Chemistry

Are you interested in a career in medicine, dentistry, or pharmacy? Does the possibility of a career in pharmaceutical research or forensic science excite you?

ECU's chemistry BA degree is a flexible scientific degree that allows the student to pursue other collegiate interests while providing a solid foundation in chemistry. Compared to the BS majors, a BA chemistry student will be required to take less rigorous calculus and physics classes to fulfill their core curriculum. As an upper level student, you will take one-semester offerings in physical and inorganic chemistry. The BA allows for more time to undergo training in foreign languages, as well as pursue other courses that are not necessarily required, such as upper-level biology courses that may be helpful for medical school.

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Program Coordinator: Lisa Bennett (416 Science and Technology Building; 252-328-9727; [email protected])

The Chemistry, BA program provides a flexible major designed to provide the student with a broad education in chemistry appropriate for further study in a wide range of fields, such as business, medicine, pharmacy, and law as well as careers dependent on a basic knowledge in chemistry. The Chemistry, BA, in conjunction with two semesters of laboratory-based biology courses, satisfies the course requirements for application to most US medical schools. It is different than the BS degree in the required chemistry, math, and physics courses. Any of the required major courses or cognates, however, may be replaced by courses that cover the same topics at a more advanced level. For example, CHEM 3950, CHEM 3960 may be taken instead of CHEM 3850. It is the student's responsibility to ensure that the prerequisites for such courses have been met. If a student successfully completes a higher-level cognate course after bypassing the lower-level prerequisite course(s), he/she may use free electives to substitute for the prerequisite hours.All students are required to take a departmentally administered assessment examination before graduation. Scores from this examination will not be included in the calculation of GPA for academic standing. The performance on this exam will be noted on the student's transcript.

The degree requires a minimum of 120 s.h. as follows:

(For information about courses that carry general education credit view the General Education Program section.)

• MATH 1065 - College Algebra OR
• MATH 2121 - Calculus for the Life Sciences I OR
• MATH 2171 - Calculus I


• PHYS 1250 - General Physics I
• PHYS 1251 - General Physics Laboratory I
• PHYS 1260 - General Physics II

(For information about the foreign language requirement view Special Requirements for the BA Degree in the Academic Advisement, Progression and Support Services section and Placement Testing, Foreign Language in the Admission and Readmission section.)

• CHEM 1150 - General Chemistry I
• CHEM 1151 - General Chemistry Laboratory I
• CHEM 1160 - General Chemistry II
• CHEM 1161 - General Chemistry Laboratory II
• CHEM 2750 - Organic Chemistry I
• CHEM 2753 - Organic Chemistry Laboratory I
• CHEM 2760 - Organic Chemistry II
• CHEM 2763 - Organic Chemistry Laboratory II
• CHEM 3250 - Quantitative and Instrumental Analysis
• CHEM 3251 - Quantitative and Instrumental Analysis Laboratory
• CHEM 3450 - Elementary Inorganic Chemistry
• CHEM 3451 - Elementary Inorganic Chemistry Laboratory
• CHEM 3850 - Introduction to Physical Chemistry
• CHEM 3851 - Introduction to Physical Chemistry Laboratory

Choose one of the following sequences:

• MATH 2121 - Calculus for the Life Sciences I
• MATH 2122 - Calculus for the Life Sciences II


• MATH 1083 - Introduction to Functions OR
• MATH 1085 - Pre-Calculus Mathematics
AND
• MATH 2171 - Calculus I
• MATH 2172 - Calculus II


• PHYS 1261 - General Physics Laboratory II

For more information about this degree visit the university's academic catalogs.

Graduates with this degree are successful in many fields and careers, including the following:

• Research Chemist or Biochemist
• Educator, (K-12 or University)
• Physician
• Dentist
• Pharmacist
• Forensic Scientist
• Physician Assistant
• Optometrist

Career Opportunities

ECU has developed resources to help you learn more about career opportunities and job market outlook. In addition, the websites below provide specific information on careers in the various majors from which students may choose:

NC Tower

This website provides graphs and tables of in-depth information on employment rates, wages and ongoing higher education enrollment of graduates from the North Carolina Community College System and from the University of North Carolina system schools. NC Tower includes data on former UNC students who are working in roughly 90% of all jobs in North Carolina. This database excludes information for graduates who are:

• Self-employed;
• Work for the federal government, including the military: or
• Work outside of North Carolina.

US Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook

This website also provides in-depth information regarding pay, projected new jobs, required education, growth rate and on-the-job training information on various occupations.

Degree-specific internships

For information on internship information for specific majors, go to the home page of the department in which the major is located and, as available, find the link to the information on internships in that major.