• Department of Chemistry
• About Chemistry
• People
• Alumni
• Graduate Program
• Undergraduate Program
  • Prospective Students
  • Degrees and Programs
  • Student Advising
  • Scholarships and Fellowships
  • Undergraduate Research
  • Chemistry Club and AXE
• Research
• News and Events
• Facilities and Labs
• Maps and Directions
• Contact Us

Undergraduate Program

Undergraduate Research

Undergraduate Research

 

The Chemistry Department encourages all chemistry majors to participate in at least one research project during their time at Virginia Tech. Suitable research projects can usually be designed to meet your interests and goals and may possibly continue for more than one semester. Credit for undergraduate research is obtained by enrolling in CHEM 4994.

Students interested in research should contact a research mentor at least one month prior to the start of classes. The student and research mentor jointly complete the College of Science's "Undergraduate Research Request Form," available on the CoS's Student Forms webpage. Requirements to enroll in CHEM 4994 include:

• Students must have a GPA of 2.5 or higher.
• Students must have completed 28 credit hours at VT.
• Individual research mentors may have additional requirements or course prerequisites for some projects.

A brief checklist to begin research is as follows:

 

1. Review the list of undergraduate research projects to find a project that interests you.
2. Contact a potential research mentor or mentors to discuss the availability of projects.
3. Upon agreeing on a project, complete the Undergraduate Research form.
4. Obtain signatures from your academic advisor and the instructor (your research mentor) and give the form to Anna Hawthorne in Davidson 301-A. She will obtain the Department Head's signature and route the form to the College of Science Dean's office for processing. Students should note that the Dean's office will not process these forms after the "Last Day to Add" deadline of each semester.
5. It is not possible for students to register or make changes for CHEM 4994 on Hokie SPA. See Anna to correct any errors or to make changes before the deadline.

Note that no more than 8 hours of independent study and/or undergraduate research combined may be counted toward a degree (students in the honors program may be approved for more than 8 hours). Chemistry majors doing research for 3 or more credits are also required to participate in the end-of-the-semester Undergraduate Research Symposium.

For more information see:

• Frequently Asked Questions about undergraduate research.
• Examples of recent projects are listed in the Research Symposia Programs.