The Department of Chemistry course offerings are designed for students who desire to major in chemistry in preparation for graduate study or work in the chemical professions, for students who desire a teaching certificate in chemistry, and for students in biology, physics, mathematics, engineering and the health sciences. The Department also provides the requisite pre-professional courses for careers in medicine, dentistry, nursing, medical technology, pharmacy, and engineering.
Students may follow a four-year course schedule leading to a B.S. in Chemistry or the five-year program leading to the integrated BS/MS degree in chemistry.
The following outlines a proposed sequence of courses for the Bachelor of Science chemistry. This sequence is suggested, not mandatory.
FRESHMAN YEAR
First Semester: 18 hours
CCHE 111 General Chemistry (4)
CBIO 111 General Biology I (4)
CGED 100 First Year Seminar I (1)
CENG 105 English Composition I (3)
CMAT 111 Calculus I (4)
CHIS 201 U.S., Africa and the World I (3)
Second Semester: 18 hours
CCCHE 112 General Chemistry (4)
CBIO 112 General Biology II (4)
CGED 101 First Year Seminar (1)
CENG 106 English Composition II (3)
CPSY 211 General Psychology (3)
CMAT 112 Calculus II (4)
SOPHOMORE YEAR
First Semester: 18 hours
CCHE 231 Organic Chemistry (4)
CCHE 212 Analytical Chemistry I (4)
CMAT 211 Calculus III (4)
CENG 201/2 World Literature I or II (3)
CHIS 202 U.S., Africa and the World II (3)
Second Semester: 18 hours
CCHE 232 Organic Chemistry II (4)
CHUM Humanities Requirements (3)
CMAT 212 Differential Equations I (3)
CSOC 105 Culture and Society (3)
CCIS 105 Programming Principle (3)
JUNIOR YEAR
First Semester: 15 hours
CCHE 341 Physical Chemistry (4)
CCHE 380 Chemistry Seminar (0)
CSTA 101 Fundamentals of Speech (3)
CMFL 201 Foreign Language (3)
CPHY 111 General and Modern Physics (4)
Second Semester: 17 hours
CCHE 342 Physical Chemistry (4)
CCHE 381 Chemistry Seminar (1)
CMFL 202 Foreign Language (3)
CPHY 112 General and Modern Physics (4)
CPHI or CREL Philosophy/Religion Requirement (3)
SENIOR YEAR
First Semester: 12 hours
CCHE 441 Physical Chemistry (4)
CCHE 480 Senior Chemistry Seminar (0)
CCHE 431 Advanced Organic Chemistry (4)
CCHE 443 Advanced Inorganic Chemistry (4)
CCHE 480 Special Topics in Chemistry
Second Semester: 12 hours
CCHE 412 Instrumental Analysis (4)
CCHE 432 Advanced Organic Chemistry (4)
CCHE 481 Senior Chemistry Seminar (1)
Elective (4)
The Department of Chemistry offers undergraduate students of superior ability entrance to the 5-Year B.S./M.S. Program. Students may be chosen based on their academic achievement in secondary school. Students must have a minimum cumulative high school grade point average of 3.25 and a minimum composite Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) score of 900 or a minimum ACT score of 22.
Students must satisfy all University general education requirements for undergraduates, the requisite major and cognate courses for the bachelor’s degree and at least twenty-four (24) semester hours of graduate course work in the major field. Students undertake advanced course work and research during their fourth year of enrollment. Summer research opportunities are provided and may be required, depending on the nature of the students’ research project.
Academic progress is monitored throughout. Students must maintain a cumulative “B” or better average. After successful completion of the third year, students must be admitted to the graduate program. Graduate admissions will depend upon the recommendation of the department chairperson and approval of the School Dean.
During the fourth year, students may begin graduate course work while completing undergraduate degree requirements. Students are engaged in graduate study exclusively during the fifth year, at which time students satisfy the graduate residence requirement.
In order to receive the B.S. and M.S. degrees in Chemistry, students must complete at least fifty-four (54) semester hours of course work in Chemistry, at least twenty-four (24) of these at the graduate level. Students must complete an acceptable thesis. Students must apply for candidacy for each degree at the times specified in the university catalogues. Upon completion of the prescribed course of study, students receive two degrees, the Bachelor of Science and the Master of Science.
At any point during the students’ participation in this program, they may elect or be required, because of academic performance, to pursue the traditional four-year bachelor’s degree program. In such cases the bachelor’s degree will be awarded once the undergraduate degree requirements are satisfied.
Listed below is the sequenced curriculum designed to facilitate the acquisition of skills and knowledge required for this program.
First Semester: 17 hours
CCHE 111 General Chemistry (4)
BIO 111 General Biology (4)
CMAT 111 Calculus I (4)
ENG-C 105 English Composition I (3)
GED-C 100 First Year Seminar I (1)
PED-C 101/2 Physical Education Requirement (1)
Second Semester: 16 hours
CCHE 112 General Chemistry (4)
BIO 112 General Biology (4)
CMAT 112 Calculus II (4)
GED-C 101 First Year Seminar II (1)
ENG-C 106 English Composition II (3)
SOPHOMORE YEAR
First Semester: 18 hours
CCHE 231 Organic Chemistry I (4)
CMAT 211 Calculus III (4)
CPHY 121 General Physics (4)
ENG-C 201/2 World Literature I or II (3)
HIS-C 201 U.S., Africa and the World I (3)
Second Semester: 17 hours
CCHE 232 Organic Chemistry II (4)
CMAT 212 Differential Equations (3)
CPHY 122 General Physics (4)
LIB-C 101 Information Technology and Computer Application (3)
HIS-C 202 U.S., Africa and the World II (3)
JUNIOR YEAR
First Semester: 17 hours
CCHE 211 Analytical Chemistry (4)
CCHE 341 Physical Chemistry (4)
GER 201 German (3)
PHI/REL-C Philosophy/Religion Requirement (3)
CCHE Chemistry Seminar (0)
SOC-C 101 Culture and Society (3)
Second Semester: 17 hours
CCHE 342 Physical Chemistry (4)
GER 202 German (3)
STA-C 101 Fundamentals of Speech (3)
CIS 205 Structured Programming (3)
CCHE Chemistry Seminar
SOC-C 101 Culture and Society (3)
SENIOR YEAR
First Semester: 15 hours
CCHE 421 Advanced Inorganic Chemistry (3)
CCHE 421L Inorganic Chemistry Lab (2)
CCHE 441 Mathematical Method in Chemistry (3)
CCHE Research in Chemistry Area (3)
CCHE 481 Chemistry Seminar (1)
CCHE Advanced Course or Core Course (3)
Second Semester: 16 hours
CCHE 412,412L Instrumentation with Lab (4)
CCHE Chemistry Core Course or Advanced Course (3)
PSY-C 211 General Psychology (3)
CCHE Research in Chemistry Area (3)
HUM-C Humanities Requirement (3)
SUMMER SENIOR YEAR
CCHE Research in Chemistry Area (3-6)
FIFTH YEAR
First Semester: 9 hours
CCHE Core Course/CCHE Area Course (3)
CCHE Core Course/CCHE Area Course (3)
CCHE Research in Chemistry Area (3)
Second Semester: 9 hours
CCHE Core Course/CCHE Area Course (3)
CCHE Core Course/CCHE Area Course (3)
CCHE Core Course/CCHE Area Course (3)
TOTAL HOURS SUMMER AND FIFTH YEAR 21-24
See Graduate Catalog for B.S./M.S. graduate course descriptions.
ADVANCED COURSE OFFERINGS
CCHEM 451 Biochemistry (3)
CCHEM 432 Organic Structure Determination (3)
CCHEM 431 Advanced Organic Chemistry (3)
CCHEM 441 Mathematical Methods in Chemistry (3)
CHEMISTRY CORE COURSES
Physical Chemistry
CCHEM 541 Thermodynamics (3)
CCHEM 542 Quantum Mechanics (3)
Analytical Chemistry
CCHEM 412 Instrumentation (3)
Biochemistry
CCHEM 551 Biochemistry
CCHEM 552 Biochemistry
Industrial Chemistry
CCHEM 531 Topics in Industrial Chemistry (3)
CCHEM 562 Scale-Up for Chemists (3)
Organic Chemistry
CCHEM 531 Mechanistic Organic Chemistry (3)
CCHEM 532 Organic Synthesis (3)
Inorganic Chemistry
CCHEM 522 Physical Inorganic Chemistry (3)
Polymer Chemistry
CCHEM 571 Introduction to Polymer Chemistry (3)
CCHEM 572 Techniques in Polymer Chemistry (3)
CCHEM 573 Physical Polymer Science (3)
TA DSC Q2000 TA
TGA Q50
Perkin Elmer DSC 6000
Perkin Elmer DSC 6000
NETZSXCH DMA 242E Artemis
Dr. Junrui Li is an Assistant Professor of Chemistry at Clark Atlanta University, where his research bridges nanomaterials, catalysis, and green chemistry to advance next-generation materials, energy and environmental solutions. His work focuses on the precise synthesis of metallic, oxide and nitride nanomaterials with unique functionalities for electrocatalysis, fuel cells, CO₂ reduction, biomass valorization and magnetic applications, aiming to transform fundamental chemical insights into scalable technologies for a sustainable future. His research has been supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and Department of Defense (DoD). His work has received over 3500 citations with an h index of 29.
Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=BlVda4UAAAAJ&hl=en
Email: jli@cau.edu, Phone: (404)880-6892,
Website: https://www.junruili.com/
Education
PhD, Chemistry, 2019. Brown University, Providence, RI.
B.S., M.E., Applied Chemistry, 2014, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan, China.
Selected publications:
Dr. Xinle Li has served as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemistry at Clark Atlanta University since 2020. He earned his Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from Iowa State University in 2016 and completed postdoctoral training at the Molecular Foundry, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, from 2017 to 2020. Dr. Li’s research group focuses on the sustainable synthesis of porous crystalline materials with applications in environmental remediation and catalysis. Dr. Li has been honored with numerous university and national awards, including the 15th CAU Biennial Aldridge-McMillan Faculty Award for Excellence in Research, the DOE Early Career Award, the 2025 Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award, ACS PRF New Directions (ND) Grant, the NSF HBCU-UP Research Initiation Award, and the HBCU Excellence in Research Award.