Chemistry has traditionally been subdivided into a number of specialty areas on the basis of the substances studied or the methods used to study them. The Lawrence Chemistry curriculum provides a set of introductory courses that give students an overview of the field. Students intending to take additional chemistry courses may start either with the sequence CHEM 115, 116 or with the accelerated course CHEM 119. (CHEM 119 is not being offered in 2008-09.) A placement exam, available online, is used to help each student find the best entry point among these courses. CHEM 111 (also not offered in 2008-09) provides a more basic starting point than 115, but is taken more often by students seeking to satisfy a General Education Requirement in the sciences.
There follow intermediate and advanced courses in all the traditional divisions of chemistry: inorganic chemistry (CHEM 320), organic chemistry (CHEM 250, 252, 450), physical chemistry (CHEM 270, 370, 470, 475), analytical chemistry (CHEM 210, 410), and biochemistry (CHEM 340, 440). Other intermediate courses (e.g., CHEM 247, The Elements of Life) cross these traditional divisional boundaries, while areas such ase polymer chemistry or environmental chemistry currently appear primarily within the other core courses. Students frequently use Tutorials (CHEM 190/390/590/690) or Indpendent Study (CHEM 199/399/599/699) to explore these areas or other narrower topics in more depth. (Independent Study usually involves laboratory research, a tutorial typically does not. The different course numbers in each set indicate whether the student taking the course is a first, second, third, or fourth-year student.)
In general, the level of a course is indicated by its number. Courses in the 100s are introductory; they either have no prerequisites at all, or require high school chemistry. Courses in the 200s and 300s are intermediate in level, and require prior completion of either CHEM 116 or 119 (or advanced placement). A few of them also require some calculus or physics. Courses numbered 400 or above are advanced courses, and all of those have as prerequisites one or more of the intermediate courses.