A Professional Orientation Seminar for Undergraduates A Professional Orientation Seminar has been developed by us for second semester junior chemistry and biochemistry majors. Several advantages were derived from these 50-min weekly meetings. First, students could select courses during the subsequent senior year which were appropriate for their professional goals. For instance, a student planning to seek employment after completing a Bachelor's degree might elect several laboratory-oriented courses, whereas one anticipating graduate studies wauld perhaps Concentrate on more theoretical courses. Secondly, students were prepared to initiate searches for employment or applications for advanced studies early in the senior year. The seminar also provided s convenient forum for announcements regarding summer jobs, scholarships, visiting speakers, and undergraduate research possibilities. The course was divided into four portions: (1)Professional alternatives for a Bachelor's level chemist or biochemist (six class meetings); (2) Current awareness of chemical and hiochemieal research and instrumentation (seven class meetings); (3) History and use of the chemical library (two class meetings); and (4) Professional organizations (one class meeting). Material was presented in a loose lecture-type format by the Author or other invited speakers (uide infro) with ample opportunities for questions and comments by the students. Professional Alternatives. The first meeting entailed general discussion of various alternatives for employment and advanced study using recent surveys from Chemical and Engineering .News covering salaries and the employment picture in chemistry. During the next class meeting, the Director of the Washington State University Placement Bureau described the facilities and function of the Placement Bureau. Counsel regarding methods of contacting potential employers, interviewing techniques and procedures, interview trips, and the employment picture was also included. Speakers with industrial backgrounds were contacted to provide information on industrial employment. The following sources of speakers proved useful: industrial chemists presenting seminars in the department, industrial recruiters visiting the Placement Bureau, former Washington State University students employed in industry, and faculty and graduate students in the Department who had recent industrial experience. The remaining two meetings of this portion were alloted to discussing the possibilities for advanced study, particularly graduate study in chemistry and biochemistry. Topics included: types of graduate degrees and departments; where to find information about the faculty, facilities, and requirements of graduate departments; how and when to apply far admission; financial assistance; and, what happens during graduate studies. Because of increasing opportunities for advanced study in chemistry-related fields, faculty from other departments a t Washington State University were invited to describe such areas as forensic ehemistrv and aoolied water chemistrv. present discussions of the various branches of chemistry. Alternatively, a class meeting wauld focus upon a description and examination of sophisticated research equipment, such as a mass spectrometer, an electron microscope, or a nuclear reactor. The presentation was again organized by a n appropriate faculty member and was usually preceded by a reading assignment. When available, foreign scientists were invited to compare chemical education inforeign countries with that ofthe United States. Chemistry Library. "Searching the Chemical Literature" by Mellonl was required reading. During the first meeting, a brief history of chemical literature and a general review of modern sources of chemical literature and a general review of modem sources of chemical information was presented. For the second meeting consideration was given to: proper literature citations: the use of Chemical Abstracts finchdine . .oatent indices). Citation Indices. and Beilstein's Hondbuch der oreanirrhen ~~.~ Chctnrc and a rhronolug~calarcuuntmp. ~ ,the i rtcps involwd in puhlishmg one of the Aulhur's recent papem The d,.mrssioni were r~intorcedby nn inmvidunlizrd library as,~~wment. Profesrional Organizations. 'The h,nrtlor~anmi pn,bTams of the Amcrrcan Chemrcal S m c t y were desrihed with partwular attention being given t o employment aids ~
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'Mellon, M. G., "Searching the Chemical Literature," American Chemical Society, Washington, D. C., 1964. ZDeveloped while a t Washington State University. The Author wishes t o acknowledge the participation of the faculty and staff of Washington State University, faculty from other universities, and representatives from industry in this seminar series. Richard A. Bartsch2 Department o t h s e a r r h Grants and Awards American Chemical Society Washington, I). C. 2OORfi
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Journal of Chemical Educafion
