Transfer Articulation: Forensic Chemistry

Cooperative program leading to the Associate of Science Degree and the Bachelor of Science Degree in Forensic Chemistry at Sam Houston State University

The Department of Chemistry at Sam Houston State University is committed to providing an educational environment conducive to scholarship, intellectual development, and the acquisition of a foundation of knowledge and techniques required of professional forensic chemists. The Department of Chemistry is approved by the American Chemical Society. 

Students completing the major in Forensic Chemistry may pursue opportunities in various forensic labs across the country, or can continue their education either in the graduate program in Forensic Science, or in graduate programs that are more traditional.

Participants of 2+2 programs at community colleges are especially welcome and encouraged to complete the Forensic Bachelor of Science degree at Sam Houston State University.  Additional information may be found at http://www.shsu.edu/academics/chemistry .

The following table lists transfer courses leading to a concentration/major in Forensic Chemistry. It is extremely important for the student to complete two years of chemistry (general and organic), a year of calculus, BIOL 1411 BIOL 1413 and a year of physics prior to transfer to Sam Houston State University if the student intends to take junior-level chemistry courses upon arrival. 

In addition to the above courses, all courses in the State of Texas Common Core may be transferred between institutions.  Forensic chemistry majors are not required to complete the 1 hour core requirement where non-majors must select from the choice of 1 hour from ECON, KINE or NGLI.

Students may transfer to SHSU at any time as long as they meet SHSU's admission requirements. Students close to completing the requirements for the associate degree are encouraged to consider the potential advantages of completing the associate degree. One way to accomplish this is to transfer courses taken at SHSU back to the community college to complete degree requirements. Properly selected courses may be used to satisfy degree requirements at both institutions simultaneously. The applicant is encouraged to speak to an academic advisor familiar with the programs of all institutions involved to maximize the amount of transferable credit.

The Core Curriculum at Sam Houston State University (to be used by all incoming students as of fall 2014) contains 42 semester credit hours, encompassing nine component areas. Each component area has a minimum credit hour requirement and a selection of specific courses that may be used to satisfy the requirement. The Core Curriculum details Sam Houston State University courses and their Texas Common Course Number (TCCN) equivalents for college transfer students which comprise SHSU’s core curriculum.

Many SHSU disciplines including the sciences, business, and education require specific courses from the SHSU core as degree specific graduation requirements. To minimize cost and time to complete degree requirements always select SHSU/transfer core courses specified as degree requirements in your intended major.  If you have not decided on a major, select core courses supporting your intended area of academic concentration.

Prior to enrolling in core classes, students are encouraged to review specific degree requirements for their major. Selection of major-specified core courses reduces the total number of hours required for graduation.

If you do not see a Texas Common Course Number (TCCN) mapping a specific core course to your transfer institution, please go to Transfer Course Equivalency Guide and select your institution from the drop-down menu. The result will list all currently mapped transfer courses from your institution to SHSU courses.