Chemistry Courses
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The wide range of courses offered by the department reflects chemistry’s position as the foundation of all the molecular sciences. Chemistry majors learn about the molecular basis of natural phenomena and use this knowledge to carry out research. The department’s graduates find their broad scientific training useful in diverse fields including business, management, and law, as well as in preparation to conduct graduate work in chemistry, biochemistry, and medicine. As the problems of society encompass ever more complex scientific issues, science degrees are an increasingly appropriate choice for students whose careers will lie in the realms of government or public service. Chemistry is a core science important to many students’ academic programs. Premedical students are strongly advised to take a year of chemistry including laboratory in their freshman year. Students in the majority of science major programs are required to complete a year or more of chemistry with associated laboratories. The cumulative nature of science education makes it important for such students to complete one of the introductory chemistry sequences as freshmen. Because entering students have a diverse range of prior exposure to science, the Yale curriculum provides six different entry points for the study of chemistry. Most freshmen enroll in a general chemistry course. Individuals with an especially strong science background may elect to take a placement examination (administered by the department at the start of the academic year) and accelerate into more advanced courses. |
Additional Resources |
Introductory Courses
There are three general chemistry offerings. All fulfill medical school requirements and satisfy the prerequisite for organic chemistry or any other department’s requirements for general chemistry.
CHEM 112a and 113b, Chemistry with Problem Solving, is for students whose exposure to the subject has been moderate. Special emphasis is placed on scientific problem-solving skills. There are two discussion sections per week, including one devoted exclusively to quantitative problem solving. A typical student may have taken a year of descriptive chemistry as a high school sophomore, but has not been exposed to the problem-solving approach used in many university-level science courses.
CHEM 114a and 115b, Comprehensive General Chemistry, is similar to CHEM 112a and 113b, but is designed for students who have had more quantitative high school courses in either chemistry or physics. There is one discussion section per week. A typical student enrolling in CHEM 114a may have taken one or two years of chemistry in high school and has some exposure to quantitative problem-solving scientific methods. Over half of the students taking CHEM 114a last studied chemistry as high school sophomores.
CHEM 118a, Quantitative Foundations of General Chemistry, is a one-term chemistry course for students with a strong chemistry background. It is designed to emphasize quantitative aspects of general chemistry. Typical CHEM 118a students have a score of 5 on the Chemistry AP test, a score above 740 on the SAT subject test in chemistry, or other evidence of advanced standing in science. Students typically follow CHEM 118a with CHEM 225b, Comprehensive Organic Chemistry I, and, at the beginning of their sophomore year, CHEM 227a, Comprehensive Organic Chemistry II. Premedical students complete requirements for a second term of nonorganic chemistry with CHEM 252b, Introductory Inorganic Chemistry, or with a course in biochemistry or physical chemistry.
Advanced Courses for Freshmen
Three more advanced courses are available to well-prepared freshmen:
CHEM 124a and 125b, Freshman Organic Chemistry, is a small, intensive course open to freshmen with excellent science backgrounds. Typical students have scores of 4 or 5 on the Chemistry AP test, a score above 740 on the SAT subject test in chemistry, a full year of high school physics, and some exposure to calculus. In addition to these qualifications, students must confirm their competence in general chemistry by taking the Chemistry department’s placement examination.
CHEM 220a, Organic Chemistry. Because of limitations on enrollments, some students otherwise qualified for CHEM 124a will need an alternate selection. Most find CHEM 118a an excellent choice. For others, the standard organic chemistry sequence, CHEM 220a, 221b, is suggested. Students interested in this optional mode of acceleration as freshmen must qualify by taking the placement examination.
CHEM 332a and 333b, Physical Chemistry with Applications in the Physical Sciences, provides excellent preparation for accelerated study of physical sciences and engineering. Freshmen who possess strong mathematics and physics backgrounds and meet the requirements for CHEM 124a are admitted to this course.
Premedical students taking CHEM 332a, 333b count this course as their general chemistry requirement and follow with a year of organic chemistry. Students who take CHEM 124a, 125b or CHEM 220a, 221b may fulfill their premedical general chemistry requirement by taking two additional terms of any higher-numbered nonorganic chemistry course.
Laboratories
Most introductory lecture courses are accompanied by laboratories; students normally take the lecture and the laboratory course together. The laboratory, when not required by the instructor, can be postponed or not taken, but this is most often discouraged. A Chemistry department adviser should be consulted before a decision is made not to take a laboratory. Information about registration for laboratory sections is provided in the online course information for each laboratory course.
Preregistration, Placement Procedure, and Placement Examination
Preregistration directions can be found on this Web site. The Chemistry department reviews the admissions records of all incoming freshmen prior to the beginning of the fall term. Using these data, as well as the information supplied by students in preregistration, the department determines an appropriate general chemistry course (CHEM 112a, 114a, or 118a) for each entering student. Placement information will be available on the Chemistry department Web site at chem.yale.edu/courses and on the Student Information Systems Web site at www.yale.edu/sis by the beginning of fall-term registration week. Students are given the opportunity to adjust their preliminary placement by consulting with a Chemistry department placement adviser during registration week.
Students wishing to take a higher-numbered general chemistry course than their preliminary placement must take a placement examination. Freshmen wishing to elect CHEM 124a, 220a, or 332a also must take this examination; students with an advanced science background or a special interest in chemistry are especially encouraged to do so. Foreign students are advised to take the examination to help the department in determining their proper placement. Use of an electronic calculator on the examination is permitted, and students should bring several #2 pencils. Final placement information will be available on the Chemistry department Web site at chem.yale.edu/courses and on the Student Information Systems Web site at www.yale.edu/sis late in the day before classes begin, thereby allowing students to check their placement prior to attending the first regularly scheduled class meeting.
Lists of times and places for the examination and placement counseling sessions are published in the Calendar for the Opening Days.
Chemistry Preparation for Different Majors
Majors in Chemical Engineering, Chemistry, and Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry require physical chemistry (CHEM 332a, 333b). Students who can begin with CHEM 124a or 332a usually complete these majors faster, with the four-year B.S./M.S. program in Chemistry more easily completed for those who start with CHEM 332a. A meeting for all freshmen considering majors requiring physics or chemistry will be held during the first week of the term and announced in the Calendar for the Opening Days.
Beginning Chemistry majors who wish to complete medical school admissions requirements should plan to complete two terms of chemistry with laboratory and one term of calculus or higher-level mathematics during their freshman year.
