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 2007-2008 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. Applications will be due to Melinda Cerny by January 10, 2008. The application process will include an interview, which will be scheduled for the week of January 22, 2008.

Based on guidelines currently in place for all of MIT, students will have to have a B gpa minimally 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
5.37 Organic & Inorganic Lab - 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 the students as having fulfilled the equivalent of 5.37 - Modules 8 & 9 and the two restricted electives required for an MIT chemistry degree.

In the senior year students will have to take 5.07 and possibly 5.61 (if they have not taken these subjects previously), as well as any remaining HASS requirements.

Returning students may or may not be permitted to take 5.04, 5.43, and 5.62 for credit in their senior year. We will obtain additional information from Cambridge to make this determination.

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 I, O, P, and T at the end of the course names indicate the area of chemistry covered by the course: inorganic, organic, physical, theoretical.
  

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