R. W. Parry University of Michigan Ann Arbor
Chemistry Honors Programs in Universities
M a n y years ago Christopher Wren wrote: "Ability is a poor man's wealth." If we reorganize this statement somewhat, it can be interpreted as the theme of an honors symposium. By avoiding references to the economic struggle one can write, "Ability is the nation's wealth." Our problem is how best to develop and invest that wealth in the service of man. All honors programs have this point in common: they are seeking a means for utilizing student ability in the most productive and effective manner. The methods chosen for recognizing and developing that ability reflect different staff views. If the investigation conducted for this paper has established any single point, it is that honors programs vary widely. The term "honors program" is as hard to define operationally as t,he term "beautiful woman." Standards of beauty are subjective and reflect the feelings and opinions of the observer; all gentlemen don't prefer blondes. Similarly, honors programs are largely subjective and represent the standards and opinions of the participating staff involved in the program presentation. A few points are common to all successful plans. First the individual teachers for formal courses are extremely important. Schools with successful programs have used their most effective teachers in handling the honors work and success or failure frequently reflects the success of the department in selecting qualified teaching personnel. Secondly, all programs face the problem of student selection. The rncthods vary, but the prohlems are the same. The need for qualified faculty is as important here as in the classroom. Schopenhauer caught the essence of the problem when he wrote: "Intellect is invisible to the man who has none." Third, all honors programs are held together by allegiance to the superior student and most hy the inclusion of some form of research training. All hope to send their products into the nation's graduate schools. Upon this common base many different programs have been const,ructed. Differences will become apparent in the following description of individual efforts. This paper concerns such programs in selected universities and larger schools. It is fair to ask the question, what is the basis for selection? Although a certain amount of arbitrariness is inherent in the selection procedure, three criteria have been used in identifying schools for this study. First, big universities are easily defined in terms of very arbitrary numbers; an enrollment in excess of 10,000 students was used as the criterion for a big university. The Superior S t u d a t ' Vol. 3, January, 1961, lists 215 schools with an honors program. Of this number 46 could be classed as big 1 14
/
Journal o f Chemical Educafion
on the basis of the above definition. (It is of some interest to note that this honors inventory provides some hard core facts about honors work as revealed by a statistical survey of American colleges.) Also included in the schools considered are several private institutions with a student body below 10,000 but, which have established themselves as major research centers of the world. Yale, Johns-Hopkins, and Princeton fall in this category. Information from only 10 schools has been included because of limitations of time and space. Such information was obtained by personal contact, by telephone, and by letter. No formal questionnaire was used in the hope that the individuality of different programs might be preserved. The current presentation is a case history report in which the methods used by different groups to face prohlems such as student selection, class work, laboratory work, and research activity are considered. Institutions selected for study are those whose representatives I have been able to contact recently. This is one way of randomization. I hope statisticians approve of this method which I might truly call a "random walk technique," particularly for people interviewed just before this paper was read at the ACS meeting in September, 1961. Two general types of honors activity can he recognized easily: the first is oriented toward formal course work, the second toward student research. I n many schools both activities are combined. The courses offered may start a t the freshman year and run to the senior year. In some cases only the lower level courses are now developed but higher level courses are taking shape. I n developing student research activity most large schools recognize the importance of personal contact between students and productive research scientists. For the most part research workers (especially the younger ones) have welcomed the students into their laboratories, although this attitude is not quite universal and is not the usual picture of a big university. The information listed herein may or may not be complete. To the best of my knowledge it is accurate, but facts about other institutions are always subject to correction by those who are directly involved in those institutions. Specific questions from readers might best be directed to the school described.
' The Supen'o? Student is published monthly during the academic year by the University of Colorado on behalf of the Honors Information Service of the Interuniversity Committee on the Superior Student at McKenna. 229, Univ. of Colorado, Boulder. It is sent free to interested academic personnel on request; back copies are available at 15 cents each.
The University of Minnesota, Minneapolis
At its present stage of development the Minnesota program is centered around a special high level general chemistry program offered during the second and third quarters of the regular three quarter freshman sequence. The class consists of about 20 students composed largely of chemistry or chemical engineering majors. Premedical students, however talented, are discouraged. Dr. Henry Bent writes that, "The principal objective of the sequence is not to produce good students of chemistry or advanced students of chemistry but to initiate the training of productive research chemists." Since the program starts with the second quarter of the freshman year, student selection can be based on student performance in the first quarter of the general chemistry course. The selection criteria include a first quarter grade point average of B+ or better, a strong recommendation from the first semester instructor, a strong interest in chemistry, a willingness to work, and enthusiasm as judged by a personal interview with the instructor. Salient points in course operation include: (1) independent reading, study, and writing projects that require the use of the library and of Chemical Abstracts, (2) the use of a special laboratory t.hat is open to students a t all hours of the day and is supervised by a full-time graduate student, (3) laboratory work involving inorganic synthesis and both qualitative and quantitative separation of cations, and (4) supervised problem drill from lectures. Outside of the classroom, students have contact with other members of the senior staff in chemistry and are frequently employed by staff members on research projects. Staff and students show mutual enthusiasm. No direct or indirect collaboration with other departments in the university is currently involved, but it is felt that other subject matter areas are covered in the course operation. The content of the second quarter course is described as modern theories of organic and inorganic chemistry including molecular structure, chemical kinetics, and acid-base theory. The third quarter course is largely physical chemistry. Emphasis is placed on the second law of thermodynamics and its application to systems at equilibrium. No information on higher level honors courses a t Minnesota was furnished. Dr. Bent's enthusiasm was apparent in his letter. The University of Wisconsin, Madison
The course at Wisconsin resembles the one a t Minnesota in the enthusiasm of the instructor and students, but most of the methods of operation are different. The honors work in chemistry is part of an over-all college honors effort and the course involves not only stimulation but acceleration. About 40 students, selected by the College Honors Director using scores on college board examinations (S.A.T. English and Achievement), high school percentile rank, principals' recommendations, etc., are given a one semester 6credit-hour course covering all of a normal freshman two semester sequence. The schedule involves 3 hours of lecture, 2 hours of recitation, and 4 hours of laboratory, all handled directly by E. L. King with assistance in the laboratory by graduate stndents.
In contrast to the program a t Minnesota, the students do not have to be chemistry majors or even science majors. Good history majors would be accepted if they did well and were enthusiastic, although in actual fact, most of the people involved are majors in mathematics, physics, chemistry, or pre-med. The text used is Hildebrand and Powell and the laboratory manual is by Bray, Latimer, and Powell. The laboratory work includes six or seven weeks of qualitative analysis, three experiments in organic chemistry such as synthesis of aspirin, etc. Ionic equilibrium is emphasized strongly; this fact is not surprising when one realizes that Dr. King iz one of the country's experts on ionic equilibria in solution. The remainder of the honors work a t Wisconsin is developing more slowly. An analytical course has been offered hut the details of its operation are not yet available. An organic honors course involves the regular lecture and lab supplemented by o l e extra session per week. A physical chemistry course is b e gmning this year (1961-62). Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois
The Northwestern faculty members describe their honors program as research orientation. Select,ion procedures, like those used a t Minnesota, utilize performance in the first quarter freshman course. The best stndents from the first quarter of the freshman sequence are placed in a special second quarter section which delves more deeply into the subject matter. I n the last part of the third quarter, students work on a simulated research project which has been described in detail in THIS JOURNAL.^ I n essence, students are given an unknown containing an ion not in their usual scheme. A separation procedure must be developed. According to the reports from Northwestern, student enthusiasm rises to a. fever pitch and a real research atmosphere is created. Students write a report and, in general, the quality of these is described as unexpectedly high. The third quarter of the sophomore organic course also contains honors features. Students are led to devise a possible synthesis for a new compound. After checking the literature to make sure that the compound is new, the student attempts a synthesis. About half of the students usually succeed in synthesizing a new compound which is characterized by infrared spectra and microanalysis. They then attempt to use the resultant information in structure assignment. During the spring semester of the junior year students with a grdde average above B are invited to join the honors research program. A professor and problem are selected by the student. It is reported that about half of the senior honors research projects result in work which is ultimately published. Both students and staff are enthusiastic. A report on the Northwestern work is given in the The Superior Student, Vol. 2 , April, 1959. The University of Illinais, Urbana
The Illimois program, like that a t Wisconsin, is part of a university-wide honors program now going into -
~
SUMMERBEL~ R. K.,
ET
AL.,
J. CAEM.EDUC.,32,475 (1955).
Volume 39, Number 3, March 1962
/
1 15
its third year. About 200 entering freshmen (3-4% of the incoming freshman class) are selected by the director of the college honors program and are given the title of James Scholar. As a James Scholar, students are entitled to take honors courses or honors sections of regular courses; they are also allowed to pre-register and to get more individual attention. James Scholars are selected on the basis of (a) high school principal's recommendation, (b) high school percentile rank, and (c) any tests or devices which the honors director wishes to impose. General student,^, not going on in chemistry and with a strong entering background, can take a one semester course designed to cover all of chemistry in one semester. Two sections of this course of 300 students are set aside for James Scholars. About 30 students are in these honors sections with a selected teacher. There is also a full year sequence in chemistry for students majoring in chemistry, chemical engineering, mathematics, physics, etc. This course of 175 students is selected from the entire freshman class. An honors section of 30 students is then selected from this group and is handled hy T. L. Brown. They meet once a week beyond regular course hours for a special extra lecture-discussion section which may include material not covered in the regular curriculum. Special handouts, written by Prof. Brown, are distributed. Emphasis is placed apon the solving of rather difficult problems; a lot of time may be devoted to a unique example. Topics covered include details of kinetic theory, including calculation of collision numbers and t,he relation of kinetic theory to gas phase kinetics. The first and second laws of thermodynamics are also introduced. The laboratories are differentiated from the regular laboratories by the use of group experiments which occupy no more than 25% of the student's time. A sample group experiment would examine the distribution of an organic acid between an organic layer and water. Students would find the form of the equilibrium constant (monomer-dimer), study the effect of change in the organic layer, the effect of change in temperature, etc. Some students with good technique do inorganic syntheses. Honors students do not receive extra credit for their honors work and are held responsible only for the regular material of the course. A senior thesis is required of students doing departmental honors work, but no other honors activities were reported a t the time of this study. Indiana University, Bloornington
Only limited information was available a t the time of this report hut a freshman course which is both accelerated and more penetrating was mentioned. Perhaps the most novel feature of the Indiana program is an emphasis upon self-study and the opportunity which is given to students to pass courses by self study and examination. Undergraduate research is emphasized. The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
Michigan has two routes to the upper division honors program. I n one approach students are selected on the basis of academic performance (A or high B grade) 1 16
/
Journal o f Chemical Education
after one semester in general chemistry. Approximately 80 are placed in a special course which probes in depth and emphasizes ionic equilibrium and qualitative and quantitative analysis. The laboratory is demanding and uses a simulated research problem similar to the system at Northwestern. This course leads directly into the honors work in organic chemistry, but is not tied directly to the college-wide honors program. One of the best teachers is always assigned to this course. The more novel honors sequence is tied to the over-all college honors effort and is known as the Unified Science program. I t represents a cooperative venture of the departments of mathematics, physics, and chemistry. Students (about 60 from the Literary College and 40 from the Engineering College) are selected from the incoming freshman class on the basis of (a) a series of tests, (b) high school percentile rank, (c) high school principals' recommendations, and (d) interviews with the program director. The student takes mathematics and physics the first semester, mathematics and chemistry the second and third semesters, and mathematics and physics the fourth semester. Through meetings of the physics, mathematics, and chemistry staffs a relatively high degree of correlation between courses is maintained and concepts are used in one course after they have been introduced in another. On the other hand, the responsibilities of each department are distinctly delineated. The work is strongly oriented toward physical chemistry; calculus is used freely and without apology. The lahoratory is built around problems, not individual experiments. Many diierent experimental approaches are utilized in the synthesis of a firm conclusion. A research atmosphere is reported. A special organic course taught by Martin Stiles has been particularly successful. It penetrates deeply in an intellectually challenging fashion and relies on a realistic blend of theory and experiment. Special courses in analytical and physical chemistry are built on an earlier background and involve special laboratory activity. A senior thesis is required of all honors students. Johns-Hopkins University, Boltimore, Maryland
The honors program a t Johns-Hopkins is handled by Professors Andrews and Kokes and was described in some detail at the April, 1960, meeting of the ACS in Cle~eland.~The plan, which has many novel features, is run in conjunction with a high level freshman course involving development of thermodynamics and even some quantum mechanics. Dr. Andrews notes that some students take all that is offered and come back for more; in fact, he reports that many undergraduates carry on work a t a level which is higher than some first year graduate students can handle. Because a relatively detailed account of this program has been published recently it is summarized only briefly here. Toward the end of the first semester of the freshman year students with an "A" grade are invited to seek admission to a special group for whom the usual routine laboratory of the second semester is waived. See
also THIS JOURNAL, 37,579 (1960);
and 39,16,90 (1962).
It is replaced by a special research project designed to produce some (publishable) results in 90 to 150 hours put in over a period of 15 weeks. ,Members of the staff direct the research. Selection of students is carefully done. A student must have an "A" grade and must submit a research proposal which is judged competitively. He must demonstrate laboratory skill and self-study ability by working out an unknown solution over a three-week period. These selection devices yield a very small sample, 1-2% of the freshman class. Such highly gifted students are reported to display truly remarkable research abilities for their level. A program similar to the above is being used in the organic sequence as well.
The three-year-old honors work at Berkeley is handled by Bruce Mahan who describes i t as follows: Students are selected on the basis of their mathematical ability (top 10%) and upon the basis of a first quality performance in high school chemistry. The course covers the material of the usual freshman course a t Berkeley plus four weeks of thermodynamics and four weeks of organic chemistry. The laboratory mixes in some classical quantitative analysis along with the usual freshman experiments, but for the most part quantitative techniques are used to demonstrate principles. Laboratories are run by teaching fellows under close senior staff supervision. Students completing the honors freshman course do not have to take quantitative analysis. They proceed through the normal program one semester ahead of the normal group. Honors sections in physical chemistry are offered, but these are not exclusively for those who have had the honors freshman course. Dr. Mahan is an enthusiastic teacher and the faculty is reported to be happy with the results so far.
"We have always had a policy-inaugurated by Arthur A. Noyes over 40 years ago--of actively seeking out, beginning a t the freshman level, promising students and attempting to stimulate their interest by providing them with research opportunities or means of expediting their undergraduate training. It might be of interest to note that among those singled out by Dr. Noyes in their freshman or sophomore years were Edwin McMillan, Kenneth Pitaer, Charles Coryell, 'Richard Dodson, William Pickering, and Robley Evans. While not required, undergraduate research has always carried academic credit; and we have attempted to develop the tradition, first, that the student must qualify for the privilege of undertaking research by superior performance, and second, that the student would want to do the research even though in some cases he might not receive full academic credit for it. We have thought it important that the student work under the supervision of a staff member, not as a pair of hands but with as much freedom as he can be expected to zsp.lme in carrying out the problem. Also, the problem must be one which the student recognizes as being of scientific value. "At the present time, students in our freshman general chemistry class are advised that anyone who has made a B grade during the preceding quarter is eligible to approach any member of our permanent staff and discuss the possibility of undertaking a research project. A student himself may suggest the problem; if so, a decision is made as to its feasibility. If the problem is outside the field of interest of the staff member, he suggests an appropriate director. Although we have no summer quarter, undergraduate students can register for and receive academic credit for summer research. Last year there were a t least four of the previous year's freshman who worked throughout most of the summer, together with an equal number of upper classmen. "Before revising our undergraduate curriculum four years ago I had given a course in quantitative and advanced qualitative analysis during the sophomore year. At the beginning of our third quarter I regularly offered to a selected group of students opportunity of substituting a research problem for the routine laboratory work. To discourage grade seekers it was pointed out that this would mean additional work, since they would be held responsible for the class work accompanying the regular laboratory work. Many of the students taking these problems continued with them or other problems in the succeeding summer and throughout their upper years. I might add that until around World War I1 a majority of my publications resulted from such undergraduate collaboration. At the present time our basic organic course is in the sophomore year, and a similar procedure is in force." Although the formal honors label is rejected by Dr. Swift, the research activity and the selection of gifted students is certainly within the scope of "honors."
California Institute of Technology, Pasadena
Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts
Professor Ernest H. Swift writes, "We have no formal honors program and doubt the value of such. Rather we consider research as an effective means of challenging and stimulating those students who give some. evidence of creative ability." He describes the program:
A high level freshman course a t Hanard under the direction of Leonard Nash is being superseded in the honors plan by a new two-year sequence involving William Lipscomb, Frank Westheimer, E. J. Corey, and E. Bright Wilson. This course is designed to
Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey
The Rutgers program for freshmen, as described by Rolf Herber, identifies the top 10 to 20% of the class at the end of the first semester and permits them to enroll in an honors section during the second semester. Such a section has an experienced teaching assistant and a s e n i ~ r staff counselor. Such students have more senior faculty contact. The real Rutgers honors work centers around the Henry Rutgers Fellow who is selected a t the end of the junior year on the basis of grade points. Such a Fellow talks to faculty members, selects a problem and research preceptor, and writes a thesis. Perhaps 50% of such work could result in publication. For Rutgers Fellows certain specific courses may he replaced by other special and higher level courses selected by the student. He can take graduate courses if he wishes. The University of California, Berkeley
Volume 39, Number 3, March 1962
/
117
introduce students to the subject matter usually covered in physical, organic, and general chemistry, although no formal distinction among branches of chemistry is recognized. The course will give an introduction to quantum mechanics, chemical bonding in complex and simple molecules, organic mechanisms, and organic synthesis, as well as thermodynamics and statistics. The laboratory emphasizes standing waves, model building, and the observation and interpretation of spectra. The whole program represents a most ambitious undertaking which will be watched with interest. Summary
Programs from 11 different schools have been described and many ideas for honors activity have been presented. On the other hand, many schools with first class honors programs have not been mentioned
1 18
/
lournal of Chemical Fducofion
in this summary. Such omission does not represent an attempt by the author to evaluate different programs, but rather indicates that information on these programs was not available at the time that the foregoing descriptions were prepared. Excellent honors programs in chemistry have been developed a t The University of Kansas by Elliott Roland; Michigan State University, lbbert Hammer; Yale University, Andrew Patterson; Princeton University, C. E. Bricker; Massachusetts Institute of Technology, L. J. Heidt; and probably many others. Some of these programs were described before the Division of Chemical Education during the course of a Symposium on Chemical Programs for the Superior Student. Since this summary opened with a quotation, it shall close with a auotation from Andrew Jackson: "One man with courage makes a majority." American education needs such a majority.
