Secondary Education Chemistry Major

The secondary education chemistry program at Western Michigan University is designed for you if you desire to teach high school chemistry. It was developed with the recommendations of the American Chemical Society and requirements of the State of Michigan. This major is in the College of Education and Human Development and students must also fulfill requirements set for the secondary education curriculum.

In addition to the chemistry courses listed below, a secondary education chemistry major must complete MATH 1220, 1230, 2720 and PHYS 2050, 2060, 2070, 2080. This chemistry major must include a minimum of 34 chemistry credit hours as follows:

  • CHEM 1100/1110: General Chemistry I
  • CHEM 1120/1130: General Chemistry II
  • CHEM 3750/3760: Organic Chemistry I
  • CHEM 3770/3780: Organic Chemistry II
  • CHEM 2250/2260: Quantitative Analysis
  • CHEM 4300: Physical Chemistry I
  • CHEM 4360: Physical Chemistry Laboratory I
  • CHEM 3550: Introductory Biochemistry
  • SCI 4040: Teaching of Secondary Science
  • One additional 5000-level elective:
         CHEM 5070: Ethical Chemical Practice
         CHEM 5150: Inorganic Chemistry
         CHEM 5200: Instrumental Methods
         CHEM 5280: Chemical Separations
         CHEM 5700: Advanced Organic Chemistry and Spectroscopy
         CHEM 5750: Advanced Chemical Synthesis