Freshman advising is not done through the department; it is done through University College. It is done May-July through an individualized session meeting with an adviser from University College. Please call 325-3521 for more information. However, we certainly welcome questions at mmcginnis@ou.edu.
See the laptop requirements at this link for OU Laptop Policy.
Jackie Foos, jfoos@ou.edu, is the contact for incoming freshman scholarships from the Gallogly College of Engineering and if you are eligible for departmental scholarships, you will receive an e-mail from SCBME later in the summer. Typically scholarship letters go out in July or early August.
Degree sheets are a semester-by-semester of classes you should take, if you follow the degree sheets exactly, then you will graduate in four years. We have three programs, the standard option, the biomed/premed option and the biotech option. The degree sheets are found here.
Yes, students are not “one size fits all”! The key classes (e.g. for not falling behind) for first semester freshmen are Chemistry 1315 and Math 1914. To graduate in four years without taking (and passing!) those courses the first semester is extremely, extremely difficult. For the second semester, add Physics 2514 to the required Chemistry and Math courses. It is possible to wait and take Physics 2514 first semester sophomore year, however we do not recommend that path.
Our recommendation would be to take the necessary math courses during the summer before the freshman year. If taking those courses is not possible, then you should probably plan on taking courses over intersession and/or the summer between your freshman and sophomore year if you plan to try and graduate in four years.
Remember the part about students not being “one size fits all”. In general, we recommend that you go into the next course, because the AP tests are difficult enough that most students that do well on the AP tests would be bored if they had to take the class in college that they passed with AP credit. Again, in most cases, students do just fine in the next course. However, we also understand that not all circumstances are the same, so at the end of the day you should do what you think makes sense for your situation.
Whether you take 30 hours or not, you will pay for 30 hours worth of classes every year (includes summer courses). You can petition and not have to pay for 30 hours, but the most common reason for such petitions is that you can show that there is nothing that you can take that will count towards your degree. Further, the Chem E curriculum gets harder the further you get along. Hence, we recommend that you take 30 hours of classes that first year, and don’t plan on being here that summer (see next question). Taking general education requirements that appear later in the degree sheet is really a good way to go here if you are having trouble finding classes to take. By taking these classes early, you should have more time to spend on your harder classes later in your degree program. However, we do not recommend taking substantially more than 30 hours either; college is a significant life-change and you don’t want to overly burden yourself.
We highly recommend internships/jobs that are relevant to Chemical Engineering. However, not many of these jobs are offered to students between their freshman and sophomore year, but the number is NOT zero. So getting a job is unlikely, but not impossible.
Relevant to that is the Engineering Career Fair, which is held typically about a month after classes start in the Lloyd Noble center. Company representatives (often OU graduates) come and talk to students with the eventual goal of hiring some of them. Even though chances are that you won’t find a summer job between your freshman and sophomore years, still go. Attending the Career Fair is a great professional development opportunity, regardless of whether one is successful in getting an internship. Students typically try to secure employment in the fall of senior year and those students who have an internship prior to interviewing for full time positions typically find employment more easily and have more employment options. Most of our students will eventually get a job via a process that starts with talking with a corporate representative at the Career Fair. You will want to sign-up with Career Services before the event. Be sure to bring copies of your resume with you to the Career Fair.
Yes, there certainly are other options. Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REUs) are particularly good options. REUs are sponsored by the National Science Foundation or other federal agency via a very competitive application process and are offered at many universities and research institutions around the nation (currently OU Chem E does not have one). The application for REU opportunities are usually due in the spring, but be sure to get an early start to increase your chances of getting one. We have compiled a list of REUs here. Many REUs will take students between their freshman and sophomore years. A similar option is participating in on-campus undergraduate with an OU professor. This is not likely to have the same financial benefit for students, but students may be able to continue research during the semester and further the extent of their experience.
