All Degree Options for Chemistry Can be Completed in Three Years.
Whether you are keen on getting a chemistry job or into graduate school earlier, keen on the cost savings that graduating a year earlier can garner, or increase your employment opportunities and earning potential, graduating in three years has many opportunities.
You can you graduate in three years and our path to degree will allow for all opportunities available to those choosing the traditional four-year path such as: undergraduate research and internship opportunities, earning the chemistry honors certificate, and guaranteed graduate school admissions into select chemistry PhD programs.
Who Can Complete a Three-Year Degree Program?
All incoming students can complete any chemistry program in three years. It will be important to contact the department chairperson when you complete your application in order to assign an academic advisor who can review the three-year program with you.
Three-Year Program Requirements.
Each BS degree in chemistry requires a minimum of 120 credits regardless if you plan to complete the degree in three or four years. The traditional four-year program requires approximately 15 credits each semester for eight semesters. For the three-year degree options, you still take approximately 15 credits during your 6 semesters at IUP, and you make up the additional credits during the winter, summer, or with credits you earn before starting your degree.
Winter Session: You will take one course between the fall and spring semesters. All either session are online, so you can do this from home
Summer Sessions: You will take approximately nine credits (usually three courses) during the summers. Depending on the concentration you choose in the chemistry degree, you can either do both summers online from home, or your first summer (10 weeks) at IUP and your second summer online at home.
Are There Opportunities to Earn College Credit Before the First Year?
While all students can complete the three-year program without having previous college credit, incoming students can minimize the number of credits needed each semester through the following options:
- IUP STEM Academy: Students who have a high school GPA of 3.0 or higher can take college-level coursework toward their degree through dual enrollment. There is a 75 percent discount rate on tuition for these courses!
- Advanced Placement (AP) Credit: Most high schools offer Advanced Placement courses that offer access to examinations that count for and exempt students from introductory course work. IUP has a table listing the required placement score to count for specific courses. There are more than a dozen AP courses that can count toward the degrees.
- College Level Examination Program (CLEP): This option provides another option for students who would like to test out of over 30 possible entry-level coursework at a fraction of the cost of a college course. There is no need to be enrolled in a course, like in the Advanced Placement option above; rather, the 90-minute test examines mastery level of the subject. IUP has a table listing the scores required to count for specific courses.
- Transfer Credit: Students who have already completed college credit at another institution can transfer in courses.