FAQ For Incoming First Years

It depends on your high school chemistry background. If you did not have the opportunity to take AP Chemistry, or if you feel like your AP Chemistry education was weak, it is advisable to take CHEM 1A. If you have taken AP Chemistry in high school, you should take CHEM 4A.

In terms of workload and topics covered, both classes are surprisingly pretty similar. The main difference is that CHEM 1A does not assume any past knowledge from AP Chemistry, smoothing out the learning curve in your first semester.

College of Chemistry students typically take the MATH 1 series, and Chemistry and Chemical Engineering majors typically take the PHYS 7 series, while Chemical Biology majors typically take the PHYS 8 series.

With that being said, Chemistry and Chemical Biology majors are allowed to take the MATH 10 instead of the MATH 1 series, which covers calculus (like the MATH 1 series) and includes probability and combinatorics. This course is generally intended for those in the life sciences, and will be most helpful for students who are interested in being pre-health. They are also allowed to substitue PHYS 89 for MATH 54. PHYS 89 covers many of the topics seen in MATH 54 (and some even in MATH 53), but with a focus on how they apply to the physical sciences. The depth of material covered is generally the same for both classes, with the main difference being the applied/theoretical relevancy.

The honors series in the math department is not aimed for math majors (for example, math majors can choose to take MATH 53 and still declare), but for those who are interested in a deeper and more rigorous introduction ot the material. This usually involves a large focus on proofs and difficult problems. If you choose to take one of these courses, it will count for the non-honors equilavent course (for example, if you take MATH H54, it will count towards your MATH 54 requirement). That being said, taking an honors class is not necessary to the completion of your degree, nor will it necessarily give you an upper hand in later classes for the Chemistry, Chemical Biology, and Chemical Engineering majors. You should only take the class if you are interested in a deeper look at the material.

The PHYS 5 series is aimed for physics majors, and is generally extremely math and theory heavy. Like with honors math classes, taking the PHYS 5 series is not necessary for the completion of any CoC majors, and will not necessarily give you an upper hand in later courses. That being said, if you are interested in a deeper look at the material in physics, you should feel free to take the course.

It should also be noted that, for physics, you can freely switch between different series. For example, if you start with PHYS 8A but feel like you want to learn more physics, you are free to take PHYS 7B the following semester. Similarly, if you take PHYS 5A but feel like you don't want to continue taking the 5 series, you can switch to PHYS 7B in the following semester. This also holds for the honors/non-honors courses for math.

If you would like to substitute courses other than those that are previously approved, please talk to your college advisor before doing so.

First, if you've been admitted to Berkeley, you should congratulate yourself and take a break in the summer! While the introductory chemistry classes may be difficult, they do not require you to do any work before you start school. Please take the time before college starts to rest and relax instead.

There are many different resources that the College of Chemistry has to offer. Office Hours (with your Professor or GSI) are always helpful, and you are allowed to go to any OH for your class, even those not hosted by your GSI. If you feel like you need more personalized help for specific questions, the College of Chemistry offers FREE peer tutoring services by highly capable students in Bixby Commons, Monday-Friday, 10 AM - 5 PM. If you feel like you need help with the course material itself, try utilizing the Chem-Scholars program, provided that it is offered for your class. The Chem-Scholars program is available for units or without.

As a side note: it is not uncommon for CoC students to have done extremely well in high school before coming here and struggling, especially during their first few semesters. It takes some time to adjust to a new environment and different teaching styles. If you do feel like the change itself is overwhelming, do not hesitate to talk to your college advisors and utilize your free sessions at the Tang center.

Double majoring is not common in the College of Chemistry. That being said, it can be doable. Please visit the Double Major/Simultaneous Degree page for some things you may want to consider.

Quite a few students in the College of Chemistry minor or seriously consider minoring in a different field. Please visit Minoring in the College of Chemistry for more information.

The Bachelor of Arts in Chemistry is offered by the College of Letters and Sciences, while the Bachelor of Sciences in Chemistry is offered by the College of Chemistry. In terms of major requirements, the B.A. degree requires the 7-course breadth (college requirement within L&S) while the B.S. degree requires a physical chemistry laboratory course along with a chemistry laboratory course, and the Allied Subject requirement (+ Chem elective). Between the two, there is no major difference. Both will allow you to pursue the same careers (and are equivalent for graduate school admissions). That being said, because the Chem B.A. requires the 7 course breadth while the Chem B.S. instead asks students to take elective courses relating to chemistry, the Chem B.A. can be seen as a degree aimed for a more liberal arts education and a career in education, pre-health, or social sciences, while the Chem B.S. can be seen as a degree aimed for a more research-oriented track. Choosing which major is right for you depends more on what classes you want and don't want to take as opposed to what career you want to go into.

Some (not many) professors in the CoC may prefer undergraduate researchers to be within the College of Chemistry, though this is primarily due to their personal preference.

First, you must have completed at least two full semesters at Berkeley. Ideally, you will have taken the classes required for the major you're interested in. If not, make sure that you start taking the required classes as soon as possible. There are a couple courses that you can substitute for courses that are required for the major. You can see the list (along with the Change of College forms) at the following link. [link]. In general, changing into the CoC is relatively fast and easy.

Please note that the Chemical Engineering major is impacted, and so it has a GPA minimum and approval by the Undergraduate Dean. If you're interested in transferring into Chemical Engineering, try to start taking courses for the major as soon as possible.

For more information, please visit the Change of College page.

No. Students transferring into the CoE from the CoC will be evaluated using the same criteria as transfers from other colleges. Please note that the CoE does not accept transfers into the Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences (EECS) program, and other majors are generally impacted.

The joint majors in Chemical Engineering and Materials Science and Chemical Engineering and Nuclear Engineering are not double majors/simultaneous degrees, but are single majors that combine the curricula from both departments. Though they are administered by both colleges, the student's home college will still be the College of Chemistry.

Yes, provided that you have the instructor's approval. In general, instructors will not give approval for you to take the class until you have taken the undergraduate level course (for example, you will not be able to take the graduate level organic chemistry course without having taken CHEM 12A and CHEM 12B), and may have some informal requirement regarding the minimum grade obtained. Beyond the instructor's approval, there's no other hurdle that you need to jump over to take the class.

A couple notes: taking a graduate level class is not necessary nor sufficient for obtaining an undergraduate degree in the College of Chemistry, nor does it help (or hurt) you with respect to graduate school applications. All degree and college requirements can be completed by taking undergraduate level courses, and graduate school admissions committees evaluate research experience and recommendations more highly than coursework. That being said, some undergraduates excel in graduate-level classes, and find them extremely rewarding. So, you should only consider taking a graduate level course if you are deeply interested in the material, and would like to have a more in-depth view of the material

In general, you should focus on doing well in your classes your first semester (or year) at Berkeley. Once you have sufficiently settled and feel comfortable with the workload required for school, you can start approaching different research groups for research opportunities. Faculty and graduate students in the College of Chemistry generally do not advertise openings through URAP or similar campus programs, but may do so informally through their colleagues (other graduate students, etc.). Take some time to consider which research groups interest you by looking into the research areas/group pages for the Department of Chemistry and Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. Keep in mind that some professors may require you to take certain courses (Organic Chemistry, Inorganic Chemistry, Physical Chemistry, etc.) before they consider you, and that joining a group is a process that may take as long as a semester. If you want more tips/specific advice on how to get a research position, look at our Research at Berkeley page.

Even if you are a Chemistry, Chemical Biology, or Chemical Engineering student, you do not necessarily need to perform research with faculty in your respective fields. Many students do research in different departments (Mechanical Engineering, Physics, Biological Engineering, and Toxicology, to name a few), and even more do research up on the hill at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL or LBL). Make sure you do not rule out these areas when you are looking for a research position. Best of luck!

There are two ways to get honors at UC Berkeley. One is the Honors in General Scholarship and the other is Honors in the Major. To obtain an honors in general scholarship, you need to have a specific GPA in the top 10% of students in the College of Chemistry (see following [link]). You can acheive honors, high honors, and highest honors depending on your GPA at graduation.

The Honors in the Major is the honors program in the CoC. To be considered, you first need to have done research (specifically through CHEM or CBE H194) for at least 2 semester (8 units). Enrollment in H194 requires a 3.3 GPA. Then, in the semester you plan on graduating, you should enroll in CHEM or CBE H193 (requires a 3.4 GPA) with the consent of your research advisor. You should submit a finished thesis (aim for around 30 pages), along with your research advisor's approval at the end of the semester. There is no thesis defence for undergraduate honors. Like the Honors in General Scholarship, you can achieve honors, high honors, or highest honors in the major depending on your GPA at graduation.

For more information about Honors in the College of Chemistry, refer to the Academic Honors Info page in the College of Chemistry.

Summer Internships are generally obtained through online application. Some companies (Genentech, AbbVie, Chevron, etc.) do actively recruit from the College of Chemistry, and host infosessions in the fall. These are generally announced through the undergraduate clubs in the College of Chemistry. As we are in the Bay Area, startup culture is prevalent, and it is common for undergraduates to work at various start ups in the area.

Students are generally allowed one semester off to do a co-op or an internship during the semester. Please speak to your advisor on what options you have before you decide to do so.

For more tips/specific advice on how to get a summer internship/research, please visit the Applying for Summer Research and Internships page

Yes! The Study Abroad Office has many resources you can use to determine which places are right for STEM majors. Because some major requirements are only taught in the fall or spring and are hard to substitute with courses abroad, this generally will limit your choice of school (likely in the UK, Germany, China, Hong Kong, and Tokyo). Some students who want to explore other areas choose to do internships or take classes abroad in the summer.

If you are interested in studying abroad, please talk to your college advisor to figure out which semester would be most ideal, which programs will allow you to fulfill certain requirements, and how to work your coursework around your semester abroad. For more advice, take a look at our Study Abroad page.