The seven-year BS/MD program in Chemistry is part of the broader seven-year BS/MD program at The College of New Jersey. UMDNJ/New Jersey Medical School (NJMS) and TCNJ have a formal articulation agreement allowing incoming freshman applicants to be accepted to both the medical school and TCNJ and to earn both the baccalaureate from TCNJ and the MD degree from NJMS in seven years.
Why study Chemistry? Chemistry touches every medical specialty. Chemistry provides new medicines to treat cancer, infections, coronary disease, and depression. Chemistry provides the tests that detect pathogens, anesthetics for surgery, contrast dyes for radiology, and the coatings on stents and prosthetic devices that make them compatible with the human body. The goal of our program is to train future physicians in all areas of Chemistry since each of the chemical sub-disciplines makes significant contributions to the practice of medicine. Organic chemistry provides the means to synthesize new drugs to cure or treat diseases. Analytical chemistry provides the means to analyze the composition of blood, urine, and other bodily fluids to determine if the body’s metabolism is in good working order. Biochemistry provides an understanding of the metabolic pathways of the body and the structure of the cell at its most basic level. Inorganic chemistry provides an understanding of the mechanism by which many of the body’s enzymes work and new types of contrast agents. Physical chemistry provides a fundamental understanding of energy flow, equilibria, and the spectroscopic methods used to characterize the composition of matter and monitor patient health. Students pursuing this combined degree program will receive a solid grounding in the field of Chemistry, the fundamentals of Physics and Biology, and significant and wide-ranging laboratory experiences in these three scientific fields. Premedical students with interests in anesthesiology, infectious disease, pathology, radiology, and oncology may find this curriculum particularly valuable.
Suggested Course Sequence
Freshmen Year BIO 185 – Themes in Biology CHE 099 – Orientation to Chemistry (0 – credit) CHE 201 – Gen. Chem. I* CHE 202 – Gen. Chem. II * PHY 201 – Gen. Physics I* PHY 202 – Gen. Physics II* MAT 127 – Calculus A* MAT 128 – Calculus B* First Year Seminar Language I* Language II* * At least 2 of these must be AP credit, placement, or taken before the freshman year
Freshmen Summer Hospital-based internship/shadowing recommended
Sophomore Year CHE316 – Sophomore Seminar CHE 331 – Organic Chem. I CHE 332 – Organic Chem. II CHE 310 – Analytical Chemistry CHE 371 – Quantum Chemistry BIO 211 – Biology of the Eukaryotic Cell Elective 1 Liberal Learning I Liberal Learning II
Sophomore Summer Research at NJMS
Junior Year CHE317 – Junior Seminar CHE 372 – Chemical Thermodynamics CHE 430 – Biochemistry CHE 451 – Inorganic Chemistry I BIO 231 – Genetics (counts as a chemistry option I) Liberal Learning III Liberal Learning IV Liberal Learning V Elective 2
Junior Summer Research at NJMS
Senior Year (Completed while at NJMS) Biochemistry ( Chemistry Option II) Medical Physiology (Chemistry Option III) Liberal Learning VI (Psychiatry)