DEPARTMENT OF CHEMISTRY

First-Year Overview

Quick LInks

Overview for First-Year Students Taking Chemistry
Chemistry Assessment and Placement Exams
Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate Exam Credit
First-Year Students Considering the Chemistry Major
Tips for Success in a University Chemistry Course

Chemistry Course Sequences

Many Northwestern undergraduate students will be required to take chemistry courses due to pre-professional or specific major program requirements.  It is therefore common for a large fraction of the first-year class to enroll in a chemistry course in Fall Quarter of the first year. Incoming first-year students at Northwestern University who want to take chemistry have several options.

Any of the general chemistry sequences below cover the equivalent of a full year of general chemistry material.

Fundamentals of Chemistry

Fall CHEM 110; Winter CHEM 131/141; Spring CHEM 132/142

The CHEM 110, 131, and 132 course sequence with associated lab courses 141 (Winter) and 142 (Spring) provides a three-quarter path through the general chemistry curriculum. The CHEM 110 course emphasizes problem-solving skills and foundational chemistry topics. Whether a student would benefit from taking the CHEM 110 course will be determined from the online Initial Chemistry Assessment. Students cannot self-select into the CHEM 110 sequence.

This sequence is most suitable for students who had limited or no chemistry coursework in high school. Students who have taken AP or IB Chemistry courses are not eligible for this sequence.

General Chemistry

Fall CHEM 151/161; Winter CHEM 152/162

Many students demonstrate sufficient background in the topics of CHEM 110 to qualify instead for the two-quarter general chemistry course sequence, CHEM 151 and 152 with associated lab courses 161 and 162.

Advanced General Chemistry

Fall CHEM 171/181; Winter CHEM 172/182

Students with a qualifying score on the Chemistry Placement Exam may be eligible to take the two-quarter advanced general chemistry sequence—CHEM 171 and 172 with associated lab courses 181 and 182.

Organic Chemistry (two sequence options)

Fall CHEM 215-1/235-1; Winter CHEM 215-2/235-2; Spring CHEM 215-3/235-3

Fall CHEM 217-1/237-1; Winter CHEM 217-2/237-2; Spring CHEM 217-3/235-3

Students with a strong high school background in chemistry may qualify (based solely on their Chemistry Placement Exam score) to skip general chemistry completely and go directly to the organic chemistry sequence: CHEM 215-1, -2, -3 with associated lab courses 235-1, -2, -3 (or if you are considering a chemistry major, CHEM 217-1, -2, -3 with associated lab courses 237-1, 237-2, and 235-3).

Click here for a course overview

Which course do i start in?

Your Chemistry course placement is determined by your performance on the Initial Chemistry Assessment and/or the Chemistry Placement Exam on Canvas. 

Click here for more information on assessment and placement exams. 

Click here if you are transfer student with course credits from your prior institution(s). 

Note: ALL General Chemistry sequences start in Fall. You CANNOT start a Gen Chem sequence in Winter or Spring.

ADVANCED PLACEMENT AND INTERNATIONAL BACCALAUREATE EXAM CREDIT

Students will earn credit in chemistry for certain Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate (Higher Level) exams according to the Weinberg College AP/IB Credit Policies, but these credits do not fulfill prerequisites for other chemistry courses. These credits will be considered when course placement decisions are being made, but course placement is ultimately determined by a student's score(s) on the Initial Chemistry Assessment (and the Chemistry Placement Exam, when applicable).

Some general chemistry courses have equivalency with the course credits a student may receive from their AP or IB exam score. Students should consult with the Undergraduate Academic Catalog for information on course equivalencies and credit impact. Students should contact their academic advisor or the Department of Chemistry's Director of Undergraduate Studies with any questions about the impact of their course placement on their exam-based credit.

Repeated Credit

If you have an AP Chemistry score of 5 or an International Baccalaureate HL Chemistry score of 7

AP 5 or IB (HL) 7 exam scores are awarded 3.68 units of Northwestern Chemistry credit (CHEM 1X0, 1X1, 1X2, 11X, and 12X).

If you take a full year of Organic Chemistry. You earn 7.36 total units (3.68 from AP/IB + 3.68) of Chemistry.

If you take General Chemistry (CHEM 151 or 171) you will be repeating some or all of the credit that you have already earned. To illustrate:

If you take CHEM 171/181 or CHEM 151/161 (1.34 units each) and CHEM 172/182 or CHEM 152/162 (1.34 units each), you finish with 3.68 total units of Chemistry. That is, you have repeated 2.68 units of the above-mentioned Chemistry course credit awarded for your AP/IB exam performance and retained 1 exam-based credit.

If you have an AP Chemistry score of 4 or an International Baccalaureate HL Chemistry score of 5/6

AP 4 or IB (HL) 5/6 exam scores are awarded 1.0 unit of Northwestern CHEM 1X0 credit.

If you take CHEM 151/161 or 171/181 (1.34 units) and CHEM 152/162 or 172/182 (1.34 units), including the Chem 1X0 credit, you earn a total of 3.68 units of Chemistry credit.

FIRST-YEAR STUDENTS CONSIDERING THE CHEMISTRY MAJOR

First-year students who may be considering the chemistry major start with the same chemistry courses as first-year students who are pursuing a pre-health program. In addition, the chemistry major program requires a full-year of calculus-based physics (PHYS 135-1, 2, 3) and 4 quarters of calculus (MATH 220-1, 220-2, 230-1, 230-2). Courses taken during the typical first 2 years of the chemistry major program are:

Year 1: CHEM 110, 131,132 (with lab courses 141, 142) or CHEM 151, 152 (with lab courses 161, 162) or CHEM 171, 172 (with lab courses 181, 182); MATH 220-1, 220-2, 230-1; possibly CHEM 220

Students seeking more information about the chemistry major program should contact Prof. Fred Northrup, Director of Undergraduate Studies for the Department of Chemistry.

Click here for more information about majoring in chemistry.

TIPS FOR SUCCESS IN A UNIVERSITY CHEMISTRY COURSE

Students often ask how a general chemistry course at the university level is different from the general chemistry course(s) they took in high school. While it is certainly likely that the course material is covered in greater depth than in high school, the primary difference is in the way knowledge of the material is tested. Typical test questions usually require application of more than one chemistry concept to solve an integrated, quantitative problem. Therefore, you should brush up on your problem-solving skills and especially on properly reading a “word problem” to understand what is being asked and to determine the chemistry concepts you must use to address it. You should begin all such problems by asking yourself:

• what information you know
• what information you are being asked to find
• what chemistry concept(s) are necessary to link what you know to what you are being asked to find

Don’t forget that we are here to help you succeed in your chemistry courses and we provide many resources to accomplish this. You should take full advantage of all opportunities available to you, including seeking help from the course instructor, the graduate student teaching assistants who will hold regular tutor sessions in the chemistry resource center (you may attend the tutor sessions of any TA, not just the person who supervises you in the lab), and peer tutors who will hold regular sessions at a time and campus location to be announced once classes begin. Don’t be afraid to ask questions if a concept is unclear. If you wish to hire a private tutor for chemistry, contact the Undergraduate Program Office (chemhelp@northwestern.edu) for a list of graduate student tutors.

If you have any questions about the chemistry course for which you should register, the Canvas-based online assessment or placement exam, or the chemistry major program, please contact Prof. Fred Northrup, Director of Undergraduate Studies for the Department of Chemistry.