Undergraduate Chemistry Major and Research

A chemistry placement test, taken online in the summer, is required for all students intending to enroll in general or introductory chemistry. To be placed into Honors General Chemistry, students must pass the second part of the online exam, the Honors Placement Test. A placement test for math or calculus is also required. Consult the College Orientation Office for information about the administration of the placement tests.

Incoming students who plan to take chemistry courses are required to take both the Chemistry and Math Placement exams that are offered online through the College during the summer prior to matriculation.

All incoming students who place into Honors General Chemistry (CHEM 12100) will automatically be registered to take the Chemistry Advanced Placement Exam. Performing well on this exam and consultation with the Chemistry Director of Undergraduate Studies (DUS) may offer placement out of General Chemistry.

The Chemistry Advanced Placement Exam is offered online via Canvas prior to the start of classes. This is the only time during the year that this test is given.

Students who earn a score of 5 on the AP exam in chemistry are given credit for CHEM 11100 Comprehensive General Chemistry I. Students with CHEM 11100 Comprehensive General Chemistry I credit may join CHEM 11200 Comprehensive General Chemistry II in the Winter Quarter. A score of 5 on the AP exam also permits students to take CHEM 12100-12200-12300 Honors General Chemistry I-II-III; students may opt to begin with CHEM 12100 Honors General Chemistry I in the Autumn Quarter or CHEM 12200 Honors General Chemistry II in the Winter Quarter. Students who complete the first quarter of Comprehensive General Chemistry or Honors General Chemistry forgo the AP credit. Note that no credit is given for IB chemistry, but students may pursue the Advanced Placement option described above.

The best way to start is to talk to friends or classmates who have done undergraduate research with faculty here and to read the descriptions of the research interests of faculty in chemistry and related fields. A student should feel free to explore opportunities in other interdisciplinary areas not listed below (such as molecular or condensed matter physics, computational biology, etc.). If you are planning to pursue an honors thesis in chemistry, the research should be in chemistry or a related chemical area (we have had students who have done honors work in biology and physics, but their research involved problems related to chemistry and was approved in advance by the chemistry undergraduate advisor).

Links:

• Chemistry Faculty
• Physics Faculty
• Biochemistry Faculty
• Molecular Engineering Faculty

After you have identified a few faculty whose research looks interesting to you, contact them directly for more information. Go to the Faculty page to find their contact info.

When contacting faculty, it can be helpful to provide the following information:

• your year in the program

• courses you have taken that are relevant to the research position 

• your plans, if any, to pursue a higher degree 

• any prior research you have done

• other faculty in the department who might be able to provide a recommendation for you

If you are considering an honors thesis, ask which research projects might be appropriate. In many groups, you will learn the most day to day from the graduate students in the group, so you may wish to meet them. If all parties seem interested and willing, ask the faculty member if he or she can take you on and how you should proceed -- how often and when you are expected in lab, when group meetings are, and so on.

If you wish to learn about opportunities in other 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 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 then tell them you are delighted to accept. Do not get discouraged if your favorite group is already over-committed. Use the opportunity to ask for advice on other research groups in the department.

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 contribute. You should not expect to be paid during the academic year, but that work can prepare you for a paid summer internship.

The best way to secure a paid research position over the summer with a faculty member at UChicagois to work with them on a volunteer basis during the academic year preceding the summer you want to work full time on research. Whether you plan to do an honors thesis or not, one option is to identify a couple of faculty whose research interests you by reading the Description of Research of Faculty in Chemistry or Biochemistry and then contacting the individual faculty member directly.

Your summer salary can be funded in one of several ways:

• The most common is for the faculty member to pay you from their research grants.

• The Department of Chemistry and the Department of Physics also often have National Science Foundation REU (Research Opportunities for Undergraduates) programs running each summer that you may apply to for salary support (rather than an individual faculty member having to use funds from research grants). Contact the Chemistry Director of Undergraduate Studies (DUS) (chem-dus@lists.uchicago.edu) about the Chemistry REU site and contact Stuart Gazes (gazes@uchicago.edu) about the Physics REU site.

• First-years willing to commit to conducting research in the Department of Chemistry may be eligible for the James Norris, Jr. Grant for Undergraduate Summer Research in Chemistry.
• The Beckman Scholars Program (funded by the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation) is available for Second-year and Third-year students working with a Beckman Scholar Faculty Mentor. Read more about eligibility for the Beckman Scholars Program.

• If you are a second-year student and want to pursue a Ph.D. program, you may qualify for the Mellon Mays Fellowship, which funds a summer Research Training Program. See Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship Program for more information.

• The Biological Sciences Collegiate Division also has a Summer Research Fellowship Program (deadline for application is usually in April).
• There are several opportunities and programs associated with UChicago Careers in Health Professions (UCHIP) available. 
  
• Grants for unpaid opportunities are available through the Career Advancement office. See Career Advancement for more information on the Jeff Metcalf Fellowship Grant and the Odessy Metcalf Fellowship Grant. 
• The College Center for Research and Fellowships (CCRF) offers funding opportunities through the College Summer Research Fellows Program. 

There is a wide variety of summer research programs for undergraduates across the country at universities, companies, and government laboratories. For further information on the types of programs available, consult the file of undergraduate research opportunities in the undergraduate Chemistry Advisor office. Information on a few of the programs is posted on the bulletin board (not display case) just outside Kent 107 labeled "Announcements and Information for Chemistry and Biological Chemistry majors ".

One of the largest formal summer research programs at universities are the National Science Foundation REU (Research Opportunities for Undergraduates) sites. 

There are also undergraduate research programs at government labs such as Argonne National Laboratory or Lawrence Livermore Laboratory and positions at industrial companies. Applications for some of these have very early due dates (as early as November of the summer before you want to do research).

Beyond any advertised program, you may call faculty at a university individually to request a summer research position. Particularly if you are considering graduate school at that university and plan to use the summer research to have an advance look at their graduate program, many faculty will be responsive to such a request. Consult the ACS Directory of Graduate Research (the library has a copy) to find the research areas and telephone numbers (or email addresses) of chemistry faculty at Universities in Ph.D. granting institutions across the country.

The most complete list of other summer research programs is in the file in the undergraduate advisor's 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.

Filling out the College Reading/Research Course Form is necessary to participate in undergraduate research, whether it is for credit or not. There are three ways to perform undergraduate research: volunteer, for credit or as a paid position. Students can not be paid and receive credit at the same time.

1. Fill out the form here. The “Course and section” is CHEM 29600 01 or CHEM 29900 01, respectively.

2. Have your faculty supervisor sign.

3. Email the form to chem-dus@lists.uchicago.edu, and in your email indicate if you are performing the research either voluntarily, for credit, or for pay.

4. You will be notified via email when you have been registered.

The requirements for the honors thesis are as follows:

1. Maintain above a 3.0 GPA.

2. Take at least one quarter of research for credit (CHEM 299).

3. Write and get your PIs approval for an honors thesis.

4. Present your research at the Honors Thesis Symposium in the Spring.

Students must normally have been enrolled for (at least) one official quarter of Chem 299, only open to Chemistry majors who are eligible for honors. It is very unlikely, however, that anyone will accomplish enough research in one quarter to write an Honors Thesis, thus the research effort would typically begin the summer before the year during which Chem 299 is taken.

The research should be in Chemistry or a related chemical area (we have had students who have done work in Biology and Physics, but the research involved was chemistry-related problems and was approved in advance for an Honors Thesis in Chemistry by the Director of Undergraduate Studies (DUS). The work must be carried out under the direction of a Chemistry faculty member or someone approved in advance by the Director of Undergraduate Studies (DUS). Honors research in Biochemistry may be done with any faculty member from the Dept. of Chemistry or the Dept. of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology or with any number of other researchers at the University. If you are considering doing research with a faculty member who is not in either of the primary departments sponsoring this degree, you need to submit a short description of your proposed research to the Director of Undergraduate Studies (DUS) for a determination of whether the subject matter is appropriate for an Honors Thesis in Biochemistry (The area is defined broadly as long as good scientific questions are investigated in the research).

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

The exact format of the paper should be decided upon by the student in consultation with their 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.

You can find some samples of honors theses here: https://uchicago.box.com/s/siwum3ayowcgttay0qkhhzfrdg7ea348

The final thesis paper should be submitted, typically, by the first week in May for students graduating in June. Inquire about the specific due date each year with the Director of Undergraduate Studies (DUS) (The Director of Undergraduate Studies 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).

To sign up for the Honors Thesis Symposium in Spring, please fill out your information on the following form: https://forms.gle/nf1GJsPX2PJzjGWZ8