Mission Statement

The SCU Chemistry Department is a community of students, faculty, and staff dedicated to:

• fostering a culture which values teaching and research
• promoting innovative teaching and personalized instruction
• providing undergraduate research opportunities
• encouraging women and minorities to pursue scientific endeavors
• encouraging scientific and technical literacy throughout the university and the community at large
• projecting a positive image of science, especially chemistry

Learning Outcomes for Chemistry Majors

Basic Knowledge

• Learn the symbols and terminology (the language) of chemistry
• Learn a base of sound mathematical concepts and be able to apply them to chemical systems.
• Have a basic knowledge of the organization of the periodic table.
• Have a basic knowledge of the atomic and quantum mechanical basis of chemical behavior.
• Have a basic knowledge of chemical bonding and structure/reactivity relationships.
• Have a basic knowledge of chemical kinetics and chemical equilibrium.
• Have a basic knowledge of descriptive chemistry and of practical and everyday chemistry.

Inquiry/Problem Solving

• Be able to employ the scientific method.
• Be able to learn independently.
• Be able to define a problem and develop and implement a strategy to solve it.
• Be able to critically evaluate scientifc findings.

Skills and Techniques

• Carry out laboratory work in the safest manner possible and dispose of waste materials according to safe and established procedures.
• Be able to design and carry out a controlled experiment and be knowledgeable about methods of instrumentation and materials available, including a knowledge of design, operation, capabilities and limitations.
• Be able to maintain a proper laboratory notebook.
• Develop an appreciation of the importance of uncertainty in scientific measurements and develop the judgement to recognize that different levels of accuracy and reproducibility are appropriate in different settings.
• Develop the ability to effectively communicate scientific results both orally and in written form, including displaying information clearly using graphs and tables.
• Master a variety of standard laboratory procedures and operations, including the ability to prepare solutions from raw materials and stock concentrates.
• Become familiar with modern instruments and computer methods of analysis in chemical sciences.

Values, Beliefs, Attitudes

• Recognize the value of self-discipline, persistence and excelling beyond the minimum requirements of a task.
• Value the sharing of knowledge with peers and society, emphasizing that science is a human endeavor and a vital part of a liberal arts education.
• Be receptive to new ideas and new approaches.
• Appreciate that science involves an ever changing, frequently modified body of information and that theories are only as good as the experimental evidence that supports them.
• Scientific work should be carried out honestly and objectively with a concern for the moral, ethical and environmental aspects of the work.
• Value independent and creative thinking based on a sound base of knowledge.
  Appreciate the history and traditions of science.
• Believe that education and self-improvement are ongoing processes which must continue after the completion of formal education.