Chemistry Honors Program
For superior students participating in undergraduate research, the Department of Chemistry offers a Departmental Honors program. Participation may begin during the sophomore year. Students completing the program will have "Honors in Chemistry" on their Purdue transcript.
To be added to the Honors in Chemistry program, please fill out the survey at this link before Tuesday, February 6, 2024.
Students wishing to graduate with Honors in Chemistry must meet the following requirements:
- Be a student in the Department of Chemistry.
- Maintain or exceed a cumulative GPA of 3.40.
- Maintain or exceed a GPA of 3.40 or greater in their Chemistry (CHM) courses.
- Complete six (6) or more credits of undergraduate research (CHM 49900).
- Compose an honors thesis based on an independent research project performed in CHM 49900. The research advisor must approve the Honors Thesis and it is recommended that the student give a public presentation of the research.*
The chemistry honors courses listed below may replace the equivalent courses in the degree requirements; they are not required to complete the Honors in Chemistry program.**
|
CHM 26700 - Organic Chemistry Laboratory Honors (2 credits, equivalent to CHM 26500) |
|
Laboratory experiments designed to accompany the lecture material of CHM 26505, but at an advanced level. Modern instrumentation is introduced to supplement the usual elementary laboratory techniques of organic chemistry. Multistep syntheses are employed to illustrate and supplement the reactions discussed in CHM 26505. Typically offered Fall. |
|
CHM 26800 - Organic Chemistry Laboratory Honors (2 credits, equivalent to CHM 26800) |
|
A continuation of CHM 26700. Experiments, more sophisticated than those in CHM 26600, are designed to illustrate and extend the concepts presented in CHM 26200. A major portion of the course is devoted to organic qualitative analysis. The student is expected to identify unknown compounds by classical methods as well as by the use of modern instrumentation like infrared gas chromatography and nuclear magnetic resonance. Typically offered Spring. |
|
CHM 32300 - Analytical Chemistry I Honors (4 credits, equivalent to CHM 32100) |
|
Students in CHM 32300 attend same lectures as CHM 32100 but attend a different laboratory section. Students will have additional assignments related to the laboratory projects. Laboratory will include a group of core experiments plus a laboratory project focusing on specific aspects of analytical chemistry and experimental design. Typically offered Fall. |
*This thesis can also be used for the thesis requirement for the Honors College.
**Note to Preprofessional Students: Professional Schools (pre-med, pre-law, etc.) require course grades and credits to be submitted electronically and GPA is calculated on the face-value of the grades earned. It may not be inherently obvious to an admissions committee that a student completed a more rigorous honors course which also satisfies a prerequisite for admission. Pre-professional students need to balance the depth and breadth of coursework completed. Advanced or honors’ coursework may increase a student’s depth of knowledge which is important for success on admission tests and in professional school, but at the detriment to courses taken at the same time. The Honors Program Chemistry Laboratory Courses focus on experimental techniques especially helpful to those interested in scientific research and graduate school in Chemistry.