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Chemistry & Biochemistry COVID-19 Undergraduate Updates

If you do not find the answer to your question below, please reach out to the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry via the Virtual Advising Center (VAC).

Additional updates to university deadlines and policies can be found here:

Alert

The UC San Diego Return to Learn program has been discontinued. It began in May 2020 as a strategic response to the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, UC San Diego was able to resume full on-campus operations in fall, 2021 and has served as a best practice model for other institutions. Based on this, we will now be adopting current COVID-19 regulations as outlined by Cal/OSHA. We will also continue to use all that we have learned over the last few years while embracing more personal responsibility for our individual health and well-being.

Pass/No Pass Policy

FA21 and Beyond Update:

Starting from Fall 2021, majors and minors in the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry are required to take all major or minor classes for a letter grade. Pass/No Pass (P/NP) grading is not acceptable for major or minor classes taken after Spring 2021.

Previously, the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry allowed Chemistry/Biochemistry majors and minors to use “P” grades for major or minor coursework taken in Spring 2020, Fall 2020, Winter 2021, and Spring 2021.

This policy applied to all lower-division and upper-division coursework required for the Chemistry/Biochemistry major or minor taken during Spring 2020, Fall 2020, Winter 2021, and/or Spring 2021. "P" grades did not count towards a student's GPA, and a grade of 'C-' or higher was required to earn a "P". More information can be found on TritonLink.

Courses taken in Spring 2020, Winter 2021, and Spring 2021 were excluded from the 25% limit on P/NP units, per the Academic Senate. However, courses taken P/NP in Fall 2020 were counted towards the 25% limit. See details here.

Please note that some graduate and/or professional schools may not accept courses in which a “P” grade is received, as they may require letter grading. Therefore, we recommend that students contact individual schools to inquire about their admission policies.

Lab Courses

Lab course offerings: Starting Summer Session 2023, all lab courses will be offered in-person.

Course Formats (In-Person, Hybrid, Remote)

Please note that starting Spring 2023, all courses in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry are planned to be in-person. However, they may change to fully remote or hybrid depending on local or university COVID-19 guidelines. We recommend checking the Schedule of Classes regularly for updates on course formats.

How to Read the Schedule of Classes:

  • RCLAS: Remote class

    • Courses labeled RCLAS are fully remote. Check both lectures and discussions. If both are RCLAS, the course is fully remote.

  • HYBRID: Part remote, part in person

    • Hybrid courses have a remote section labeled RCLAS and a room number for the in-person component. For example, if Chem 6A lecture is RCLAS but the discussion is in person, this is a hybrid class.

  • In Person:

    • All parts of the course will be in person. Remote attendance is not available unless asynchronous resources are offered.

Add/Drop Deadlines

Please refer to the Campus add/drop deadlines linked here:

There are currently NO exceptions to the add/drop deadlines per UCSD Campus policy.

Special Studies (CHEM 99, 197, 199)

Student Resources


Concurrent Enrollment

Please see updates in regards to Concurrent Enrollment here: 

https://chemistry.ucsd.edu/undergraduate/courses/concurrent-enrollment.html