Undergraduate Research Opportunities

All chemistry majors are encouraged to participate in undergraduate research. To get started, review the “Faculty Research” web pages on the Department web site. Then simply make appointments with faculty whose research areas interest you to discuss the possibilities. Choose three or four faculty since often their research laboratories are full and their individual policies concerning undergraduate research vary widely.

Having received the faculty member’s permission to enroll in their program you must register for either CHE290 (1 credit) if you are a sophomore or CHE481 (1-3) credits if you are a junior or senior. To register, you must be force registered by the Executive Officer (369 Natural Sciences Complex). Most chemistry majors do research in one or both semesters of their senior year.

A required component of the Medicinal Chemistry program is participation in MCH408, “Undergraduate Research Participation in Medicinal Chemistry” in which students complete projects in Medicinal chemistry involving a literature search and lab work. This is generally done during the spring semester of the junior year or during either semester of the senior year. Four credit hours of research is the minimum and students are encouraged to do this in a semester; it is not effective to stretch out the experience over too much time. It is recommended that students do more than the minimum 4 credits. Additional credits of research can be applied to the 15 credits of required science electives for the Medicinal Chemistry degree.