Chemistry Majors

The B.S. Chemistry major is designed to provide students with a solid foundation in the chemical sciences as well as exposure to the rapidly advancing knowledge at the forefront of this discipline.

Chemistry majors can pursue either the regular track or the Honors track. The two paths have identical coursework in the first two years but differ in the last two. The Honors path requires a more serious commitment to research, and includes a written senior thesis and a presentation of their work to the department.

The typical course sequence for both tracks is below. Students interested in declaring a major who came to this decision late and/or off-sequence should talk to the Director of the Undergraduate Studies, Prof. Diana Glick, to devise a workable plan.

Note: Effective Fall 2023, all main campus courses have been renumbered using a new 4-digit numbering system.
https://schedule.georgetown.edu/course-renumbering-crosswalk/c/#chem

Standard Sequence

A typical Chemistry undergraduate program looks like the following:

Year I

Majors General Chemistry I with lab (CHEM 1300 & 1305) – Fall
Majors General Chemistry II with lab (CHEM 1400 & 1405) – Spring

General Chemistry I & II (CHEM 1100 & 1105 and CHEM 1200 & 1205) may substitute for the above

Calculus I & II (MATH 1350 & 1360)
General Education Requirements and/or Electives
First-Year Seminar (CHEM 1500)*

*optional, may be offered in some years

Year II

Majors Organic Chemistry I with lab (CHEM 2300 & 2105) – Fall
Majors Organic Chemistry II with lab (CHEM 2400 & 2205) – Spring

Organic Chemistry I & II (CHEM 2100 & 2200) may substitute for the above (CHEM 2300 & 2400)

Principles of Physics I with lab (PHYS 2051 & 2056) – Fall
Principles of Physics II with lab (PHYS 2052 & 2057) – Spring

Mechanics (PHYS 2101) and Electromagnetic Phenomena (PHYS 2102) may substitute for the above (PHYS 2051 & 2056, 2052 & 2057)

Multivariable Calculus (MATH 2370) OR Intro Math Statistics (MATH 2140)
General Education Requirements and/or Electives

Year III

Physical Chemistry I & II (CHEM 3300 & 3400)
Analytical Methods with Lab (CHEM 3100 & 3105) – Fall
Inorganic Chemistry (CHEM 3600) – Spring
Synthetic Methods (CHEM 3605) – Spring
Electives

Year IV

Physical Chemical Measurements (CHEM 4305)
Instrumental Analysis (CHEM 4405)
Biochemistry I (CHEM 4100)
1 Advanced Science Elective*

*Advanced science electives include one semester of Chemistry Research (CHEM 3709 or 3809) or other Chemistry courses numbered 4000 or higher. Advances electives taught in other departments (e.g. Biology, Computer science, Math, Pharmacology, Physics) should be approved by the Director of Undergraduate studies.

Honors Sequence

The Chemistry major with Honors is designed to provide a comprehensive overview of modern chemistry, as well a significant research experience, resulting in the completion of a written senior thesis and a seminar presentation of the results. Juniors will be invited by the Department to participate in the program generally at the beginning of October. Others are welcome to apply during the Fall semester of their Junior Year. Students in the Honors Program are required to maintain at least a B average both in their major and overall.

A typical Chemistry undergraduate honors program looks like the following: