ACS Certified Degree | Chemistry and Biochemistry

An ACS-certified degree program

Your American Chemical Society-certified chemistry degree means that Skidmore has prepared you for a wide variety of careers relying on chemistry knowledge and skills. You will have taken courses in all areas of chemistry, with breadth and depth. You will have used a variety of modern chemical instrumentation, had access to current chemistry journals, and spent significant quality learning time in chemical labs (350+ hours).

On your resume, you can specify that you earned an ACS-certified degree, and employers will know you have graduated from a chemistry department that meets high standards.

Learn more:

The American Chemical Society provides some more detail with this brief letter.
The American Chemical Society's Committee on Professional Training oversees certification of chemistry degree programs and provides even more information here.

What's the difference between the ACS-certified degree and the regular B.A at Skidmore?

At Skidmore, the ACS-certified degree in chemistry and the regular B.A. in chemistry require similar amounts of coursework, though the ACS degree has a couple extra specific requirements. Usually, a Skidmore chemistry major will need to take all the major foundational courses and pursue research with a faculty member to meet the lab requirements.

Here are suggested course timelines for completing either version of the degree that you can compare.

ACS degree requirement checklist:

ACS degree requirement	Skidmore course	Lab hours
Introductory	CH125	not counted
Foundational-Analytical	CH232	56
Foundational-Biochemistry	CH341	56
Foundational-Inorganic	CH314	56
Foundational-Organic	CH221	56
Foundational-Physical	CH332	56

In-Depth
Any four courses that have a lecture beyond foundational level and total at least 12 credits (not including lab credits). Typically, a Skidmore student includes:

ACS degree requirement	Skidmore course	Lab hours
In-Depth-Organic Chemistry 2 with lab	CH222	56
In-Depth-Physical Chemistry 2 with lab	CH333	56
In-Depth-Biochemistry: Intermediary Metabolism	CH342	0
Special Topics in Chemistry (which can be repeated for different topics)	CH351	0

Lab hours requirement:
The requirement is 350 lab hours beyond introductory level. If you take all of the foundational courses noted above, you have 280 lab hours. You can earn the remaining lab hours from the in-depth courses noted above, other lab coursework and/or collaborative research with a faculty member. The research courses can be repeated.

ACS degree requirement	Skidmore course	Lab hours
Experimental Biochemistry Lab	CH343	56
Introduction to Chemical Research	CH171	36
Intermediate Chemical Research	CH271	72
Capstone in Chemistry; Student-Faculty Collaborative Research	CH371	108
Senior Thesis in Chemistry	CH385	108

To meet ACS requirements, you must also write a comprehensive written report to count your research work (171, 271, 371) toward the lab hours.