Chemistry Major (B.Sc.) (59 credits)
Offered by: Chemistry (Faculty of Science)
Degree: Bachelor of Science; Bachelor of Arts and Science
Program credit weight: 59
Degree Requirements — B.Sc.
This program is offered as part of a Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) degree.
To graduate, students must satisfy both their program requirements and their degree requirements.
- The program requirements (i.e., the specific courses that make up this program) are listed under the Course Tab (above).
- The degree requirements—including the mandatory Foundation program, appropriate degree structure, and any additional components—are outlined on the Degree Requirements page.
Students are responsible for ensuring that this program fits within the overall structure of their degree and that all degree requirements are met. Consult the Degree Planning Guide on the SOUSA website for additional guidance.
Note: For information about Fall 2025 and Winter 2026 course offerings, please check back on May 8, 2025. Until then, the "Terms offered" field will appear blank for most courses while the class schedule is being finalized.
Program Prerequisites
Pre-Program Prerequisites
Students entering from the Freshman program must have included CHEM 110 General Chemistry 1. and CHEM 120 General Chemistry 2., BIOL 112 Cell and Molecular Biology., MATH 133 Linear Algebra and Geometry., MATH 140 Calculus 1./MATH 141 Calculus 2. or MATH 150 Calculus A./MATH 151 Calculus B., PHYS 101 Introductory Physics - Mechanics./PHYS 102 Introductory Physics - Electromagnetism. or PHYS 131 Mechanics and Waves./PHYS 142 Electromagnetism and Optics., or their equivalents in their Freshman year. Quebec students must have completed the DEC with appropriate science and mathematics courses. Note that students who have successfully completed MATH 150 Calculus A. and MATH 151 Calculus B. do not have to take MATH 222 Calculus 3..
Required Courses (53 credits)
A computer science course, either COMP 202 Foundations of Programming. or COMP 208 Computer Programming for Physical Sciences and Engineering ., is strongly recommended during U1 for students who have no previous introduction to computer programming. Students should contact their adviser on this matter. Completion of Mathematics MATH 222 Calculus 3. during U1 is also strongly recommended.
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| CHEM 213 | Introductory Physical Chemistry 1: Thermodynamics. | 3 |
Introductory Physical Chemistry 1: Thermodynamics. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Thermodynamics. Topics include gas laws, kinetic theory of collisions, heat capacity, enthalpy, thermochemistry, bond energies, the entropy and free energy functions, absolute entropies, Maxwell relations and chemical and thermodynamic equilibrium states, phase rule and phase diagrams, ideal solutions, colligative properties, solubility, electrochemistry, Debye-Hückel Theory. | ||
| CHEM 242 | Organic Chemistry 1 for Chemistry and Biochemistry. 1 | 4 |
Organic Chemistry 1 for Chemistry and Biochemistry. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. A fundamental study of aliphatic compounds and saturated functional groups including modern concepts of bonding, reaction mechanisms, conformational analysis, spectroscopy, and stereochemistry. | ||
| CHEM 252 | Organic Chemistry 2 for Chemistry and Biochemistry. | 4 |
Organic Chemistry 2 for Chemistry and Biochemistry. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. A fundamental study of aromatic and polar unsaturated functional groups including reaction mechanisms, multi-step synthesis, regioselectivity, and modern spectroscopic techniques for structure determination. | ||
| CHEM 267 | Introductory Chemical Analysis. | 3 |
Introductory Chemical Analysis. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Qualitative and quantitative analysis. A survey of methods of analysis including theory and practice of semimicro qualitative analysis and representative gravimetric, volumetric and instrumental methods. The laboratory component includes introductory experiments in analytical chemistry emphasizing classical and instrumental methods of quantitative analysis. | ||
| CHEM 273 | Introductory Physical Chemistry 2: Kinetics and Methods. | 3 |
Introductory Physical Chemistry 2: Kinetics and Methods. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Kinetics: Transition State Theory, complex reactions, free-radical reactions, chain reactions, catalysis, reactions at surfaces, ionic effects of reactions in solution, photochemistry. Methods: physical chemistry laboratory, differential equations and linear algebra applied to physical chemistry, computation methods for data analysis and modeling | ||
| CHEM 281 | Inorganic Chemistry 1. | 3 |
Inorganic Chemistry 1. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Basic concepts of electronic structure and molecular bonding will be developed and applied to the understanding of common materials. Acid-base chemistry. Survey of the chemistry of the main group elements. Introduction to coordination and organometallic chemistry. | ||
| CHEM 302 | Introductory Organic Chemistry 3. | 3 |
Introductory Organic Chemistry 3. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Topics covered may include the following: Aromatic compounds, heterocyclic chemistry, sulfur and phosphorus chemistry, organosulfur and organophosphorus compounds, and biomolecules such as lipids, carbohydrates, amino acids, polypeptides, DNA and RNA. | ||
| CHEM 332 | Biological Chemistry. | 3 |
Biological Chemistry. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. An introduction to biological chemistry. Topics will include chemistry and structure of proteins, nucleic acids, and lipids; protein and nucleic acid biosynthesis; enzyme kinetics and mechanisms; membranes and membrane transport; bioenergetics; redox reactions in biological chemistry; gene expression; cloning, RNA and antibody technologies; genomics and proteomics. | ||
| CHEM 345 | Introduction to Quantum Chemistry. | 3 |
Introduction to Quantum Chemistry. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. An introduction to quantum chemistry covering the historical development, wave theory, methods of quantum mechanics, and applications of quantum chemistry. | ||
| CHEM 355 | Applications of Quantum Chemistry. | 3 |
Applications of Quantum Chemistry. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. A survey of the principles of electronic, vibrational and rotational spectroscopy. Magnetic resonance and computational methods. | ||
| CHEM 365 | Statistical Thermodynamics. | 2 |
Statistical Thermodynamics. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Molecular basis of thermodynamics with applications to ideal gases and simple solids. Topics to be covered will include: calculation of thermodynamic functions, chemical equilibrium constants, Einstein and Debye models of solids, absolute reaction rate theory, Debye-Hückel theory of strong electrolytes. | ||
| CHEM 367 | Instrumental Analysis 1. | 3 |
Instrumental Analysis 1. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. An introduction to modern instrumental analysis emphasizing chromatography, atomic spectroscopy and computational data analysis. Analytical methods to be examined in detail include gas-liquid and high performance liquid chromatography, LC mass spectrometry, and common methods of atomic determinations using flames/furnaces/plasma sources. | ||
| CHEM 377 | Instrumental Analysis 2. | 3 |
Instrumental Analysis 2. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Spectroscopic methods of analysis will be studied with respect to fundamentals, operational aspects and instrument design. Topics will range from UV-visible to x-ray spectrometry. Methodologies will be evaluated with respect to their application in spectrometric systems. Laboratory automation will be studied and applied in the laboratory. | ||
| CHEM 381 | Inorganic Chemistry 2. | 3 |
Inorganic Chemistry 2. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Introduction to transition metal chemistry, coordination numbers and geometry, and nomenclature will be followed by a discussion of crystal field theory and its applications to problems in spectroscopy, magnetochemistry, thermodynamics and kinetics. Several aspects related to applications of organometallic compounds in catalysis and bioinorganic systems will be discussed. | ||
| CHEM 392 | Experimental Chemistry 1. | 3 |
Experimental Chemistry 1. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Experiments related to the theoretical principles, synthetic techniques and instrumental methods used in modern experimental chemistry, including aspects of green chemistry and nanochemistry. | ||
| CHEM 493 | Advanced Physical Chemistry Laboratory. | 2 |
Advanced Physical Chemistry Laboratory. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Selected experiments to illustrate more advanced physico-chemical principles. | ||
| MATH 222 | Calculus 3. 2 | 3 |
Calculus 3. Terms offered: Summer 2025 Taylor series, Taylor's theorem in one and several variables. Review of vector geometry. Partial differentiation, directional derivative. Extreme of functions of 2 or 3 variables. Parametric curves and arc length. Polar and spherical coordinates. Multiple integrals. | ||
| PHYS 242 | Electricity and Magnetism. | 2 |
Electricity and Magnetism. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Properties of electromagnetic fields, dipole and quadropole fields and their interactions, chemical binding of molecules, electromagnetic properties of materials, Maxwell's equations and properties of electromagnetic waves, propagation of waves in media. | ||
- 1
Denotes courses with CEGEP equivalents.
The courses are omitted from the program of students who have successfully completed them at the CEGEP level but the Chemistry courses must be replaced by courses in that discipline if students wish to be eligible for admission to the Ordre des chimistes du Québec. Students from outside Quebec or transfer students should consult the Academic Adviser.
See http://www.mcgill.ca/chemistry/current-undergraduate-students/advising/.- 2
Students who have successfully completed MATH 150 Calculus A.MATH 150 Calculus A. and MATH 151 Calculus B. are not required to take MATH 222 Calculus 3..
Complementary Courses (6 credits)
6 credits of Chemistry (CHEM) courses at the 400 level or higher, or MATH 315 Ordinary Differential Equations. plus 3 credits of Chemistry courses at the 400 level or higher.