SWITCHING TO CHEMISTRY AS YOUR MAJOR OR ADDING OR CHANGING YOUR OPTIONS

OSU students wishing to change their major to chemistry or chemistry majors who wish to add an option or change their option should do the following:

1. Consult the chemistry advising WEB page for information and select an option.

2. If further information is needed, contact an adviser.  It helps if you bring in an unofficial transcript and the checklist for the option you choose with the courses you took checked off.

3. Submit the "Undergraduate Academic Program" to officially change your major as described below.  Remember that the B.S. chemistry degree requires that one (or more) of the options be chosen and this must be shown on the form.

Mechanics

1. Obtain and process the form entitled "Undergraduate Academic Program" in one of two ways

a. The easy way - see Renee in the office who will help you with steps 2, 3, & 4 below

b. From the College of Science, the Registrar, off the WEB at this link Web Version, or the following PDF form at this link PDF file.

2. Fill out the form.  Information in the first column indicates your current status.  Hence, indicate that the college is science, your major is chemistry, and mark B.S. or B.A. degree.  The 2nd column is used to indicate what you want to change and requires code information.  You should indicate the college of science (code 08), major 1 as chemistry (code 520), and the option you have chosen and its code from the table below. Note there are no options for the B.A. degree.

3. Take the form to the College of Science office for the signature of the head college advisor.

4. Finally, take the form to the Registrar (B102 Kerr).

^a note that this is the same code as the premed option for general science
 

Rules for students who entered OSU before Winter 2000

General principles

Students who declared chemistry as their major Fall term 1999 or before have the choice of following the old B.S. curriculum or choosing the new curriculum and one of the options.  You cannot mix parts of the old and new curriculum.  If you choose the new curriculum, you must follow all the rules of the new curriculum.

For students following the B.A. curriculum, there are no changes.

You have two choices:

1) Do not change anything.  Your major is chemistry (B.S. degree), the degree code is 520, and you follow the curriculum in the 1999-2000 catalog.

2) Decide to follow the new curriculum. You must then declare one of the options and use the option codes in the table above.  You still maintain the code 520 for a chemistry major.

If you really want to follow a new chemistry curriculum that is essentially the same as the older curriculum, choose the advanced chemistry option. The primary difference between this curriculum and the old curriculum is that you must take one of the approved biochemistry courses. Previously you could take biochemistry or modern physics. If you choose any option other than the advanced chemistry option, you will find that a number of the required courses are different than before.  If you are within a year of graduation, switching to one of these options (other than the advanced chemistry option) might add to the time needed to obtain your B.S. degree.  Hence, you should carefully consider your choice and work with your chemistry advisor to make the decision.