Chemical Physics majors typically take the following courses in the fall semester of their first year:

First-Year Experience Learning Community Courses

We will register you in these courses.

  1. Philosophy (PHIL 201)
  2. English Composition (ENG 101) OR Theology (TRS 201)

Why am I taking these classes?   Honors students take equivalent honors courses.

Major Courses

You will need to choose and register for these courses.

  1. General Chemistry lecture & lab (CHEM 103 & 113)
  2. Introductory Mechanics Lab (PHYS 225)
  3. Analytic Geometry & Calculus I (MATH 121) - take math placement test
  4. A foreign language

1 st Semester Courses

The first chemistry course in a chemical physics major is general chemistry (CHEM 103) and its accompanying lab (CHEM 113). This course lays the foundation for all the topics that will be covered in more advanced chemistry courses – physical chemistry, analytical chemistry, inorganic chemistry, and organic & biochemistry. A typical chemistry student takes general chemistry as a freshman and a year-long sequence of organic chemistry as a sophomore.

In the Fall semester of your freshman year, please enroll in PHYS 225 (1 credit), a laboratory course that will prepare you for an introductory, two-semester calculus-based course sequence that you'll take this spring and next fall (consisting of PHYS 215-H and PHYS 216-H and 226 [lab]). These courses will undergird everything else you’ll study as a chemical physics major. They’ll be your first introduction to the major ideas of physics and your first exposure to physics problem solving.

A chemical physics major must take the Analytic Geometry and Calculus sequence (Math 121 and 122) as part of their major. Proficiency in math is required for advanced chemistry topics in physical chemistry. For more information on math placement, please review the Mathematics Department’s placement exam instructions.

**If the results of the calculus placement exam direct the student to a pre-calculus course, then he/she should register for Math 108.

Know which courses you want? Get registered.