Chemistry, Minor

The Chemistry minor will powerfully equip you to achieve your career goals by integrating the fundamental principles of chemistry with interdisciplinary applications, allowing you to explore a diverse range of advanced topics related to chemistry and how they impact the world.

Educational Objectives

Our interdisciplinary approach creates exciting opportunities to enrich your studies and expand your knowledge in areas of chemistry like aqueous, computational, environmental, organic, physical, analytical, and biochemistry.

Our Course-based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs) program will position you to conduct groundbreaking research alongside acclaimed faculty mentors, where you’ll work together co-authoring peer-reviewed journal articles and, in some cases, co-authoring patents.

Our strong industry connections throughout the region offers a powerful launching pad for your future success, including internship and summer immersion experiences with industry leaders including Monterey Bay Analytics, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and UC Santa Cruz.

Our accomplished, supportive faculty dedicate themselves fully to the success of their students, providing mentorship and extensive personalized attention through weekly open study sessions, abundant office hours, and informal problem-solving and work sessions in the “Chem Compound” where faculty offices are clustered.

For more information, please visit the Program Catalog

Please note: Twelve of the units taken to complete a minor (6 of which are upper division) may not be used in fulfillment of other minors, concentrations, or major requirements.

This minor requires that students be eligible to enroll in CHEM 110 - Chemistry I (4 units), either by a satisfactory score on a chemistry placement test (available from the Department of Biology and Chemistry) or by completion of MATH 130 - Precalculus (5 units) or a higher math course.  Prior preparation from STAT 250 or CHEM 211 is necessary prior to enrollment in the upper division courses.  STAT 250 also has MATH 150 as a prerequisite.  CHEM 211 has CHEM 111 as a prerequisite.

Complete any twelve (12) unit combination of the following courses, with at least six (6) units being upper division:

• CHEM 110 - Chemistry I Units: 4 and
• CHEM 110L - Chemistry I Lab Units: 1
• CHEM 111 - Chemistry II Units: 4 and
• CHEM 111L - Chemistry II Lab Units: 1
• CHEM 211 - Organic Chemistry I Units: 3 and
• CHEM 211L - Organic Chemistry I Lab Units: 2
• CHEM 212 - Organic Chemistry II Units: 3   and
• CHEM 212L - Organic Chemistry II Lab Units: 2
• CHEM 310 - Biochemistry I Units: 3 and
• CHEM 310L - Biochemistry Lab Units: 2
• CHEM 320 - Environmental Chemistry Units: 3 and
• CHEM 320L - Environmental Chemistry Lab Units: 2
• CHEM 297 - Independent Research Units: 1-2
• CHEM 330 - Physical Chemistry Units: 3
• CHEM 350 - Analytical & Instrumental Chemistry Units: 4
• CHEM 394 - Chemistry Internship Units: 2-4
• CHEM 397 - Independent Research Units: 1-2
• CHEM 410 - Biochemistry II Units: 3
• CHEM 430 - Environmental and Agricultural Chemistry Topics Units: 1-4
• CHEM 432 - Aqueous Chemistry Units: 3
• CHEM 497 - Independent Research Units: 1-2

You’ll take advantage of our vibrant coastal setting by the incorporation of the local environment in our marine chemistry examples, as well as through course offerings that cover aqueous chemistry, environmental chemistry, and marine chemistry.