The main goal of the honors program is to train talented undergraduate students in chemistry through intellectually engaging and highly interactive classes and original laboratory research.
The heart of the program consists of four one-semester courses and three specially designed laboratory sections. These courses are designed to teach all the important fundamentals of chemistry in the context of their significance to modern medicine and novel technologies. Classes are highly interactive and utilize the state-of-the-art in audiovisual aids. Laboratory sessions include the use of state-of-the-art instruments (NMR) and are designed to teach critical concepts in observation, data collection and the art of teamwork in science. Smaller class size provides nearly complete and open access to the faculty and teaching assistants (top graduate students).
The Honors Program is based on the philosophy of "teaching through research." Concepts in the classroom are taught based on modern research results. The fourth Honors laboratory often involves a three-month stay in a research group. By the end of their sophomore year, most of the Honors students have selected and officially joined a research group.
The Honors Track
Selected first-year students are invited to enroll in the honors courses CH 117-118 Principles of Modern Chemistry and the associated laboratory courses CH 119-120 Modern Chemistry Laboratory. These courses are taken in place of CH 109-110 and CH 111-112 in the first year. In the second year, honors track students enroll in CH 241-242 Honors Organic Chemistry and also take CH 223-234 Organic Chemistry Laboratory. If you are interested in the honors track, contact the professor who is teaching the course to discuss enrolling in it.
