Planning Your Course of Study

Your tuition allows you to register for up to 17 credits per semester; a minimum of 12 credits is required for you to be considered a fulltime student. Most degrees require 124 credits; these can be earned in four years (8 semesters) with an average course load of 15-16 credits per semester. If you have AP or transfer credit, or plan to take courses over winter/summer, you can reduce this load somewhat. Taking more than 18 credits will cost more and require permission.

Check your progress to date using the Degree Audit report in UDSIS. You can find this report in a drop-down menu under “Academics” on the “Student Center” page in UDSIS:           

The Degree Audit report shows the credits you have earned so far, how they apply to your University, College, and major requirements and the courses/credits you still need to complete to earn your degree. The University Catalog describes the grading system at UD, including how your GPA is calculated. The GPA Calculator tool allows you to determine how different levels of performance in upcoming courses might affect your GPA.

In chemistry and biochemistry advanced courses often have foundational courses as prerequisites, and many courses are only offered in either the fall or spring semester, not both.  So - while there is no single route that you must follow in earning your degree, some paths are more efficient than others.  Use the sample schedules link to list below and lists of pre- and co-requisites link to list below for required courses to guide your planning.  Summaries of the University and College requirements for B.S. and B.A. degrees are also provided in PDF format.    

 B.S. BIOC          Schedule Guide link to Schedule-guide-BIOC-BS pdf                                            Pre- and Co-requisite Course List link to Prereqs-BIOC-BS pdfB.S. CHEM         Schedule Guide link to Schedule-guide-CHEM-BS pdfPre- and Co-requisite Course List link to Prereqs-CHEM-BS pdfB.S. CHEM-ENCH     Schedule Guide link to  Schedule-guide-CHEM-ENCH-BS pdfPre- and Co-requisite Course List link to  Prereqs-CHEM-ENCH-BS pdf    B.A. CHEM              Schedule Guide link to Schedule-guide-CHEM-BA pdf                Pre- and Co-requisite Course List link to Prereqs-CHEM-BA pdfB.A. XCE             Schedule Guide link to Schedule-guide-XCE-BA pdfPre- and Co-requisite Course List link to Prereqs-XCE-BA pdf    B.S. University and College requirements link to UNIV-College-reqs-BS        B.A. University and College requirements link to UNIV-College-reqs-BA                

The online Courses Search tool generally only shows course offerings for the current and upcoming term. While past practice is no guarantee of when courses will be offered in the future, you can get a sense of when certain courses have typically been offered by looking at archived course registration booklets from earlier semesters. View course offerings from recent winter and summer sessions.

Courses for which you received AP credit should appear in several places in the drop-down menu under “Academics” on the “Student Center” page in UDSIS: the Degree Audit, your transcript, and the Transfer Credit report. If you plan to use your AP credit to fulfill the prerequisite for a higher level course, that credit must appear in your University of Delaware record; If you do not see the credit you expected, contact the Registrar's Office at transfercredit@udel.edu. Learn more about AP credit policies.

You may transfer credits from appropriate courses at accredited institutions to the University of Delaware, provided that you have earned a minimum grade of C. Use the Transfer Credit Matrix  to find approved institutions, and to see how courses from a given institution will transfer to the University of Delaware. Review policies concerning transfer credit.

It is possible to change your major or add additional majors and/or minors. Learn more about this process. You may make these changes using the web form found on the “Student Center” page in UDSIS. UDSIS also allows you to generate a “What-If” degree audit report, which shows how your current record would apply towards the requirements of a second or different major or minor.  (You will find this in the same drop-down menu under “Academics”  on the “Student Center” page that was described earlier.) Please note that your advisor may not have enough information to address detailed advisement questions for majors outside the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. The ​CAS Student Succ​ess Center can help with information about majors within the College of Arts and Sciences.

There is no designated “premedical” or “predental” major at the University of Delaware, and most medical schools accept students from almost any major, provided that certain core requirements have been met – generally, one year each of lab courses in general chemistry, organic chemistry, biology, and physics, and one year of English and math courses. A degree in chemistry or biochemistry provides all of the core science courses required for admission to medical or dental school and is a popular choice for those interested in entering into advanced studies for a health care profession after graduation.

There are several excellent sources of information to help you prepare academically for medical, dental, and other health related professional studies. The HSAEC site is maintained by the Department of Biological Sciences. The Health Sciences Advisory and Evaluation Committee is responsible for evaluating students applying to medical school and writing a recommendation letter based on a student’s whole portfolio (including other recommendation letters). The website provides a full discussion of this process as well as detailed advice concerning all stages of preparing for and applying to medical/dental schools. The Center for Premedical and Health Professional Studies provides information, advising and other resources to students interested in a wide variety of health care professions. The Medical/Dental Scholars program is an early admission eight-year academic program offered by the University of Delaware in partnership with the Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University and the Kornberg School of Dentistry at Temple University. Students enrolled in this program receive a Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Studies. The list of suggested courses included in the program description may be useful for premedical chemistry and biochemistry majors who want ideas for appropriate electives in the social sciences.  (A knowledge of psychology and sociology, e.g., is needed for the Medical College Acceptance Test (MCAT) (generally taken during the spring of junior year).

​The College of Arts and Sciences (specifically, Undergraduate Academic Services link to http://www.cas.udel.edu/uas/Pages/default.aspx ) will provide you with an “Official Senior Checkout”  link to http://www.cas.udel.edu/uas/academic-planning/Pages/cas-senior-checkout.aspx  report that shows any requirements that you still need to complete in order to earn your degree.  Sometime in the semester preceding your anticipated graduation term, you will be notified by email that your checkout has been prepared.  It is important for you to examine this and report link to http://www.cas.udel.edu/uas/academic-planning/Pages/cas-senior-checkout.aspx any discrepancies (e.g., course waivers or substitutions that are not shown) as soon as possible.  Once the Senior Checkout is issued, it (rather than the Degree Audit) becomes the document that determines your eligibility for graduation.Your graduation term is shown on the UDSIS “Academics” page (see image below) and is based on when you were admitted to the University.  You may update the graduation term using the “Change Major, Minor, Concentration & Graduation Term” webform on the “Student Center” page in UDSIS.