Off-Campus Studies can help Chemistry students…

  • Gain awareness of the major discipline from a different scholarly tradition

How does a semester or year of OCS help students in Chemistry prepare for various career opportunities?

  • It provides a global perspective and exposure to a different educational system.
  • Contact with chemists outside the United States
  • Field experience in another country is valuable even if a student’s studies are only tangentially related to chemistry.

As a general rule of thumb, the Chemistry Department recommends the following for students who wish to study off campus.

  • First-year students should discuss their plans to major in chemistry and interest in OCS with a chemistry major adviser their first semester. Early planning is essential!
  • First-year students should enroll in CHEM 140 Advanced General Chemistry or the regular General Chemistry sequence of CHEM 125, 126, 135, and 136, as well as Calculus (Math 125, 126, or 225) at the appropriate level.
  • Sophomore-year students should enroll in the Organic Chemistry sequence of CHEM 245, 246, 251, and 252. Students planning to study off-campus in Fall of their junior year must take CHEM 240 Quantitative Analysis during Fall of their sophomore year.
  • Students may study off-campus in either semester of their junior year. Some required courses will need to be delayed until senior year

Which requirements can Chemistry majors fulfill while off campus?

  • Elective major credit
  • General Studies distribution credit
  • General degree credit

Major Credit Limitations

  • The maximum number of credits that can be applied to the Chemistry major from off campus studies (including AP credit, IB credit and credits from other U.S. institutions) is 12 credits with the approval of your major adviser.
  • Business courses typically cannot be transferred to Whitman because they are vocational in nature and not considered liberal arts.

Minor Credit Limitations

  • A minimum of three-fifths of the specific course and credit requirements for the minor must be completed in the on-campus program of the college.

What are the types of OCS programs recommended by the Chemistry department?

  • Direct enrollment at a foreign university
  • Field-based programs that offer cultural immersion, foreign language study, and exposure to chemistry through primary research in the field, such as examining environmental issues abroad

Which Partner Programs are recommended by the Chemistry department?

  • University of East Anglia (Norwich, England) for students who wish to take several chemistry courses abroad

Students interested in Off-Campus Studies should attend an OCS First Step meeting in the fall of their second year, discuss their interests with their major adviser, and schedule an appointment with an OCS adviser.