistry graduates might opt to work as laboratory technicians in the pharmaceutical industry, as research assistants in medical school science departments, such as toxicology or biochemistry, or as technicians in biotechnology and forensic firms.

Additional Information

For more information about the major in Chemistry, contact:

Daniel King, PhD
Undergraduate Affairs Committee Chair
Department of Chemistry
Drexel University
dk68@drexel.edu

Degree Requirements (BA) 

*

Categories of Electives:

• Humanities and Arts Electives
  Designated courses in art, art history, communication studies, foreign languages (300-level or above), history, literature, music, philosophy, religion, and theatre arts.
• International Electives
  Designated courses in anthropology, art history, history, literature, music, politics and sociology. Courses with an international focus may be used to fulfill requirements in other categories as well.
• Language Requirement
  Students may satisfy the language course requirements in two ways: (1) complete at least 8.0 credits of a foreign language at Drexel and, at minimum, must complete the 103 level of the target language (or beyond if they place higher); or (2) take 12.0 credits of a computer language over two terms.
• Social and Behavioral Studies Electives
  Designated courses in anthropology, criminal justice, economics, international relations, history, politics, psychology and sociology.
• Studies in Diversity Electives
  Africana studies, women's studies or designated cross-listed courses in anthropology, art, art history, history, literature, music, philosophy, politics and sociology.

**

Courses with CHEM prefix, although ENVS chemistry courses can also fulfill this requirement (with Department approval).

***

The total number of free elective credits depends on the number of credits required to fulfill the language requirement.

Writing-Intensive Course Requirements

In order to graduate, all students must pass three writing-intensive courses after their freshman year. Two writing-intensive courses must be in a student's major. The third can be in any discipline. Students are advised to take one writing-intensive class each year, beginning with the sophomore year, and to avoid “clustering” these courses near the end of their matriculation. Transfer students need to meet with an academic advisor to review the number of writing-intensive courses required to graduate.

A "WI" next to a course in this catalog may indicate that this course can fulfill a writing-intensive requirement. For the most up-to-date list of writing-intensive courses being offered, students should check the Writing Intensive Course List at the University Writing Program. Students scheduling their courses can also conduct a search for courses with the attribute "WI" to bring up a list of all writing-intensive courses available that term.

Sample Plan of Study (BA) 

4 year, 1 co-op

*

COOP 101 registration is determined by the co-op cycle assigned and may be scheduled in a different term. Select students may be eligible to take COOP 001 in place of COOP 101.

Co-op/Career Opportunities

The high concentration of pharmaceutical and chemical firms in the Philadelphia area provides a wide range of co-op and professional opportunities, in addition to co-ops across the country and abroad. Opportunities for Chemistry majors include working in research and development in corporate and government laboratories in the chemical, pharmaceutical, and agricultural (e.g., U.S. Department of Agriculture) sectors. Other options include entering medical, dental, law, or other professional schools. The major in Chemistry is sufficiently flexible to allow students to prepare to teach at the secondary level. With proper selection of electives, students can meet teacher certification requirements.

Sample Co-op Opportunities

A four-year, one co-op degree is offered. When students complete their co-op job, they are asked to write an overview of their experience. These brief quotes are taken from some recent student reports:

Assistant chemist, pharmaceuticals manufacturer: “My position involved the synthesis and characterization of target compounds in the endotheline project. Involved the development of synthetic roots to the prescribed target. This would include the investigation of reactions which were going to be used...the position was very independent...great working environment. ”

Co-op chemist, petroleum refiner: “Performed synthesis of ligands and metal complexes. Operated FT-IR spectrometer for sample analysis. Submitted samples for analysis by mass spectrometer and NMR...The position allowed me to develop the skills necessary for independent research in organic synthesis. ”

Assistant lab technician, pharmaceuticals manufacturer: “I was an assistant technician in a mass spectrometry lab...I was responsible for the development of SDS-gel electrophoresis techniques for gels and gel membranes...I developed the methods independently and my employer encouraged me to be an expert on the technique and explore any method I found that would benefit the lab. ”

Visit the Drexel Steinbright Career Development Center page for more detailed information on co-op and post-graduate opportunities.

Facilities

There are nine undergraduate teaching laboratories in the department: three Freshman Chemistry labs, three Organic Chemistry labs, a Physical Chemistry lab, an Analytical Instrumentation Laboratory, and a combined Analytical/Inorganic Chemistry lab.

Mass Spectrometry Laboratory
The department maintains a professionally staffed mass spectrometry facility available to all members of the university community. Currently available instrumentation consists of a Waters Autospec M high resolution magnetic-sector mass spectrometer, a Bruker Autoflex III MALDI Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometer, a Thermo LTQ-FT Fourier Transform Mass Spectrometer, a Sciex API-3000 triple-quadrupole mass spectrometer, and a Varian Saturn 2000 Gas Chromatograph/Ion-trap mass spectrometer system.

Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Laboratory
The professionally staffed Chemistry department NMR facility is equipped with 300MHz and 500MHz Varian Unity INNOVA NMR systems; both instruments have multi-nuclear capability. The probe on the 500MHz instrument is a cryogenically cooled triple resonance model (1H {13C/15N}) suitable for protein analysis. A Varian X-band 12" EPR spectrometer is also available.

Analytical Instrumentation Laboratory
The open-access departmental Analytical Instrumentation Laboratory includes two Perkin-Elmer (PE) Spectrum One Fourier-transform infrared absorption spectrometers each with a universal diamond ATR accessory, a PE Lambda-35 UV/visible spectrometer, a PE Lambda-950 UV/visible/NIR spectrometer with a 60-mm-diameter diffuse reflectance integrating sphere, a PE model 343 polarimeter, a PE LS55B luminescence spectrometer, a PE Clarus 500 capillary-column GC with dual FID detectors, a Clarus 500 capillary-column GC/MS system (with electron impact capability), a PE Series 200 Quaternary HPLC development system with UV/visible photodiode array detector, a PE Series 200 binary HPLC system interfaced to a Sciex 2000 triple-quadrupole mass spectrometer, a PE Series 2000 binary Gel Permeation Chromatography system with refractive index detector, and a Varian AA240FS flame atomic absorption spectrometer equipped with a GTA 120 Graphite Furnace Accessory.

Organic Instrumentation Laboratory
The Organic Instrumentation Laboratory (co-located with the organic synthesis teaching laboratories in the Papdakis Integrated Sciences Building) is equipped with two Perkin-Elmer (PE) Spectrum Two Fourier-transform infrared absorption spectrometers each with a universal diamond ATR accessory, a PE Clarus 500 capillary-column GC with one FID and one TCD detector, and an Anasazi EFT-90 FT-NMR system.

Other Departmental Facilities
The department has a VEECO INNOVA N3 Multimode Scanning Probe Microscope and also maintains a computational chemistry laboratory equipped with nine Dell Optiplex 790 computers running Hyperchem v 8.0. Research laboratories for each of the department faculty members are located in Disque and Stratton Halls. Instrumentation available in the research laboratories is described on individual faculty web pages. Full-time professional support includes two electronic instrument specialists (for NMR and MS- Chemistry department), two electronics specialists (College of Arts & Sciences Electronics Shop), and four machinists (Drexel University Machine Shop).

Program Level Outcomes

Chemistry Faculty

Emeritus Faculty