Department of Chemistry, College of Engineering and Physical Sciences

Chemistry is the study of the structure and behaviour of molecules. This includes the construction of molecules with specific properties for use in areas such as pharmaceuticals and the nuclear industry. You will also focus on the determination of trace chemicals in the environment using specialized techniques for analysis. You can learn more about the Department of Chemistry on the Department website. If you need help with planning your courses, please contact your faculty advisor or program counsellor through the BSc Academic Advising Centre.

Suggested groupings for electives

The BSCH.CHEM program has considerable flexibility within the selection of electives and includes prerequisites for a wide range of courses. This allows students to explore other subjects alongside their chemistry courses. Here are some suggested groupings of electives:

• If you have an interest in Toxicology, consider taking TOX*2000, TOX*3360, TOX*4200 and TOX*4590.
• If you have an interest in Biochemistry, consider taking BIOC*3560, BIOC*4050, BIOC*4520 and BIOC*4580.
• If you have an interest in Mathematics and/or Statistics, consider taking MATH*2000, MATH*2130, MATH*3100, MATH*3510, STAT*2050 and STAT*3240.

Program Learning Outcomes

• Critically evaluate ideas and arguments by gathering and integrating relevant information, assessing its credibility, and synthesizing evidence to formulate a hypothesis, and/or apply an appropriate model, or theory.
• Identify problems and propose solutions individually or as part of a group using creative approaches, acquired through interdisciplinary experiences, and a depth and breadth of knowledge/expertise.
• Accurately interpret and use numerical information or scientific reasoning to evaluate and formulate a hypothesis, model, or theory.
• Accurately and effectively communicate scientific ideas, arguments, and analyses, to a range of audiences, in graphical, oral and written form.
• Demonstrate clear and accurate scientific writing in literature reviews, laboratory reports, or term projects.
• Demonstrate personal and professional integrity by respectfully considering diverse points of view and the intellectual contribution of others, and by demonstrating a commitment to honesty and equity, in scientific practice and society at large.
• Collaborate effectively as part of a team by demonstrating mutual respect, leadership, and an ability to set goals and manage tasks and timelines.
• Plan for professional growth and personal development within and beyond the undergraduate program.
• Demonstrate the ability to examine and interpret intellectual property and/or liability issues pertinent to the range of chemical industries.
• Demonstrate proper upkeep of laboratory notebooks and lab reports with accurate descriptions of steps carried out in laboratory settings and correct numerical values.
• Apply scientific methods and processes by formulating questions, designing investigations and collecting and processing data to draw conclusions and make scientifically based decisions.
• Generate and interpret scientific data using quantitative, qualitative, and analytical methodologies and techniques.
• Gather, critically assess, and utilize primary scientific literature, digital tools and databases to research a topic.
• Evaluate the limitations of and troubleshoot experimental approaches.
• Design and implement an experiment from start to finish that incorporates analytical, synthetic and/or computational techniques to solve a problem being presented.
• Apply the core concepts of mathematics, statistics, physics, chemistry, and biology to the chemistry discipline.
• Demonstrate knowledge of the environmental, ethical, economic, commercial, health and social implications of scientific discovery and/or technological innovation.
• Interpret current scientific concepts and gaps in knowledge (and methods) in the chemistry discipline.
• Demonstrate advanced, contemporary, and relevant knowledge in chemistry.
• Apply contemporary research methods, skills, and techniques to conduct independent inquiry in chemistry.
• Work safely and effectively in the laboratory to generate reproducible and reliable results.
• Conduct research effectively and reliably with relevant computational tools and modern analytical, physical, and synthetic chemical instrumentation and techniques.
• Understand and safely navigate hazards associated with chemicals and equipment when working in a laboratory setting, including critical assessment of chemical accidents in industry and academia

Major Requirements (Honours)

This is a major within the degree: Bachelor of Science. 

Students may enter this major in Semester 1 or any semester thereafter. A student wishing to declare the major may wish to consult the Faculty Advisor. The major will require the completion of 20.00 credits as indicated below:

Students lacking Grade 12 or 4U Biology, Chemistry or Physics should follow the revised schedule of study for this major found at https://www.uoguelph.ca/bsc/revised_SS/.

Course List

Code	Title	Credits
Semester 1
BIOL*1090	Introduction to Molecular and Cellular Biology	0.50
CHEM*1040	General Chemistry I	0.50
MATH*1200	Calculus I	0.50
PHYS*1500	Introductory Mechanics	0.50
0.50 Liberal Education electives		0.50
Semester 2
BIOL*1070	Discovering Biodiversity	0.50
or BIOL*1080	Biological Concepts of Health
CHEM*1050	General Chemistry II	0.50
PHYS*1510	Introductory Electricity & Magnetism	0.50
MATH*1160	Linear Algebra I	0.50
MATH*1210	Calculus II	0.50
Semester 3
CHEM*2060	Structure and Bonding	0.50
CHEM*2400	Analytical Chemistry I: Chemical Analysis	0.75
CHEM*2700	Organic Chemistry I: Fundamentals	0.50
MATH*2270	Applied Differential Equations	0.50
Electives or restricted electives to a maximum of 2.75 credits this semester.		0.50
Semester 4
BIOC*2580	Introduction to Biochemistry	0.50
CHEM*2070	Structure and Spectroscopy	0.50
CHEM*3430	Analytical Chemistry II: Instrumental Analysis	0.50
STAT*2040	Statistics I	0.50
0.50 electives or restricted electives		0.50
Semester 5
CHEM*2820	Thermodynamics and Kinetics	0.50
CHEM*3640	Main Group Chemistry	0.50
CHEM*3750	Organic Chemistry II: Structure and Synthesis	0.50
CHEM*3860	Quantum and Computational Chemistry	0.50
0.50 electives or restricted electives		0.50
Semester 6
CHEM*3650	Transition Metal Chemistry	0.50
CHEM*4020	Chemical Discovery	0.50
1.50 electives or restricted electives		1.50
Semester 7 and 8
5.00 electives or restricted electives		5.00

Restricted Electives (3.50 credits total)

Course List

Code	Title	Credits
1. Select a minimum of 1.50 credits from the following:
CHEM*4010	Chemical Industry, Safety and Sustainability	0.50
CHEM*4400	Electrochemistry and Sensors	0.50
CHEM*4620	Materials and Solid State Chemistry	0.50
CHEM*4630	Bioinorganic Chemistry	0.50
CHEM*4720	Organic Reactivity	0.50
CHEM*4730	Advanced Organic Synthesis	0.50
CHEM*4740	Bioorganic Chemistry	0.50
CHEM*4880	Advanced Physical Chemistry	0.50
2. The remaining credits can come from:
BIOC*3560	Structure and Function in Biochemistry	0.50
BIOC*4050	Protein and Nucleic Acid Structure	0.50
BIOC*4520	Metabolic Processes	0.50
BIOC*4580	Membrane Biochemistry	0.50
CHEM*3360	Environmental Chemistry and Toxicology	0.50
CHEM*3440	Chemical Instrumentation	0.50
CHEM*4900	Chemistry Research Project I	1.00
CHEM*4910	Chemistry Research Project II	1.00
NANO*3800	Molecular and Nanoscale Spectroscopy	0.50
TOX*4200	Topics in Toxicology	0.50
TOX*4590	Biochemical Toxicology	0.50
Note: Some courses have prerequisites not on the required course list, and some are offered in alternate years and may have to be taken in semester 6. Students must plan ahead, with the assistance of the faculty advisor or program counsellor.

Credit Summary

(20.00 Total Credits)

Course List

Code	Title	Credits
First year science credits		4.50
Required science courses semesters 3 – 8		7.25
Restricted electives (1 and 2 in restricted electives list)		3.50
Approved science electives		0.75
Liberal Education electives		1.00
Free electives - any approved elective for B.Sc. students		3.00
Total Credits		20

Of the total credits required, students are required to complete 16.00 credits in science of which 2.00 credits must be at the 4000 level and an additional 4.00 credits must be at the 3000 or 4000 level.

Co-op Requirements (Honours)

This is a major within the degree: Bachelor of Science. 

The Co-op program in Chemistry is a four and a half year program including four work terms. Students must follow the academic work schedule as outlined below (also found on the Co-operative Education website: https://www.recruitguelph.ca/cecs/). 

Academic and Co-op Work Term Schedule

Co-op Information

Year	Fall	Winter	Summer
1	Academic Semester 1	Academic Semester 2 COOP*1100	Off
2	Academic Semester 3	COOP*1000 Work Term I	Academic Semester 4
3	Academic Semester 5	Academic Semester 6	COOP*2000 Work Term II
4	COOP*3000 Work Term III	Academic Semester 7	COOP*4000 Work Term IV
5	Academic Semester 8	N/A	N/A

Please refer to the Co-operative Education program policy with respect to work term performance grading, work term report grading and program completion requirements.

For additional program information students should consult with their Co-op Co-ordinator and Co-op Faculty Advisor, listed on the Co-operative Education web site.

Credit Summary

(22.00 Total Credits)

Course List

Code	Title	Credits
First year science credits		4.50
Required science courses semesters 3 – 8		7.25
Restricted electives (1 and 2 in restricted electives list)		3.50
Approved science electives		0.75
Liberal Education electives		1.00
Free electives - any approved elective for B.Sc. students.		3.00
Co-op Work Terms		2.00
Total Credits		22

Of the total credits required, students are required to complete 16.00 credits in science of which 2.00 credits must be at the 4000 level and an additional 4.00 credits must be at the 3000 or 4000 level.

Recommended Program Sequence

Students lacking Grade 12 or 4U Biology, Chemistry or Physics should follow the revised schedule of study for this major found at https://www.uoguelph.ca/bsc/revised_SS/.

Course List

Code	Title	Credits
Semester 1 - Fall
BIOL*1090	Introduction to Molecular and Cellular Biology	0.50
CHEM*1040	General Chemistry I	0.50
MATH*1200	Calculus I	0.50
PHYS*1500	Introductory Mechanics	0.50
0.50 Liberal Education electives		0.50
Semester 2 - Winter
BIOL*1070	Discovering Biodiversity	0.50
or BIOL*1080	Biological Concepts of Health
CHEM*1050	General Chemistry II	0.50
COOP*1100	Introduction to Co-operative Education	0.00
MATH*1160	Linear Algebra I	0.50
MATH*1210	Calculus II	0.50
PHYS*1510	Introductory Electricity & Magnetism	0.50
Summer Semester
No academic semester or work term
Semester 3 - Fall
CHEM*2060	Structure and Bonding	0.50
CHEM*2400	Analytical Chemistry I: Chemical Analysis	0.75
CHEM*2700	Organic Chemistry I: Fundamentals	0.50
MATH*2270	Applied Differential Equations	0.50
Electives to a maximum of 2.75 total credits in this semester		0.50
Winter Semester
COOP*1000	Co-op Work Term I	0.50
Semester 4 - Summer
BIOC*2580	Introduction to Biochemistry	0.50
CHEM*2070	Structure and Spectroscopy	0.50
CHEM*3430	Analytical Chemistry II: Instrumental Analysis	0.50
STAT*2040	Statistics I	0.50
0.50 electives		0.50
Semester 5 - Fall
CHEM*2820	Thermodynamics and Kinetics	0.50
CHEM*3640	Main Group Chemistry	0.50
CHEM*3750	Organic Chemistry II: Structure and Synthesis	0.50
CHEM*3860	Quantum and Computational Chemistry	0.50
0.50 electives		0.50
Semester 6 - Winter
CHEM*3650	Transition Metal Chemistry	0.50
CHEM*4020	Chemical Discovery	0.50
1.50 electives or restricted electives		1.50
Summer Semester
COOP*2000	Co-op Work Term II	0.50
Fall Semester
COOP*3000	Co-op Work Term III	0.50
Semester 7 - Winter
2.50 electives or restricted electives		2.50
Summer Semester
COOP*4000	Co-op Work Term IV	0.50
Semester 8 - Fall
2.50 electives or restricted electives		2.50

Restricted Electives (3.50 credits total)

Course List

Code	Title	Credits
Select a minimum of 1.50 credits from the following:
CHEM*4010	Chemical Industry, Safety and Sustainability	0.50
CHEM*4400	Electrochemistry and Sensors	0.50
CHEM*4620	Materials and Solid State Chemistry	0.50
CHEM*4630	Bioinorganic Chemistry	0.50
CHEM*4720	Organic Reactivity	0.50
CHEM*4730	Advanced Organic Synthesis	0.50
CHEM*4740	Bioorganic Chemistry	0.50
CHEM*4880	Advanced Physical Chemistry	0.50
The remaining credits can come from:
BIOC*3560	Structure and Function in Biochemistry	0.50
BIOC*4050	Protein and Nucleic Acid Structure	0.50
BIOC*4520	Metabolic Processes	0.50
CHEM*3360	Environmental Chemistry and Toxicology	0.50
CHEM*3440	Chemical Instrumentation	0.50
CHEM*4900	Chemistry Research Project I	1.00
CHEM*4910	Chemistry Research Project II	1.00
NANO*3800	Molecular and Nanoscale Spectroscopy	0.50
TOX*4200	Topics in Toxicology	0.50
TOX*4590	Biochemical Toxicology	0.50
Note: Some courses have prerequisites not on the required course list, and some are offered in alternate years and may have to be taken in semester 6. Students must plan ahead, with the assistance of the faculty advisor or program counsellor.

Minor Requirements (Honours)

This minor cannot be combined with a major in Chemistry. 

A minor in Chemistry consists of at least 5.00 credits including the following courses:

Course List

Code	Title	Credits
CHEM*1040	General Chemistry I	0.50
CHEM*1050	General Chemistry II	0.50
4.00 additional credits 1		4.00

¹

Students will select Chemistry courses (CHEM) at the 2000 level or above including a minimum of 1.00 credits at the 3000 or 4000 level. BIOC*2580 Introduction to Biochemistry can be counted towards this specialization