Departmental

Certain student requests are handled internally in the Department:

• Add or remove a Minor
• Change program (Major, Specialization or Honours)
• Change program to Chemistry or Biochemistry from another department.

IMPORTANT

Honours programs - You must be in Acceptable Standing, your GPA must be at least 3.3 in program courses, and Department Permission is required.

Major and specialization programs - You must be in Acceptable Standing, your GPA must be at least 2.0 in program courses, and Department Permission is required.

(To change to a program given by another department, students must see an advisor in that department.)

• Waive course prerequisites

Fill in a departmental student request form

• Request a lab exemption if you are repeating a course taken no more than 2 years ago for which you passed the lab component (policy).
  

  Please note. There are strict deadlines for applications from registered students because labs start in the second week of term:

  • Summer term courses: May 2020
    
  • Fall term courses: September 2020
    
  • Winter term courses: January 2021
    

Fill in a departmental lab exemption request form.

Note: Depending on your browser configuration, you may have to save the blank form, fill in the saved copy, and then re-save it to preserve the information you entered. Here is how to fill in PDF forms

1. Make sure you have a recent version of Acrobat.
2. Click on the link to open the form in your browser.
3. Right click on it and save it somewhere convenient.
4. Open it using Acrobat.
5. Fill it in.
6. Click the "Sign" button (top right). A side panel should open.
7. Click "Signed. Proceed to Send".
8. Click "Save a copy".
9. Print or send the saved copy after making sure it is still filled in

Please make sure you do not e-mail a blank form!

Faculty

Certain student requests are handled by the Faculty of Arts and Science, but require a departmental advisor's signature for processing. For more information and forms, see the faculty web site. Such requests include:

• Late registration, late withdrawal, or late discontinue
• Credit overloads
• Extention of late completion deadline
• Transfer of external credits
• Course substitutions
• Remove exemptions
• Retain credit
• Waive 24-credit rule
• Waive general education requirements

If you think you have done one or more program courses elswhere, which have not already been recognised as part of your admission conditions, and you wish to apply for transfer credit for them, you need to fill in the application form, and provide the department with as much information about the courses as possible.

A brief calendar description is usually not adequate. Return the form and supporting materials to the departmental office.

CHEM 419 (Independent Study) or CHEM 450 (Honours Thesis)

These forms are available from the Departmental Office SP-201-01 or from the files below:

CHEM 419

CHEM 450

BIOCHEM 419

BIOCHEM 450

Most professors in the Department recommmend, and many require students taking their courses to attend a seminar and take an on-line quiz about plagiarism and other forms of academic dishonesty.

Plagiarism and Other Forms of Academic Dishonesty

The academic code of conduct can be found in of the University Calendar. Any form of unauthorized collaboration, cheating, copying or plagiarism which are suspected will be reported, and the appropriate sanctions applied.

The seminar the Department offers is a clear and fair opportunity to learn what our faculty regards as academic misconduct. Failure to take part in this learning opportunity and thus ignorance of these regulations is no excuse and will not result in a reduced sanction in any case where academic misconduct is observed.

The Academic Code for Students Taking Chemistry or Biochemistry Courses

As part of most courses given by the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, you are required to:

• Attend a Chemistry and Biochemistry Departmental Seminar on the academic conduct code and the appropriate use of information sources. Several are given near the start of each term.
• Pass the online quiz associated with this seminar (note: the passing grade for the quiz is 100%).
  Note: This is NOT the University's quiz you may have been asked to take when you first registered and logged into the myConcordia portal; the one you must take is similar, but graded by the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, and you cannot take it until after you have attended a seminar.

The aim of this seminar is to clarify the academic conduct code in terms of what practices will be considered unacceptable with regards to work submitted for grading in Chemistry and Biochemistry courses. You are only exempt from repeating the seminar and the quiz if you have done both in within the past five years. If this is the case, you will find your ID number on this list at this location.  If your ID number is not on the list, you are required to repeat both seminar and quiz this term. If your ID is there but you did not get 100% on the quiz, see items 8 and 9 in the FAQ below.

This short seminar (less than 1 hour) will be held at the following times and locations. Note that late-comers will not be admitted.

*THE SIGN-UP PROCEDURE FOR SUMMER 2020 WILL BE COMMUNICATED BY E-MAIL TO ALL SUMMER STUDENTS*

[Sign-up procedure in a regular term:  As space for each of the seminars is limited by the room size, please sign up for your preferred time. Sign up sheets will be available outside SP 201.01 (Departmental office) after the beginning of the term. Note:You will be asked to sign an attendance sheet at the seminar to prove you really did attend.]

If you do not complete this course requirement, at the discretion of your professor, your final grade for the course may be lowered by as much as one full letter grade with an incomplete notation until such time as this requirement is completed. Please refer to the undergraduate calendar and the FAQ below for details on removal of an incomplete notation.

The Summer 2020 quiz closes at 23:55 on Sunday, May 31st, 2020

Frequently Asked Questions

1. I keep trying the quiz but I can never get 110/110. Is there something I am doing wrong, or is there a bug in the quiz?
   

   You have probably not read any of the warnings (and there are several) about questions with two acceptable answers. For such questions you must select both these answers to get full marks. It is possible to check more than one box.

2. When I finished the quiz, I think it told me I got 110/110 but now I am no longer sure. Is there any way I can check my mark?
   

   Yes, just go back to the quiz and you can view the record of your score(s) and even your answers, with the feedback, at each attempt.

3. The grade I got in my CHEM course is much lower than I expected. Is it because I did not get 100% on the quiz?  

   Possibly, but you would also have received an INC notation if that was an issue. There may be many other reasons, so please check with your course instructor/professor.

4. I got 102.5/110 on the quiz. Surely that is good enough?  

   No, it is not. If it is a CHEM course requirement, you have to get 100%. The consequences of a misunderstanding of what is, and what is not, permitted under the University's Academic Code of Conduct can be very serious. We want to make sure you know all the rules.

5. I received an INC grade last term because I had not attended the seminar. What must I do to get it removed?  

   You will have a chance to attend one of a number of seminars in the coming term. You must attend one, and inform your professor when you have done so. You will also have to go to the Registrar's Services (Birks Student Service Centre downtown), and apply for a "late completion grade": your Professor(s) cannot put through a grade change unless you have completed this formality (which will cost $25 per course). Check the deadlines, which are reproduced below from the University calendar: it may already be too late. If so, see question 7 below.

Deadlines for late completion application:

Fall term: February 1st 
Winter term: May 15th 
Summer term: September 1st

6. I received an INC grade last term because I had not done the quiz. What must I do to get it removed?  

   You must get yourself registered to do the quiz: contact Prof. H.M. Muchall, but read first question 9 below. Then, do the quiz as soon as possible, and inform your Professor when you have got 100% (110/110). You will also have to go to the Registrar's Services (Birks Student Service Centre downtown), and apply for a "late completion grade": your Professor(s) cannot put through a grade change unless you have completed this formality (which will cost you $25 per course). Check the deadlines in question 5 above: it may already be too late. If so, see question 7 below.

7. I only just noticed that I got an INC, and the deadline for late completion has passed. What can I do now?  

   You will have to get permission from the Faculty of Arts and Science (Student Services) before Registrar's Services will allow you to apply late for a "late completion grade". Go to room AD 202, or to the Chemistry Department office (SP 201.01), and pick up a Faculty of Arts and Science Student Request Form. Fill it in, and see Prof. H.M. Muchall in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry for a supporting note. Then take both to AD 202.

8. I did the seminar and quiz a year ago. Must I do them again?  

   No, you have to have done both within the last five years. In that case, you can find your student ID on this regularly updated list, with a blank entry under "quiz". If your "quiz" entry is not blank, you attempted the quiz but did not pass it (you did not get 100%), and you will have to do the quiz again: see question 9 below. If you are not on this list, then you've lost track of time, and you did it more than five years ago. In that case, you will have to do both seminar and quiz again.

9. I did the seminar in a previous term, but never did the quiz, and now I cannot access it. What must I do?

   You should e-mail Prof. H.M. Muchall who can confirm that you have attended the seminar within 5 years, and then register you for the quiz. Please be sure to give your student ID number, and say in which year/term you attended the seminar.

10. I have forgotten if I already did the seminar and/or quiz. How can I find out?

    If you cannot remember whether you did these, you probably cannot remember what was covered either and should probably do them again! But see question 8 above on how to find out.

11. I am an engineering student taking one pre-requisite CHEM course. Surely I do not have to do the seminar and quiz?

    Oh yes, you do!

These are courses given only occasionally, and which are not described in the Undergraduate Calendar. 

For additional details on time and location, please consult the Class Schedules

FALL 2019

** CHEM 427/620 – 04    POLYMER CHEMISTRY AND NANOTECHNOLOGY

Pre-requisites:  CHEM 222.

Description: Advanced Polymer Science and Nanotechnology is required for knowledge in polymer chemistry, nanoscience, materials science, and biomedical and polymer engineering. The course will offer introductory polymer chemistry with an emphasis on polymer chemistry basics, polymer synthesis, and polymer characterization. It will also introduce advanced topics in polymer materials chemistry, nanoscience, and biotechnology, including controlled radical polymerization, amphiphilic block copolymers, self-assembly, polymeric nanoparticles, and crosslinked nanogels/hydrogels. Further, their uses for biomedical applications, particularly cancer-targeting drug delivery and tissue engineering, will be discussed.

CHEM 477 – ADVANCED LABORATORY IN BIOCHEMISTRY

Pre-requisites:  CHEM 271, 375

Theory and practice of techniques in enzymology and protein chemistry including steady-state and stopped-flow enzyme kinetics, ligand binding, immunological techniques, proteomics, computer modelling, and chemical modification of proteins.  Tutorials and laboratory.

CHEM 495 – MODERN SPECTROSCOPY

Pre-requisites:  This course is OPEN TO BIOCHEMISTS AS WELL (ask permission to wave the CHEM 333 prerequisite). CHEM 293 is a highly recommended prerequisite.

This course covers molecular characterization techniques, i.e. spectroscopies and other techniques used to probe the structure of molecules. Examples are IR/Raman, UV-vis, advanced NMR, electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), Mössbauer, X-ray diffraction, electrochemistry, etc. The course will comprise many practical problem-solving sessions using chemical and biochemical examples.

CHEM 498/640 – 01         GREEN CHEMISTRY

Pre-requisites:  CHEM 217, 222 AND 241

This course will focus on the 12 principles of green chemistry and how these principles are applied to develop sustainable chemical processes. Topics include: waste prevention, atom economy, the use of green solvents, catalysis, energy efficiency, the use of renewable feedstocks, and green chemistry metrics. Recent literature and industrial examples of green processes will be used to highlight concepts.

CHEM 498/610 – 02         ADVANCED BIOANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY

Pre-requisites:  CHEM271/218 and CHEM312 or permission of the instructor

This course presents the concepts, tools and common instrumental techniques employed in modern bioanalytical chemistry for the quantitative analysis of drugs, metabolites, toxins, environmental contaminants, biomarkers, proteins, biotherapeutics and/or DNA in biological samples. The main topics covered will include sample preparation; mass spectrometry; immunoassays; biosensors; microfluidics; bioanalytical method validation and discussion of emerging bioanalytical techniques and trends. The applications discussed will encompass toxicology, forensics, pharmacokinetics, metabolism, clinical chemistry, environmental analysis and biotechnology. Lectures and discussion-style tutorial.

CHEM 498/670 – 03         CHEMICAL BIOLOGY OF NATURAL PRODUCTS

Pre-requisites:  CHEM 275.  Students may NOT take bother this course and  CHEM 498 Secondary Metabolism for credit.

This course will examine how small molecule natural products interact with their cellular targets, with a special emphasis on the role of therapeutics like antibiotics and anticancer drugs.  We will also cover the role of these compounds in their natural environment, with a focus on intra-species competition and symbiosis.

** CHEM 498/620 – 51    NON-COVALENT INTERACTIONS

Pre-requisites:  CHEM 324, 325, 293

Have you ever wondered whether or not there is a bond between two atoms? An interaction between two molecules? This course explores weak bonding interactions within and between (organic and biologically relevant) molecules. The emphasis will be on hydrogen bonding and -stacking interactions in the broadest sense. Experimental (mostly spectroscopic) and computational (electronic structure calculations and electron density analyses) techniques will be introduced for detection and unambiguous identification of these weak bonding interactions. The material covered is applicable in chemistry and biochemistry alike. The format is lecture plus computer lab.

**ORGANIC REPLACEMENTS

WINTER 2020

CHEM 415/612 – 51         ANALYTICAL SEPARATIONS

Prerequisites:  CHEM 218, 312

High performance liquid separations on an analytical (non-preparative) scale are surveyed.  Fundamental separation mechanisms and application of the techniques are discussed.  Emphasis is placed on capillary electrophoretic separations of biologically relevant analytes which include peptides, proteins and nucleic acids.

CHEM 470/670 – 01         ENVIRONMENTAL BIOCHEMISTRY

Prerequisites: CHEM 271, 375, BIOL 367

This course covers how organisms cope with environmental stresses at the biochemical level, and how biochemistry and molecular biology can be used to devise more environmentally "friendly" ways of using natural resources. Biological organisms are constantly exposed to foreign compounds. In order to survive, they have developed different metabolic strategies. We will look at the biochemical effects of some representative organic and inorganic compounds. Other types of environmental stresses faced by organisms include: temperature extremes; radioactivity; and difficulties in obtaining necessary nutrients. Potentially important applications include predicting or preventing toxic effects, or using biological activities to remove toxic compounds from the environment. Other examples are to use organisms to replace wasteful or inefficient industrial processes or to engineer agricultural crop plants to better resist stresses such as nutrient-poor soils, temperature extremes, and attack by insects. 

** CHEM 498/620 – 05    MEDICINAL CHEMISTRY

Prerequisites: CHEM 324, 293

This new course will provide an introduction to the small-molecule drug discovery process.  It will begin with a general overview, followed by focused subsections that flow from early target identification, hit discovery, lead optimization, pre-clinical considerations, up to clinical trials.  The course will focus primarily on the rational design and synthesis of drugs that employ multidisciplinary approaches to satisfy a multitude of specificity and safety requirements.  There will be a focus on organic synthesis within the special context of medicinal chemistry that illustrates the challenges involved in leveraging the opportunities presented by high throughput, parallel and/or combinatorial synthesis in light of physical limitations imposed by processing large numbers of compounds.  Case studies from the current literature will be used to highlight how new technologies and strategies have overcome some of those limitations and will be used to highlight recent innovations in the field. The course will also chart the evolution of powerful techniques from structural research (NMR, X-ray crystallography, and computational modeling) as fully integrated medicinal chemistry tools for modern drug-discovery using examples from the current literature to highlight key advances.  This course is intended for a general audience and should be of particular interest to those considering a career in the pharmaceutical industry.

CHEM 498/630 – 52         SOLAR ENERGY CONVERSION

Prerequisites: CHEM 234 and CHEM 241.

This course will explore how chemistry enables solar energy conversion (as a source of alternative energy) through photochemistry/photobiology and photovoltaics (solar cells). In the first subject area, solar energy conversion through artificial photosynthesis, solar fuels catalysis, and photobiological fuel production will be examined. In the second subject area, the fundamental principles governing solar energy to electricity conversion, efficiency of solar cells, different photovoltaic implementations (inorganic, organic, hybrid) and charge separation/transport will be explored. Special focus topics include the design, synthesis and spectroscopic tools needed to study inorganic molecules and materials for solar fuels catalysis.

CHEM 498/630 – 53         SOLID SURFACES AND INTERFACES

Prerequisites:  Open to all Science and Engineering Students with a minimum of 45 University credits (not including Science Profile courses) or permission of the instructor

This course covers the chemical/physical properties of surfaces, interfaces, heterostructures, and thin films of solid adsorbates. We will address fundamentals of film growth, the structure and morphology of thin films, and their opto-electronic properties. This course further covers advanced experimental techniques to determine these properties including surface scattering methods (X-rays, electrons), scanning probe techniques, spectroscopy (photoelectron, optical, vibrational), as well as some electronic and energy applications. Lecture ONLY.

**ORGANIC REPLACEMENT

Below you will find some sample, recent course outlines to help guide you in selecting courses. Since professors and instructors change, do not use them for professor/instructor information. The professor or instructor teaching that course can be searched in this link.   

Course No:            Course Title:

CHEM 205            General Chemistry I 
CHEM 206            General Chemistry II   
CHEM 208            Chemistry in our Lives
CHEM 209            Discovering Biotechnology
CHEM 212            Analytical Chemistry for Biologists
CHEM 217            Introductory Analytical Chemistry I - YG
CHEM 217            Introductory Analytical Chemistry I - MM                  
CHEM 218            Introductory Analytical Chemistry II
CHEM 221            Introductory Organic Chemistry I
CHEM 222            Introductory Organic Chemistry II - CW                 
CHEM 222            Introductory Organic Chemistry II - PF
CHEM 234 01       Thermodynamics
CHEM 234 51       Thermodynamics                      
CHEM 235            Physical Chemistry II:  Kinetics of Chemical Reactions
CHEM 241            Inorganic Chemistry I: Intro to Periodicity and Valence Theory
CHEM 242            Inorganic Chemistry II: The Chemistry of the Main Group Elements
CHEM 271            Biochemistry I
CHEM 293            Spectroscopy and Structure of Organic Compounds
CHEM 298 (203)   Forensic Analysis
CHEM 312            Intermediate Analytical Chemistry
CHEM 324            Organic Chemistry III:  Organic Reactions
CHEM 325            Organic Chemistry IV: Organic Structure and Stereochemistry
CHEM 333            Introduction to Quantum Theory
CHEM 341            Inorganic Chemistry III:  The Transition Metals
CHEM 375            Biochemistry II
CHEM 424            Organic Synthesis
CHEM 425            Nucleic Acid Chemistry   
CHEM 426            Reactive Intermediates
CHEM 427            Advanced Topic in Chemistry - Polymer Chemistry and Nanotechnology
CHEM 431            Computational Chemistry for Chemists and Biochemists
CHEM 443            Organometallic Chemistry
CHEM 451            Nanochemistry
CHEM 470            Environmental Biochemistry
CHEM 477            Advanced Laboratory in Biochemistry
CHEM 495            Advanced Molecular Characterization
CHEM 498            Noncovalent Interactions
CHEM 498            Green Chemistry
CHEM 498            Chemical Biology of Natural Products
CHEM 498U          Advanced Bioanalytical Chemistry