Want advice on courses or the chemistry major? Need help designing a chemistry major? Contact the members of our Undergraduate Advisory Committee: Jon Kull (Chair), Dale Mierke, Paul Robustelli and Jimmy Wu.

Formal election of a major occurs during the winter or spring term of the sophomore year. At that time, a detailed plan for the junior and senior years is designed in consultation with a member of the Undergraduate Advisory Committee and submitted in DartWorks for approval.

All major programs require an average GPA of 2.0 in all courses counted toward the major, including prerequisites taken in Chemistry. Normally, all courses that would serve as prerequisites to, or count toward a major in Chemistry, and that are presented at the time the student submits a major card must individually have a GPA of 2.0 or higher. 

Dartmouth College requires that all majors must complete a substantial, graded culminating or integrating activity in their major. Many chemistry majors will satisfy this requirement by participating in undergraduate research by registering for one term of CHEM 80 or up to two more terms of CHEM 87 (CHEM 87.01 and CHEM 87.02), Undergraduate Investigation in Chemistry. However, students are not able to include CHEM 80/CHEM 87 as their culminating experience in DartWorks until they have been formally accepted into CHEM 80/CHEM 87. As such, all students should submit an initial major plan which includes one of the accepted culminating experiences as described on the ORC website. A minimum of eight upper-level classes is required for all four standard chemistry majors. Upper-level courses are chosen from a wide variety of disciplines to meet specific student interests and to prepare for careers in chemistry, biochemistry, environmental science, medicine, law, or business. All major courses have associated laboratory instruction which not only illustrates basic principles but also emphasizes modern techniques and student use of research-grade instruments.

In addition to the introductory or honors general chemistry, courses are offered in the following areas of chemistry: organic, physical (kinetics and thermodynamics), inorganic, biochemistry, environmental, and molecular spectroscopy and bonding (quantum chemistry). For the complete list of chemistry courses please check the ORC website.

The Chemistry Department offers four major programs. Two of the major programs are offered as majors in chemistry: Plan A, for those who wish a broad and thorough training in chemistry and Plan B, for those whose scientific interests are only partially based in chemistry. In addition, we offer a major program in biophysical chemistry, for those who are interested in using physical chemistry to understand biological systems, biological chemistry for those who are interested in the chemistry of biological processes and a modified major, which is similar to Plan B, but also includes a second program involving another college department.

Plan A should be chosen by students who plan to do graduate work in chemistry or a closely related science. Such students should normally add further courses in chemistry, physics, and mathematics to the plan's minimum requirements.

Plan B is less structured and is suitable for students planning to engage in chemically-related careers, such as medicine, environmental science, life science, or industrial science, or professions for which the study of chemistry may prove desirable, such as teaching, law, or business.

The biophysical chemistry major is designed for students who are interested in using physical chemistry to understand biological systems. This major is suitable for premedical students while also providing a strong biophysical background for students interested in pursuing a graduate education focused on using structural biology or spectroscopy to understand protein structure and function.

The biological chemistry major is designed for students interested in applications of chemistry to fundamental biological processes. In addition to being suitable for premedical students, it provides the framework for further graduate study in all areas of biological chemistry and biomedicine.

Chem Major Guide 2023-24 to read all you need to know to be a Dartmouth Chemistry Major.