Off-campus study is an important part of the Lawrence experience, and chemistry majors can build such opportunities into their programs in several ways. Lawrence's three-term calendar and scheduling patterns in the department permit most students who want to go abroad, for example, to do so in the fall term of either the sophomore or the junior year. Some advance planning is important, so that requirements can be met in an orderly way, but students have participated in the Lawrence London Center, language programs sponsored either by Lawrence or by the Associated Colleges of the Midwest (ACM, to which Lawrence belongs), or other Lawrence-approved programs abroad. In a few cases, students have found international programs in which they've been able to do some course work in chemistry. Of particular interest to chemistry majors is the Oak Ridge Science Semester program at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee. This program provides seniors a chance to spend the fall term in a national laboratory working on a research project with the laboratory's scientists.
There are also many opportunities for off-campus research, study, or internships during the summer. Typically, the department offers a pizza lunch session early in the winter term, at which information about summer research opportunities is presented and advice on finding and applying for such programs is provided.