Proficiency Exams

Proficiency Exam Requirements:

Newly admitted Chemistry graduate students (M.S. and Ph.D.) must demonstrate proficiency in general chemistry, their area of emphasis - analytical, biochemistry, inorganic, organic, or physical, and within a breadth course. All graduate students must complete the general chemistry and area of emphasis requirement by the conclusion of their 1^st semester. Any graduate student not meeting this requirement may be dismissed from the graduate program.

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ACS General Chemistry Exam Requirement:

All graduate students must pass the ACS general chemistry exam by the 60^th percentile by the end of the fall semester in their first year.

a) For those that pass within the 60^th percentile or above will have completed this requirement and will need to focus on passing their area proficiency and/or breadth class.

b) For those that do not pass within the 60^th percentile, students will be given two more chances at the end of October and the end of November of the fall semester to complete this requirement. Students can audit Chem 105/106 to help with general chemistry material and/or can study on their own.

If the student does not pass their general chemistry requirement by the end of the fall semester, they will be assigned an unsatisfactory rating for fall. The student will be given one more chance, during the last week in February of the winter semester, to pass their general chemistry exam. If they fail to pass the general chemistry exam, they will be given up to a four-month transition period, starting at the beginning of March, to transition out of the graduate program.

Proficiency in Area Requirement:

All graduate students must show adequate proficiency in their area of emphasis by passing their area-specific ACS exam at a level set by the area (each area will decide on their percentage) by the end of the fall semester. The area exam will be issued three times during the fall semester. If the student does not pass their area requirement by the end of the fall semester, they will be assigned an unsatisfactory rating for fall. The student will be given one more chance, during the last week in February of the winter semester, to pass their area exam. If they fail to pass their area general chemistry exam, they will be given up to a four-month transition period, starting at the beginning of March, to transition out of the graduate program.

These are the score requirements for the academic year 2023-2024. Score requirements are subject to change each academic year.

a) Students who pass the area-specific ACS exam will be able to enroll in the graduate-level core courses upon arrival.

b) Students who do not pass their area exam will be enrolled in a preparatory study course, Chem 596R. Students will be able to sit for the area exam at the end of the 1st-term. The hope is that everyone will pass the exam by the end of the 1st-term. If, however, the student does not pass after the 1st-term, the student will have one last try at the end of the 1st semester - after finals. If the student’s area proficiency hasn’t improved after the fall semester, they will receive an unsatisfactory rating.
 

Breadth Requirement:

In addition to the mandatory courses described above, Ph.D. students are required to take at least 4 and up to 7 courses; at least 2 of these must be core courses and at least 1 must be a breadth course. Core courses focus on individual chemical areas of emphasis (analytical, biochemistry, inorganic, organic, and physical). In contrast, breadth courses are interdisciplinary and contain substantial content that spans more than one area of emphasis. Breadth courses may be housed within the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry or be offered by other BYU Departments.

Faculty in each area of emphasis have identified courses that satisfy these core and breadth course requirements for students in their area. These courses are listed in the tables below.

*CHEM 596R is taken if the student does not pass their area proficiency ACS exam; it is therefore a “core” course, but it does not count towards the required 3 core elective courses, nor the required breadth elective course. 596R will be graded based on the percentile score of the proficiency ACS exam (whereas minimum passing would be considered a “B” grade, etc.)

*These are only examples of typical breadth courses by area. See the description in the paragraph below for more details.

PhD students will choose their core and breadth elective courses in consultation with their advisor, subject to approval by their committee. Typically, a PhD student will satisfy the breadth elective requirement by taking one of the breadth elective courses listed in the table above for their own area of emphasis. For example, an analytical area student could satisfy the breadth elective requirement by taking CHEM 729R (polymers). However, with the approval of the advisor, the committee, and the area chair, a student may satisfy the breadth elective requirement by taking one of the breadth elective courses listed by another area of emphasis. For example, with approval, a biochemistry area student could satisfy the breadth elective requirement by taking CHEM 659R (bioorganic chemistry). Additional courses may be considered beyond what is listed here, again with the approval of the advisor, the committee, and the area chair. A student must receive a grade of “B” or better in a breadth elective course to satisfy the requirement.

MS students are required to take 2 to 5 elective courses but do not have a breadth elective requirement. MS students will choose their elective courses in consultation with their advisor (typically from the core elective courses listed in the table above from their own area of emphasis), subject to approval by their committee.

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Study Material:

GENERAL CHEMISTRY – FULL YEAR
https://chem.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/General_Chemistry

ANALYTICAL (ONE OR TWO SEMESTERS BEYOND FRESHMAN OR GENERAL CHEMISTRY)

Douglas A. Skoog, F. James Holler, and Stanley R. Crouch, Principles of Instrumental Analysis, 6th Edition. Brooks Cole, 2006.

Exam topics can include - aqueous analytical methods, modern instrumental methods and basic principles of instrumentation.

BIOCHEMISTRY (TWO SEMESTERS WITH ORGANIC CHEMISTRY PREREQUISITE)

D.L. Nelson and M.M. Cox, Lehninger - Principles of Biochemistry, Sixth Edition, Worth Publishers, New York, 2013.

Exam topics can include - molecular components of cells, chemical structure and function, enzymes, metabolic transformations, photosynthesis, replication and transcription, and protein synthesis.

INORGANIC (ONE SEMESTER BEYOND A TWO-SEMESTER GENERAL CHEMISTRY COURSE)

D.F. Shriver and P. Atkins, Inorganic Chemistry, Fourth Edition, W.H. Freeman and Company, 2006.

Exam topics can include - elemental properties, periodic trends, atomic structure, group theory, molecular orbital, valence bond and crystal field theory, solids, coordination compounds, organometallic chemistry, reaction mechanisms, acids and bases, electrochemistry, and bioinorganic chemistry.

ORGANIC (TWO SEMESTERS)

Smith, Organic Chemistry, 4^th Edition.

Exam topics can include - molecular structure and bonding, acidity/basicity/pKa, nomenclature of organic compounds, conformations of acyclic and cyclic molecules, stereochemistry of organic compounds, reactions of different organic functional classes, mechanisms of common organic reactions, synthesis of organic compounds, and spectroscopic identification of organic compounds.

PHYSICAL (TWO SEMESTERS)

P. Atkins, Physical Chemistry, W.H. Freeman and Company, New York, Eighth Edition, 2006.

Exam topics can include - states of matter, thermodynamics and equilibria, kinetic-molecular theory, quantum mechanics, atomic structure, spectroscopy, and group theory.

DEPARTMENT COPIES:

The Graduate Program Administrative has a few copies of the general chemistry, organic, and physical study guides. Information on the study guides are below:

· TITLE: Preparing for your ACS Examination in General Chemistry: The Official Guide
AUTHORS: Eubanks, Lucy T. and I. Dwaine

https://acsexamsinstitute.com/general-chemistry---study-guide/

· TITLE: Preparing for Your ACS Examination in Organic Chemistry : The Official Guide
AUTHOR: Eubanks, I. Dwaine

https://acsexamsinstitute.com/organic-chemistry---study-guide/

· TITLE: Preparing for Your ACS Examination in Physical Chemistry : The Official Guide
AUTHOR: Eubanks, I. Dwaine

https://acsexamsinstitute.com/physical-chemistry---study-guide/

Additional study materials for each area can be provided by emailing the Graduate Program Administrator.

ACS PRACTICE EXAMS - FOR PURCHASE

The American Chemical Society does not publish study guides for analytical chemistry, biochemistry, or inorganic chemistry exams. All other practice exams and study guides are available online through ACS and can be found here.