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Students who started at Middlebury before Fall 2025 may choose to pursue one of the old chemistry majors or one of the new majors.

There are a few potential impacts for students who continue to pursue the old majors (Chemistry, Biochemistry, Honors Chemistry, or Honors Biochemistry) :

• Inorganic and Physical Chemistry Laboratory (CHEM 312) will no longer be offered. Instead, this laboratory content is now covered in new labs that have been added to advanced inorganic (CHEM 431), thermodynamics (CHEM 355), and quantum chemistry and spectroscopy (formerly CHEM 351, now CHEM 455).
• For the old Honors Chemistry major: the requirement to take CHEM 312 will be waived.
• For the old Chemistry and old Biochemistry majors: There will be more choices of courses that count as the two elective courses.

Yes, students will be able to choose a focus area! In the new major, there is more flexibility in the courses that you can take to satisfy the degree requirements. We designed this major so that students can gain a depth of knowledge in at least one area (a focus area), while still getting a good breadth of knowledge in chemistry.

In the old majors, depending on electives chosen, a student could graduate with exposure to as few as three of the five sub-disciplines of chemistry. For the new CHEM major, you are required to take at least one class in 4 of the main 5 main disciplines in chemistry (Organic, Analytical, Physical, Inorganic, and Biochemistry). For the ACS-CHEM major, you are required to take at least one class in each of the 5 main disciplines.

Yes! The new Chemistry majors are Chemistry or ACS-certified Chemistry.

The ACS-CHEM major requires 4 additional classes compared to the CHEM major: a second semester of Physics (PHYS 111 or 114), both CHEM 231 and CHEM 322, and a senior thesis (CHEM 400 and CHEM 701). ACS-CHEM majors must take at least 10 chemistry courses with labs, while CHEM majors must take at least 7 chemistry courses with labs.

This answer is highly dependent on the student and what classes the student has already taken. Consultation with your advisor is the best way to answer this question.

The ACS-CHEM major is similar to chemistry majors at larger schools. Most B.S. Chemistry degrees at larger schools are also ACS-certified.

We have created lists of suggested courses for several career interests on the Chemistry Major Requirements page! The CHEM and ACS-CHEM majors are both great choices.

Students who started at Middlebury before Fall of 2025 may choose to pursue one of the old chemistry majors or one of the new majors.

CHEM 311 is now CHEM 411. For students who matriculated before Fall of 2025 and plan to graduate with one of the old chemistry majors, the CHEM 211 prerequisite for CHEM 411 is waived—therefore, rising juniors and seniors pursuing the old major do not need to take CHEM 211 to graduate. If you plan to take CHEM 211 anyway, it is recommended that you take it before CHEM 411. CHEM 211 will count as an elective for the old Chemistry or Biochemistry majors.

CHEM 211 (Foundations of Analytical Chemistry) is a new course that will introduce the tools and vocabulary of analytical chemistry, data evaluation, method standardization, sources of error, sample collection and preparation, chemical equilibrium, and titrations. The laboratory component of this course will give students hands-on experience with the tools and techniques in analytical chemistry, including using analytical glassware, calibration and experimental design, data handling and visualization, lab report generation, and keeping a scientific notebook. Lab projects will incorporate UV/Vis, titration, separation, and electrochemical methods for chemical, biomedical, and/or environmental applications.

The only prerequisite for CHEM 211 is General Chemistry (CHEM 104, 105, or 107). If a student chose to, they could take CHEM 211 concurrently with a different Chemistry course, for example, CHEM 205 or CHEM 231.

College rules state that “A course may count toward a student’s major or minor, but not toward both. A course counted toward one minor may not be counted toward an additional minor.” BIOL and NSCI are considering how to revise their major requirements in such a way that will allow students to complete the respective major with a CHEM minor: the possible options include by requiring students to take an extra chemistry class to avoid double-counting OR by fully waiving the CHEM requirement from their major. We do not know yet which option each department/program will choose, but they are both committed to allowing students to minor in CHEM.