Skip to McMaster Navigation Skip to Site Navigation Skip to main content
McMaster logo

Undergraduate Programs

Our programs are structured around a basic set of requirements and completed by a variety of options to allow students to personalize your studies. For specific course requirements, the links below will take you McMaster’s current Undergraduate Calendar.

Questions About: Contact and Email Address:
Courses and programs Department Advisor
chemadv@mcmaster.ca
Level I Level I Coordinator
genchem@mcmaster.ca
Level II Level II Coordinator
orgochem@mcmaster.ca
General inquiries Undergraduate Administrator/Chair
macchem@mcmaster.ca

Program Information:


B.Sc. Programs

Honours Chemistry (B.Sc.) (4 Year Program)

Our Honours program provides core training in four sub-disciplines of chemistry: analytical, inorganic, organic and physical. In upper years (Levels III and IV), students can focus on a sub-discipline(s) of their choice. Laboratory courses provide a research-like environment where students work on individualized projects. They can receive further research experience by working with a faculty member through paid summer employment and research-based courses such as the senior thesis capstone course.

Calendar Description and Program Admission Requirements

Honours Chemical Biology (B.Sc.) (4 Year Program)

Chemical Biology studies biological problems using the principles and techniques of chemistry. Students learn about small organic compounds such as drugs as well as large naturally occurring species such as proteins. They then focus on the principles through which the protein interacts with a drug on a chemical level, developing explanations through organic chemistry. They also use the techniques of analytical chemistry to measure these interactions. The program prepares students for graduate, medical and pharmacy school, and a wide range of careers in pharmaceutics, immunology, material and polymer development, and biological chemistry.

Calendar Description and Program Admission Requirements

Honours Sustainable Chemistry (B.A.Sc.) (4 Year Program)

Chemistry is at the heart of the development of many of the beneficial technologies that we take for granted, from improved crop yields to energy-saving light emitting diodes. Increasingly, chemistry in academia and industry is being practiced in a more sustainable way, following the 12 rules Green Chemistry. This means developing processes that are fundamentally more efficient, increasingly using renewable feedstocks, employing water as an environmentally friendly solvent, generating less waste, and ensuring that waste is non-toxic and can be processed by the environment. The Honours Sustainable Chemistry program provides students with a uniquely integrated and inquiry-based approach to research and problem-solving in chemistry and chemistry-related areas. The traditional practices of Chemistry are examined through the lens of sustainability, with the objective to develop students who can identify and implement better ways to practice chemistry. In this program, students may choose to focus on experimental work, with access to elite analytical laboratory facilities with some of the most modern instrumentation found in any university in Canada.

Calendar Description and Program Admission Requirements

More Details About Sustainable Chemistry

Honours Chemistry Co-Op (B.Sc.) (5 Year Program)

This 5-year program includes four 4-month work terms. Our co-op programs start in Level III, with applications due in Level II. Students spend work terms at public health labs, industrial facilities or research institutions, and in a wide variety of areas that extend beyond chemistry. Co-op students are paid for their work.

Calendar Description and Program Admission Requirements

Honours Chemical Biology Co-Op (B.Sc.) (5 Year Program)

The Chemical Biology program prepares students for graduate, medical and pharmacy school, and a wide range of careers in pharmaceutics, immunology, material and polymer development, and biological chemistry. This co-op program is a 5-year program and includes four 4-month work terms. Our co-op programs start in Level III, with applications due in Level II. Students can spend work terms at industrial facilities, public health facilities or research institutions, and in a wide variety of areas that extend beyond chemistry. Co-op students graduate with a broader skills base and are paid for their work during their work terms.

Calendar Description and Program Admission Requirements

Honours Sustainable Chemistry Co-Op (B.A.Sc.) (5 Year Program)

This 5-year program includes four 4-month work terms. Our co-op programs start in Level III, with applications due in Level II. Students may spend work terms at public health labs, industrial facilities or research institutions, and in a wide variety of areas that extend beyond chemistry. Co-op students are paid for their work.

Calendar Description and Program Admission Requirements

More Details About Sustainable Chemistry

Chemical & Physical Sciences (B.Sc.) (3 Year Program)

For students interested in a 3-year program in either Chemistry or Physics, we offer our B.Sc. in Chemical and Physical Science. Students can choose a combination of Chemistry and Physics courses to fulfill program requirements. Timetable constraints will tend to force the selection to be heavily weighted in either the Department of Chemistry & Chemical Biology or Physics & Astronomy.

Calendar Description and Program Admission Requirements


Combined Programs

Students in Arts & Science can complete an Honours Arts & Science & Chemistry, B.Arts.Sc. (4-year program) or Arts & Science & Chemical Biology (4-year program). Please consult the Calendar Description and Program Admission Requirements.

Students can also complete an Honours Integrated Science – Chemistry Concentration, B.Sc. (4-year program) or Honours Integrated Science – Chemical Biology, B.Sc. (4-year program)

Beginning at Level II, Honours Integrated Science students may complete a concentration in Chemical Biology.


Minor Programs

Students can also complete minors in Chemistry or Chemical Biology in conjunction with other Honours degrees. Please consult the Calendar Description and Program Admission Requirements.