CHEM 491 Graduate Project for Chemistry Majors
Level: 7
Number of Credits: 2
Prerequisites: department approval
Course Description
CHEM 491 is a one semester condensed chemistry research project course for students pursuing a Chemistry Major in which the skills and techniques acquired in the previous level’s lab courses are utilized in solving a research problem. In this course each student will engage in guided research under the supervision of a member of staff on a project which may be interdisciplinary or in one of the sub-disciplines: analytical, inorganic, organic, Bio chemistry and physical chemistry. The student will be required to meet each week with his/her supervisor to discuss/review their experimental results, progress on the project and weekly work plan before executing their plan each week. Students are expected to work more independently in this course but will receive further guidance on specific safety issues; searching, reviewing and critically assessing the chemical literature; developing and testing a research question/hypothesis; interpreting and drawing conclusions from experimental results and in presenting research results in written and oral formats. The course also introduces students to specialized advanced techniques and skills specific to individual projects and provides hands-on experience with modern research instrumentation.
CHEM 491 comprises 20 hours of bench work, 5 two-hour sessions of instruction and 15 one-hour non-lab-based research work sessions each semester. A compulsory research project specific safety test must be passed within the first two weeks of the course before lab work can commence. Assessment will focus primarily on the chemical knowledge, practical competency, problem-solving skills and research capability of students through the preparation and quality of milestone reports, the final project report, and oral presentation as well as the quality of research work performed, and active participation in group discussions.
Please note that due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, your Chem 491 experience could be partially or even fully online and virtual. Virtual research would depend on your having access to adequate computer resources and access to dependable internet.
Assessment
Coursework 100% (50% semester work + 50 % final evaluation)