Program: BSBIOCH - Bachelor of Science
Introduction
The curriculum of the Department is accredited by the American Chemical Society (ACS) and is designed to support and prepare students for a wide range of potential career opportunities and pathways. Our students find their obtained skills and experiences are ideal preparation (i) for graduate work and professional schools in the sciences or medicine, (ii) to develop the technical background required for industrial or commercial positions, or (iii) to teach at the secondary school level.
The Department offers programs that lead to Bachelor of Science degrees in both Chemistry and Biochemistry. A Bachelor of Arts degree is also offered in Chemistry. A student may elect to earn American Chemical Society (ACS) degree certification of their bachelor’s degree by meeting the requirements of the ACS Committee on Professional Training. In brief, requirements for an ACS certified degree are slightly more stringent than departmental requirements for graduation and include: Earning credits in all five sub- disciplines of chemistry, earning a minimum of 12 semester hours of in-depth coursework, documenting at least 400 hours of laboratory work beyond the introductory level, conducting research alongside a faculty member and authoring a well-written, comprehensive, and well-documented thesis that includes safety considerations where appropriate.
Certification in Chemistry Education is also offered through our department. Students pursuing certification in Chemistry Education earn a Chemistry degree prior to enrolling in the Master’s Program in Secondary Education at Mercyhurst, which can then be completed as a 1-year or 2-year program.
Mission Statement
The Department is committed to the education and training of the next generation of scientists. Because the nature of scientific endeavors evolves, the most important skills students in all scientific disciplines can possess are independent reasoning and problem-solving abilities.
The development of these skills in our programs and courses is facilitated by the following tenets:
The Department believes one of its strengths is the integration of undergraduate chemistry research opportunities in the curriculum culminating in the senior capstone experience. The student-centered research projects overseen by our faculty span a range of methods to address chemical problems in organic synthesis, health issues, nanotechnology and alternative energy. Seminars and poster presentations of research results at both regional and national research conferences are strongly encouraged.
Program Student Learning Outcomes
The chemistry and biochemistry programs require that students demonstrate:
The Department reserves the right to periodically conduct assessment of courses and experiences within the program. These assessments will not be tied to individual students, but rather to be used for continual evaluation and improvement of the program as a whole.
Department Requirements
All prerequisite coursework must be completed with a grade of C or better for any student to be eligible to enroll in a course. If this requirement has not been met prior to the start of the semester during which a student is enrolled, students will be removed from the course where the prerequisites have not been satisfactorily met. To be recommended for graduation in any of the Department’s degree programs a student must earn at least a 2.5 grade point average in the required major and cognate courses and labs.
When a course is re-taken, the GPA requirement includes both the original grade and the grade from the retake. A student also must earn a grade of at least C in any course from the major discipline that is to fulfill a degree requirement. No required science or math course may be taken on a Pass/Fail basis. No required courses for the major may be taken at another institution without departmental approval. Students are expected to attend all departmental seminars.
Students pursuing teacher certification must maintain a cumulative 3.0 GPA in major required courses and receive a grade of at least C in each course. Students majoring in any of the Department’s programs must maintain an overall University GPA of 2.5.
Credit will be granted for courses listing lecture and laboratory separately only if the lecture and laboratory components are taken concurrently, unless special permission is granted by the instructor and the Department. Withdrawal from one without withdrawal from the other is not allowed without permission from both the instructor and the Department. Permission to register for only one of the components will ordinarily be granted only when a student previously has successfully completed one of the components.
All students seeking degrees in programs administered by the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry will undergo a review by department faculty at the completion of their sophomore level in their area of concentration, the Sophomore Review. Students must successfully complete the Sophomore Review to be accepted into the Department’s programs and continue their studies in the Department. Students eligible for Sophomore Review must have been at Mercyhurst University for at least 2 years and must have completed Calculus I (MATH 170) and completed (or be in the process of completing) Organic Chemistry II (CHEM 242).
Acceptance is based on the following criteria: (1) a minimum overall GPA of 2.5 in courses taken in the major concentration, (2) a minimum overall University GPA of 2.5, and (3) professional conduct. If a student does not pass the Sophomore Review, the student will not be allowed to enroll in any further courses required for programs administered by the Department.
First-year students are required to meet with all departmental faculty members concerning research opportunities during their first year of study, which requires documentation to be submitted by March 15 of their first academic year. Students must also sign up with a research mentor and have a research plan by the time they apply for Sophomore Review.
All students within the major must enroll in the courses Research I (CHEM 410) and Research I Lab (CHEM 412) during one of their academic years.
Biochemistry Major
The Biochemistry major is ideal for students pursuing graduate and professional degrees in the biochemical or allied health professions. A strong background in chemistry and biology is provided with flexibility in biological and chemical specialization to enable students to pursue their personal interests in this dynamic field.
Three Major Elective Courses. Students must earn at least 11 credit hours in the list below. At least one course must have a BIO prefix.
Many of the courses below also require a lab.
Courses | |
---|---|
BIO 200 MICROBIOLOGY | 3 |
BIO 236 BIOELECTRICITY | 3 |
BIO 244 HISTOLOGY | 3 |
BIO 330 IMMUNOLOGY | 3 |
BIO 334 HUMAN ANATOMY | 3 |
BIO 344 HUMAN PHYSIOLOGY | 3 |
BIO 360 SYSTEMS PHYSIOLOGY | 3 |
BIO 390 BIOINFORMATICS | 3 |
BIO 430 MOLECULAR BIOLOGY | 3 |
CHEM 310 ADVANCED INORGANIC CHEMISTRY | 3 |
CHEM 314 ADVANCED ORGANIC CHEMISTRY | 3 |
CHEM 316 FORENSIC CHEMISTRY | 3 |
CHEM 333 INSTRUMENTAL ANALYSIS | 3 |
CHEM 335 SPECTRAL INTERPRETATION | 3 |
CHEM 343 EXPERIMENTAL PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY | 3 |
CHEM 351 PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY II | 3 |
CHEM 420 CHEMICAL BIOLOGY | 3 |
MATH 233 CALCULUS III | 4 |
Required Courses
CHEM 121/122 General Chemistry I & Lab - 4 credits
CHEM 131/132 General Chemistry II & Lab - 4 credits
CHEM 240/241 Organic Chemistry I & Lab - 4 credits
CHEM 242/243 Organic Chemistry II & Lab - 4 credits
CHEM 331/332 Biochemistry I & Lab - 4 credits
CHEM 338/339 Biochemistry II & Lab - 4 credits
Biochemistry Minor Elective Courses
CHEM 199, 299, or 399 Independent Research* - 1-3 credits
CHEM 230/231 Quantitative Analysis & Lab - 4 credits
CHEM 310 Advanced Inorganic Chemistry - 3 credits
CHEM 314 Advanced Organic Chemistry - 3 credits
CHEM 335/336 Spectral Interpretation & Lab - 4 credits
CHEM 341 Physical Chemistry I - 3 credits
CHEM 420 Chemical Biology 3 credits
*These courses have variable credits (1-3). At least 3 total credits of Independent Research are required for the Biochemistry Minor degree, which may be divided between different course numbers.