Learning Objectives for Graduating Students
Franklin & Marshall Chemistry Department
January 2018
The overarching goal of the chemistry major is for students to become independent scientists. Independent scientists exhibit the following behaviors:
Chemistry Content
- Correctly identify and apply principles and concepts from a range of chemistry subdisciplines that includes analytical, organic, inorganic, and physical to address/solve problems in chemistry.
- Interpret and interrelate microscopic, macroscopic, and symbolic representations of chemical phenomena.
- Evaluate the quality and applicability of chemical models.
- Identify and use appropriate resources to learn necessary concepts.
Experimental Skills
- Perform experimental work safely and correctly.
- Generate hypotheses and design experiments to test them.
- Analyze data to arrive at a scientific conclusion, including quantification or results and assessment of uncertainty.
- Effectively communicate results, including presentation of data, and place them in the appropriate broader context.
Scientific Literature
- Find scientific literature related to a specific topic and evaluate its quality and relevance.
- Critically read a paper in the scientific literature; interpret, analyze and critique the content in the context of chemical knowledge.
- Draw connections from multiple literature sources; synthesize results from multiple sources related to a chemical question.
Communication
In both written and oral formats, be able to communicate in a clear and organized manner, particularly in a chemistry context.
- Write clear and logical descriptions of chemical behavior using fundamental physical concepts.
- Clearly, logically, and critically describe the rationale for a scientific conclusion, citing data.