Which Chemistry Course Should I Take for General Education?

CHEM 111/116 (lecture lab) and CHEM 115/116 (lecture/lab) are our chemistry courses designed for students who are not planning to take any more chemistry and who are taking the course to satisfy a science general education requirement. They do not assume any high school chemistry background (although they assume some basic background in physical science).

Our largest enrollment courses are CHEM 121/122 and CHEM 120. These courses are primarily taken by students who are required to take them for their major (although they also count as general education science courses). If you are not sure of your major and think you might be interested in a major in science, then you would be better off taking CHEM 121/122 (if you had a solid course in high school chemistry) or CHEM 117/118 (if you did not take high school chemistry or do not feel you have a good background in chemistry). CHEM 117/118 also counts as general education science courses. In summary:

Take CHEM 111/116 The Chemistry of Us if...

  • You want a general education course which gives a broad overview of our universe and the chemistry of the human body, BUT which will not directly prepare you to go on to CHEM 120 or 121/122. This course does not count towards a chemistry major or minor.

Take CHEM 115/116 Chemistry and Society if...

  • You want a general education course which explores the relationship of chemistry to current affairs, BUT which will not prepare you to go on to CHEM 120 or 121/122. This course does not count towards a chemistry major or minor.

Take CHEM 117/118 Fundamentals of Chemistry if...

  • You have no chemistry background (or a weak one), but place at math Level 3, and want an introduction comparable to a one-year high school course.
  • You need to prepare for either CHEM 120 or CHEM 121/122. This course does not count towards a chemistry major or minor. 

Take CHEM 120 Fundamentals of Organic and Biochemistry if...

  • You are in the pre-nursing or sports medicine curricula.
  • You have had high school chemistry and would like to learn something new and interesting, requiring little math. (Warning: despite the lack of math, this is a very difficult course that covers a lot of new material very quickly. We do not recommend taking this course if you are taking it only to satisfy a general education requirement.) This course does not count towards a chemistry major or minor. 

Take CHEM 121/122 General Chemistry I if...

  • You have had high school chemistry and place at math Level 4.
  • You are a chemistry, biology, pre-med or pre-dentistry major (or CHEM 121/122 is required for your major).
  • You want our best first course that will keep all of your options open and count towards a chemistry major or minor.

Take FERM 101/102 Introduction to Fermentation Science if...

  • You want a general education course which gives a broad overview of how fermented foods and beverages are made, and the basic science underlying them.
  • You want to take upper-level courses with a FERM prefix, as FERM 101 is a typical prerequisite.
  • You are interested in the major or minor in Fermentation Science, or the Fermentation concentration in the Chemistry major. 

Skip Section Navigation