Hey First-Years,
We hope you are all doing well! Check out this information from the Chemistry department below!
A message from the Chemistry Department
for First Year students interested in the sciences and health professions
Dear First-Years,
Allow us to join the chorus of excited faculty and staff and welcome you to Barnard College! The members of the Chemistry Department are delighted you are considering joining us this fall. Our department serves students with many different interests. We offer a major in both chemistry and biochemistry as well as a minor in chemistry. Our courses are required for several other majors at the College. And students interested in studying one of the health professions after Barnard will typically take several of our courses. We will be available throughout your time at Barnard to guide you through the selection of chemistry courses.
For those of you interested in the sciences and the health professions, we have included some notes and advice below. If you have any questions, please reach out to genchem@barnard.edu.
We look forward to working with you this fall or in a future semester!
Members of the Chemistry Department
If you are planning on enrolling in General Chemistry I (CHEM BC2001) in Fall 2024, please read the following carefully:
1. There is one single General Chemistry course for all students at Barnard, regardless of their high school chemistry coursework. The Chemistry Department and the College have various mechanisms in place to provide support to students who are interested in taking CHEM BC2001 and have little to no prior experience in chemistry.
2. The introductory chemistry sequence at Barnard for Chemistry and Biochemistry majors as well as students on the pre-health professional track is one semester of General Chemistry followed by two consecutive semesters of Organic Chemistry. What course students take in their fourth semester of chemistry depends on whether they are a chemistry/biochemistry major or minor or on the pre-health track.
3. General Chemistry I at Barnard is a five-credit integrated lecture+lab course. Students must enroll in a section of both CHEM BC2001 and CHEM BC2012. All the course credits are associated with the CHEM BC2001 listing. There are no credits associated with the CHEM BC2012 course, but you still must have a section of this course on your program. There is no additional recitation and/or discussion section.
4. General Chemistry I at Barnard is only offered in the fall semester.
5. In Fall 2024, General Chemistry lecture will be offered on Monday and Wednesday afternoons from 1:10 PM-2:25 PM (Section 01), 2:40-3:55 PM (Section 02), and 4:10-5:25 PM (Section 03). All sections are identical in content and structure. You must register for one section.
6. In Fall 2024, General Chemistry lab will be offered Monday through Friday from 8:10 AM-12:00 PM. All sections are identical in content and structure. You must register for one section.
Note: please be sure to choose a lab section that does not present conflicts with your other courses, responsibilities, and/or personal obligations. Enrollment in the lab sections is limited due to space constraints and safety considerations, and it may not be possible to switch lab sections at a later date.
7. All students who try to register for a section of CHEM BC2012 will initially be placed on a waitlist. Students will be admitted to the course, as space allows, throughout the registration period.
8. Students enrolling in BOTH General Chemistry (CHEM BC2001/2012) AND Intro Bio (BIOL BC1500/1501) must register for the Tuesday, Thursday, OR Friday morning Gen Chem lab section as the Bio lecture course meets on Monday and Wednesday mornings.
Some additional advice for students considering taking General Chemistry in their first semester:
- You have plenty of time to decide your major. Students typically declare in the spring semester of their sophomore year. That said, if you know you are interested in chemistry and/or biochemistry, we encourage you to consider enrolling in General Chemistry in your first semester. The course sequence for the chemistry and biochemistry majors is very linear, and we only offer certain classes in certain semesters. Delaying the introductory chemistry course sequences until your sophomore year certainly does not make a chemistry or biochemistry major impossible.
- If you are interested in a science major other than chemistry or biochemistry, we recommend enrolling in the introductory course in the department in which you’re considering a major. Consult with that department as needed. Note: it is also possible to “double-up” in the sciences in your first-year, though this decision should be made with care (more on that below).
- If you are interested in a major outside of the sciences and pursuing the pre-health professional track, we recommend that you start your lab science study in your first semester given the number of laboratory classes you will have to take to satisfy the professional school requirements. Which course you take (Chemistry, Biology, Physics) is an individual decision. Consider your preparation in each of those subjects along with your other planned pursuits this fall. If, for example, you have considerable experience in biology from high school it might be a good idea to continue that study and begin with Biology 1500. Similarly, if you had good experiences in chemistry or physics you might want to start with one of those subjects to begin your lab work.
- We also want to answer an additional question which we hear frequently: “Can I take two lab science courses my first semester?” The answer to that question is definitely yes! However, you should make that choice very carefully and in consultation with your academic adviser. Be cautious. College lab courses typically take up much more time and energy than you have needed to plan around in high school, and it takes a combination of strong preparation, work ethic, and time management skills to succeed with two lab sciences on your very first Barnard program.
- A final question is “What about Columbia? Can I take my pre-health classes there?” The answer to this question is yes…with a caveat. The Barnard and Columbia General Chemistry courses are not interchangeable: the subject matter is covered in a different order. The Barnard course is designed to include in the first term those subjects important for understanding organic chemistry. For this reason, if you take General Chemistry I at Columbia (UN1403), then you must also take General Chemistry II at Columbia (UN1404) along with the General Chemistry Lab (UN1500) before taking Organic Chemistry, either at Barnard or Columbia. Chemistry UN1604 at Columbia is an accelerated general chemistry course for students with AP credit. Students who take this course and the laboratory course (Chemistry UN1500 or UN1507) may then take the organic chemistry sequence at Barnard. We encourage students to take BC2001 at Barnard as it is designed as part of a four-course sequence.
We hope these comments help you as you plan for the upcoming fall semester. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to genchem@barnard.edu with your questions. There is also a great deal of information available on the Chemistry Department’s website about our coursework and on the College’s website about pre-health professions.
