"Leave it up to the student. They should be aware of the following:

Their high school course(s), even if they had two years, do not even come close to covering thermodynamics and quantum mechanics at the level covered in the honors intro. chem. (Chem 12100-12300). Some of what is taught in the first quarter of honors intro. chem. is review, but even that quarter presents a considerable amount of material at a deeper level than even the best AP 5 students have seen.

Despite the above, students have successfully skipped honors intro. chem. and started right with organic their first year. They report that they miss the intro. chem. background most severely when they take inorganic (Chem 20100) (because of the molecular orbitals), and the second quarter of physical chemistry (Chem. 26200) (because of the thermodynamics), but with hard work they do pick up on the background material with private study and do fine.

The advantage of starting with organic is that it leaves you able to complete most degree requirements in 3 years, making it easier to take more electives in the 4th year (graduate courses or more advanced courses not in major) or, in some cases, to graduate early.

The disadvantage is that it can make several courses significantly harder (see above), as an AP 5 on the chemistry advanced placement test does not mean you have had much, if any, of the material in Chem 12200 or Chem 12300.

Here is my advice:

If the student is unsure but the advantages are important for financial or other reasons they can try taking fall quarter organic, but if they don't get an A or B they should go back to Chem 12200 in the winter quarter. The Organic Lab Director will insist on this. An AP 5 student who gets a B- or C in fall quarter organic is skipping ahead to their own detriment. They should do the honors intro. winter/spring sequence. Then they will have the right background to continue getting the A's that such a good student deserves.

If the student does opt to take the intro. chem. sequence, advise them although the first quarter used to be largely review even in the honors section, the honors sequence is under substantial revision so they may want to consult with the honors intro chem instructor to decide whether they should seek to get accredited for the first quarter and start the sequence with winter quarter (they could, for instance, use the free fall quarter to take Math 153, if they also got calculus placement credit)".

The accreditation tests will probably be at Kent 101, but check the orientation schedule or this page for changes. If you have a scheduling conflict, call Dr. Vera Dragisich at 2-3071 in advance of the test date to request to take the exam at a different time (advance notice is preferred, but we can take rescheduling requests up until the first day of classes of the fall quarter). Bring a calculator. Note that this is the only time during the year that these accreditation tests are given and note that these exams are challenging so your background needs to be very complete to pass them.

When you go to the appointment to meet with the faculty member, they may ask you about yourself, your class work, and your interests, and they should tell you about what research opportunities there are in the coming year in their group. If you are thinking of doing an honors thesis, ask them which of the research projects are most appropriate for an honors thesis (the faculty member should identify if there is a project that could reasonably give you a finished piece of work to write about in the time you have left to complete it). In many groups you learn the most day to day from the graduate students in the group, so you may want to ask whether you will collaborate with a graduate student or work alone (if you would work with a graduate student on the project, you may want to meet them to see if they are eager to help an undergraduate; that will make the research experience more fun.) If at the end of the conversation you are still enthusiastic and comfortable, ask the faculty member if they can take you on and how you should proceed (settle on what afternoons or evenings they can expect you to be in lab, when group meetings are, etc.). If you want to learn about opportunities in a couple more groups before actually asking a faculty member if you can work with them, let the faculty member know when you plan to contact them again and thank them for taking the time to let you know about possible research opportunities (do not take more than a week or two to look around once you have had serious conversations with one faculty member). It is most usual to approach your favorite person first so that if they spend a half hour telling you about their research and then tell you they have a spot available for you, you can them tell them you are delighted to accept. Do not get discouraged if your favorite group is already over committed so can't offer you a position; this is often a first come-first serve situation so just ask their advice on what other research groups in the department they would recommend and go on to contact the other research groups that interest you).

Keep in mind that when you first work with a group it is a time to learn to be productive. If it is a good research project, it will take time to learn how to make a contribution. You should not expect to be paid a salary during the academic year (although some faculty do), but your work with the group during the academic year is very valuable in preparing you for a paid summer internship (many faculty offer summer jobs first to students who have been working with them during the academic year, if things have gone well).

We will gradually collect Web site links to other summer research programs and list them below. However, the most complete list is in the file in the undergraduate advisors office, so just call for an appointment to come look at it if you are looking for a summer research opportunity outside of The University of Chicago.

The final paper should be submitted by typically the first week in May for students graduating in June. Inquire about the specific due date each year with the chemistry advisor (The chemistry advisor has to provide the Master's office with a list of potential honors graduates in early May -- these deadlines are rigid because they have to print the proper diplomas).

Typically, the paper should contain at least 15 pages of text (not including figures). The general form should follow the outline of a journal research paper, including proper citations. While most of the paper may be specialized, the introduction should serve as a general outline of the scientific questions addressed and a review of others work toward answering those questions; this part should be readable by people not working in that research area (e.g. Could your classmates with an interest in another area of chemistry understand the importance of the scientific questions addressed by your research from your introduction?). The exact format of the paper should be decided upon by the student in consultation with the research mentor since many faculty like to use the theses as a research record and aid in writing up results for a publication. For example, a synthetic chemist might wish to include photocopies of key NMR or IR spectra even though those would not be typically published in a journal article; a theoretical chemist might include an appendix with program code and annotation; a physical chemist might want to include detailed drawings of a piece of machined apparatus. What the research advisor wants (and needs) will always vary from group to group.

The grammar and general appearance of the paper should be of the standards expected for a University of Chicago graduate.

For information on Ph.D. programs in chemistry, see the ACS Directory of Graduate Research in the Chemistry Library. It includes a list of all the universities that offer graduate degrees, the faculty at those universities, and one-line summaries of their research interests.

In choosing a graduate school, the exellence of the research of the faculty in the area that interests you is of paramount importance. Talk to your undergraduate research advisor about what programs are good in your field of interest . You can also make an appointment to talk with the undergraduate chemistry advisor.

The simplest way to learn about a graduate program at a particular university is to write the departments you are interested in to request a brochure on their graduate program that describes the research of their faculty. Graduate Program brochures of some of the top departments are available for you to look at in the Chemistry Undergraduate advisor's office and brochures sent to our department by other programs are collected in a bin across from Kent 107 for our undergraduates to have access to them. Websites are also excellent sources of infromation.

For web pages of some representative graduate programs, see:

Graduate Programs in chemistry will often require the Chemistry subject test. If you know your introductory chemistry text by Oxtoby and Nachtrieb VERY well (including some chapters only covered in part in intro chem, like the one on transition metals and coordination complexes), it will be good preparation for much of the chemistry subject test (the level of that intro chem text is not much below many colleges junior level courses.)

If you are a biological chemistry major and wish to apply for a graduate program in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, you should consult with the departments you are applying to but often they will take either the chemistry subject test (see previous paragraph) or the subject test in "Biochemistry, Cell, and Molecular Biology". To do well on the latter, you will have wanted to use your BioSci 200 level course requirement to give you additional preparation in cell/molecular biology beyond what you learned in 190's.

Each year, UofC advisors give a workshop on applying for NSF, DOD and Hughes fellowships in mid October (including tips on how to write a successful application).