Academics
> Majors and Areas of Study > Chemistry > Environmental Chemistry
ENVIRONMENTAL CHEMISTRY (Bachelor of Arts Degree)
Major Requirements
Students planning to be professional environmental chemists are strongly encouraged to seek related summer internships and to take more than the minimum coursework in areas related to the environment.
Students who graduate from Thiel College with a major in environmental chemistry will:
- be prepared for chemistry-related employment or admission into an environmental or chemistry-related graduate or professional program.
- be able to solve problems dealing with soil, water and atmospheric chemistry, toxic chemicals and waste disposal.
- possess practical field skills including environmental sampling and analysis.
- know how to conduct a trace analysis.
- be able to critically analyze current environmental issues from a scientific standpoint.
- possess scientific literacy and problem solving skills associated with the main branches of chemistry: analytical, biochemistry, inorganic, organic, physical and environmental.
- be able to conduct experimental work in the laboratory, keep a laboratory notebook and evaluate laboratory results.
- have the necessary skills to conduct an internal or external research project.
- apply specific scientific principles to problem solving and to the development of scientific technology in society.
- know how to operate modern instruments, describe the theoretical construct of the instruments and interpret spectra and measurements obtained from them.
The major in environmental chemistry consists of all the courses in Section A and Section D, one course in Section B and two courses from Section C. It is expected for this major that the course from Section B will have an environmental chemistry focus.
Section A
| CHEM 140 | General Chemistry I |
| CHEM 160 | General Chemistry II |
| CHEM 200 | Organic Chemistry I |
| CHEM 210 | Organic Chemistry II |
| CHEM 240 | Quantitative Analysis |
| CHEM 310 | Physical Chemistry - Dynamics |
| CHEM 320 | Physical Chemistry - Structure |
| CHEM 330 | Environmental Chemistry |
| CHEM 370 | Instrumental Analysis |
| CHEM 470 | Chemistry Seminar |
| CHEM 480 | Chemistry Seminar |
| CHEM 430 | Advanced Topics in Environmental Chemistry |
Section B
| CHEM 490 | Problems in Chemistry |
| CHEM 495 | Independent Study |
Section C
| ENSC 250 | Meteorology & Air Quality Assessment |
| GEOL 150 | Earth Systems |
| GEOL 210 | Principles of Hydrogeology |
| ENSC 111 | Introduction to Environmental Studies |
| or | |
| BIO 116 | Conservation Biology |
Section D
| MATH 181 | Calculus I |
| MATH 182 | Calculus II |
| PHYS 174 | Introductory Physics I |
| PHYS 184 | Introductory Physics II |
Suggested Schedule for Environmental Chemistry Majors
First Year, Fall
| FYS 100 | First-Year Seminar (1 CH) |
| CHEM 140 | General Chemistry I (4 CH) |
| MATH 181 | Calculus I (4 CH) |
| ENG 111 | Oral & Written Expression I (3 CH) |
| INDS 115 | History of Western Humanities I (4 CH) |
| IR Group V (1 CH) |
| TOTAL 17 CH |
First Year, Spring
| CHEM 160 | General Chemistry II (4 CH) |
| MATH 182 | Calculus II (4 CH) |
| ENG 112 | Oral & Written Expression II (3 CH) |
| INDS 125 | History of Western Humanities II (4 CH) |
| IR Group V (1 CH) |
| TOTAL 16 CH |
Notes:
1. Students who are not strong in math are advised to take MATH 107 College Algebra in the fall, CHEM 140 and MATH 141 Precalculus in the spring, and CHEM 160 and MATH 181 in the fall semester of the second year.
2. Students with exceptionally strong math/science backgrounds should consult with the chemistry department before registering.
Suggested Sequence of Courses
Second Year, Fall
| CHEM 200 | Organic Chemistry I |
| PHYS 174 | Introductory Physics I |
| INDS 210 | Science and Our Global Heritage I |
| or | |
| INDS 220 | Science and Our Global Heritage II (in spring) |
| REL 125 | Interpreting Jewish and Christian Scriptures |
| IR Group V (1 CH) |
Second Year, Spring
| CHEM 210 | Organic Chemistry II |
| PHYS 184 | Introductory Physics II |
| One course from Section C of the IR |
Third Year, Fall
| CHEM 310 | Physical Chemistry - Dynamics |
| CHEM 240 | Quantitative Analysis |
Third Year, Spring
| CHEM 320 | Physical Chemistry—Structure |
| CHEM 370 | Instrumental Analysis |
Fourth Year, Fall
| CHEM 330 | Environmental Chemistry |
| CHEM 360 | Chemical Literature |
| CHEM 470 | Chemistry Seminar |
| CHEM 490 | Problems in Chemistry |
| or | |
| CHEM 495 | Independent Study |
| CHEM 390 | Inorganic Chemistry |
| CHEM 480 | Chemistry Seminar |
| CHEM 4x0 | Advanced Topics |
Fourth Year, Spring
| CHEM 430 | Advanced Topics in Environmental Chemistry |
| CHEM 480 | Chemistry Seminar |
Minor in Environmental Chemistry Requirements
A minor in environmental chemistry consists of all the courses below in Section A and two courses selected from Section B.
Section A
| CHEM 140 | General Chemistry I |
| CHEM 160 | General Chemistry II |
| CHEM 240 | Quantitative Analysis |
| CHEM 330 | Environmental Chemistry |
| CHEM 430 | Advanced Topics in Environmental Chemistry |
Section B
| ENSC 250 | Meteorology and Air Quality Assessment |
| GEOL 150 | Earth Systems |
| GEOL 210 | Principles of Hydrogeology |
| ENSC 111 | Introduction to Environmental Studies |
| or | |
| BIO 116 | Conservation Biology |
|
75
College Avenue