The Department of Chemistry participates in the CME Exchange Program. Since 2002, eight Chemistry majors have attended Cambridge during their junior year. If you are a Course 5 sophomore interested in attending Cambridge University in your junior year, then this page should be helpful in understanding the application process, your plan of study at Cambridge, and how it integrates with your Course 5 degree. General information about the CME program can be found at http://web.mit.edu/cmi/ue/.

The Application Process and Eligibility
MIT sophomores will apply to the Chemistry Department in early February for participation in the CME program for the 2009-2010 academic year. Applications can be picked up from the Chemistry Education Office (2-204) or downloaded here. A reference form will also need to be submitted. The Early Application Deadline is January 15, 2009. The Regular Application Deadline is February 9, 2009.  Please submit all materials to Melinda Cerny, in room 2-204 by January 9 for the early deadline or February 2 for the regular deadline.

Based on guidelines currently in place for all of MIT, students should have at least a 3.0 GPA and have made good progress toward completing the GIRs. The application will include a letter from the student's chemistry academic advisor supporting the request to study abroad. After departmental review and evaluation by the CME office, students will be informed whether they have been accepted into the program in late March.

To be eligible for the exchange program, students must have completed the following subjects by the end of their sophomore year:

5.07 Biological Chemistry
5.13 Organic Chemistry II
5.60 Thermodynamics and Kinetics
5.03 Principles of Inorganic Chemistry
5.36 Biochemistry & Organic Lab- URIECA
5.37 Organic & Inorganic Lab - URIECA Module 7

Due to differences in the curricula at MIT and Cambridge, it will also be highly desirable for MIT students to have taken 5.61 in their sophomore year. If a student has not taken 5.61, then they will still be eligible to participate in the program, but if accepted, they will have to complete assigned readings and supervisions outside of the regular course load, provided by the Cambridge faculty. Credit for 5.61 may be given upon successful completion of this special tutorial.

Program of Study at Cambridge and MIT Credits
As the program stands currently, MIT students spending their junior year at Cambridge will have a program consisting entirely of chemistry subjects (as is the case for the regular Cambridge students). There will not be any time for studying HASS type subjects, so you should plan on completing your HASS requirements in your sophomore and/or senior year.

We have been advised by the Cambridge chemistry faculty that there will probably be no opportunity for MIT exchange students to do undergraduate research at Cambridge. Students should consider their post-MIT plans carefully and work with their advisor on the best plan of study for them.

MIT students will complete the Part II- Option B program in Cambridge. This option includes lecture courses and practicals, which are predominantly laboratory work. A summary of this program is outlined below. Detailed information about the Cambridge chemistry program and classes can be found at http://www-teach.ch.cam.ac.uk/.

Upon completing the Cambridge subjects satisfactorily, students will receive 90 units of credit towards MIT graduation. In addition, the Chemistry Department will credit students as having fulfilled the equivalent of 5.37 - Modules 8 & 9, and two restricted electives, 5.43 and 5.04, required for an MIT chemistry degree. Students will be credited with having completed Module 12 of 5.38 if they complete the C7 course at Cambridge.

In the senior year, students will have to take 5.61 (if this course has not already been completed at MIT or if A6 and the accompanying tutorial have not been completed), Modules 10 and 11 of 5.38, Module 12 of 5.38 (if C7 has not been completed at Cambridge) and any remaining HASS requirements.

NOTES:

• Courses in red are required for MIT students. These courses have been determined to provide work comparable to that covered in 5.04 and 5.43.
• A6 plus special tutorial required for 5.61 credit.
• The B, I, O, P, and T at the end of the course names indicate the area of chemistry covered by the course: biochemistry, inorganic, organic, physical, theoretical.
  

For More Information and Questions Contact:
Melinda Cerny
Assistant Director, Chemistry Education
Chemistry Education Office, 2-204
cerny@mit.edu