Research Opportunities

An exciting feature of the B.S. degree program in chemistry is involvement in a full year of original research. Students normally fulfill this requirement during their senior year, after they have completed courses in organic, inorganic, physical, and analytical chemistry and basic courses in physics and mathematics. Research opportunities are also available for B.A. majors and McDonnell-Barksdale Honors College students, and multi-year projects are possible. Continuing research activities in the department offer opportunities for investigation in a large variety of projects, encompassing every area of chemistry and biochemistry and extending into interdisciplinary areas.

Research Course Policies

1. CHEM 351 can be taken by any student (B.A. or B.S.) who wishes to receive graded credit for doing research with a faculty member in the Department. A student will receive a grade for this course at the end of each semester of enrollment. This grade will reflect the student’s level of participation, effort, and progress. No “I” grade will be issued for this course. Individual professors maintain the class roll for those students who are doing research in their laboratories.

2. CHEM 463 is also open to students who wish to receive graded credit for doing research with a faculty member, but a student taking this course must prepare a written paper (or Honors College thesis) and present an oral or poster presentation. The department chair will maintain the class roll for all students enrolled in CHEM 463. The faculty member supervising the student’s research recommends a grade, but the grade will not be posted until the final written report has been received and approved.

3. CHEM 463 is a required course for both the B.S. chemistry and forensic chemistry degrees. However, the way in which this course is used in these two programs is different:

B.S. chemistry degree program: B.S. chemistry students must complete a minimum of two semesters of CHEM 463 (2,2). Students receive the “I” grade for the first semester and a grade for both semesters at the end of the second semester of enrollment. The “I” grade cannot be extended beyond this one semester period.

B.S. forensic chemistry degree program: A minimum of one semester of CHEM 463 (2) is required for this degree program. A student may request the “I” grade for this course, but all course requirements must be completed within 25 days of the beginning of the next regular semester following the original semester of enrollment, or this “I” grade will automatically change to an “F”.

4. The B.A. chemistry and biochemistry degree programs do not have a research requirement. However, students seeking these degrees who do become engaged in research would normally take CHEM 351, but are not precluded from taking CHEM 463. However, B.A. students enrolled in CHEM 463 are subject to the requirements listed above in #2.

5. Both CHEM 351 and CHEM 463 may be taken up to a maximum of 6 hours of each.