two flasks with purple liquid

We aim for our students to develop competence in nine major skill areas:

  1. Problem-solving and critical thinking
  2. Scientific information literacy
  3. Laboratory skills
  4. Effective writing
  5. Effective oral communication
  6. Team skills
  7. Ethics
  8. Knowledge of the fundamentals of chemistry and biochemistry
  9. Major/ discipline-specific knowledge

Our learning goals are based on suggestions by the American Chemical Society’s Committee on Professional Training and the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. Our curriculum stresses the development of numerous skills, such as the ability to write a scientific paper, that are crucial for scientists in the workforce. These skills are developed through practice in multiple courses over the four year college experience. Our curriculum also provides both breadth and depth in chemistry. Our students gain breadth by studying all five major sub-disciplines of chemistry (inorganic chemistry, organic chemistry, analytical chemistry, physical chemistry, and biochemistry). Students gain the necessary applied laboratory skills as almost all of our chemistry lecture courses have a corresponding required laboratory component. Students acquire more depth in particular sub-disciplines through taking other upper-level specialty courses and through completion of the required research capstone courses.