In 2011-2012 Scott Young completed the coursework for a four year MIT Computer Science degree in 12 months. His accomplishment fascinates me. Such an intense, focused piece of work.
My grandson talked about pursuing a chemistry degree. He liked chemistry so it sounded like a good fit. I wondered what such a degree entailed and if someone could pursue it like Scott did for computer science.
To answer this, I went to the MIT website to find BS Chemistry requirements.
| UNITS REQUIRED |
| 147 | Chemistry courses |
| 154 | General Institute Requirements (GIR) |
| 301 | Total Units |
Then I compared the required courses with the courses available in the MIT Open Courses Library
| UNITS ONLINE |
| 66 | Chemistry courses |
| 154 | General Institute Requirements (GIR) |
| 220 | Total Units |
In turns out that 73% of the courses are available on-line. Unfortunately, the ones that are missing are the chemistry courses. This stands to reason. Chemistry is a study of the material world and so it requires hands-on manipulation of materials. Something that cannot be done in a virtual world. Labs are an integral part of chemistry.
Oh, sure, you can get started with biology, math, physics, other GIR courses, and the first year's chemistry to solve the myriad of chemistry problems, but to be a chemist you'll need laboratory.skills, Bottom line, you can't meet all the requirements for a BS in Chemistry by means of online courses.
BUT . . . if you want to get started on learning Chemistry, here is the list of MIT Chemistry Courses with links to the Open Course Ware and books you can read online (where books aren't available online, used versions can be purchased for less than $50 total)
| MIT Chemistry Courses |
| NUMBER | UNITS | NAME | RESOURCES | TEXTBOOK | RENT/BUY |
| 5.03 | 12 | Principles of Inorganic Chemistry I | website | | online resources |
| 5.04 | 12 | Principles of Inorganic Chemistry II (Fall 2008) | Syllabus | Chemical Applications of Group Theory, 3rd ed by Frank A Cotton | Internet Archives |
| 5.07J | 12 | Biological Chemistry I (Fall 2013) | Syllabus | Fundamentals of Biochemistry. 4th edition.by Voet, Donald, Judith Voet, and Charlotte Pratt | Internet Archives |
| 5.08J | 12 | Biological Chemistry II (Spring 2016) | Syllabus | (same as 5.07J) | |
| 5.111 | | Principles of Chemical Science (Fall 2008) | Syllabus | Chemical Principles: The Quest for Insight. 4th ed by Atkins, Peter, and Loretta Jones | Internet Archives |
| | | | Chemical Principles: The Quest for Insight/Student Study Guide and Solutions Manual. 4th ed. | $9.00 |
| 5.112 | | Principles of Chemical Science (Fall 2005) | Syllabus | (same as 5.111) | |
| 5.12 | 12 | Organic Chemistry I (Spring 2005) | Syllabus | Organic Chemistry. 5th ed.by L. G. Wade, Jr. | Internet Archives |
| | | | Solutions manual [for] Organic chemistry, fifth edition by L.G. Wade, Jr. | Internet Archives |
| 5.13 | 12 | Organic Chemistry I (Spring 2003) | Syllabus | Fundamentals of Organic Chemistry. 6th ed by McMurry, John (5th ed on Internet Archives) | $13.89 |
| | | | Study guide and solutions manual for McMurry and Simanek's Fundamentals of organic chemistry, sixth edition | Internet Archives |
| 5.351 | 4 | Fundamentals of Spectroscopy | URIECA Labs | | |
| 5.352 | 5 | Synthesis of Coordination Compounds and Kinetics | | | |
| 5.353 | 4 | Macromolecular Prodrugs | | | |
| 5.361 | 4 | Recombinant DNA Technology | | | |
| 5.362 | 5 | Cancer Drug Efficacy | | | |
| 5.363 | 4 | Organic Structure Determination | | | |
| 5.371 | 4 | Continuous Flow Chemistry | | | |
| 5.372 | 4 | Chemistry of Renewable Energy | | | |
| 5.373 | 4 | Dinitrogen Cleavage | | | |
| 5.381 | 4 | Quantum Dots | | | |
| 5.382 | 5 | Time and Frequency-Resolved Spectroscopy of Photosynthesis | | | |
| 5.383 | 4 | Fast-Flow Peptide and Protein Synthesis | | | |
| 5.39 | | Research and Communication in Chemistry | | | |
| 5.43 | | Advanced Organic Chemistry (Spring 2007) | Syllabus | Advanced Organic Chemistry, Part A: Structure and Mechanisms. 4th ed. by Carey, F. A., and R. J. Sundberg (3rd ed. on Internet Archives). | |
| | | | Heterocyclic Chemistry. 4th ed. by Joule, J. A., and K. Mills. | Internet Archives |
| 5.601 | 6 | Thermodynamics & Kinetics (Spring 2008)? | Syllabus | Physical Chemistry. 4th ed. by Silbey, R., R. Alberty, and M. Bawendi. (3rd edition on Internet Archives) | $11.85 |
| | | | Physical Chemistry. 7th ed. by Atkins, P., and J. de Paula. | 8th ed 2006 on Internet Archives |
| | | | Physical Chemistry. 3rd ed. by Castellan, G. | Google PDF |
| 5.602 | 6 | Thermodynamics II and Kinetics | | | |
| 5.611 | 6 | Introduction to Spectroscopy | Google books preview of book used in Stanford | Introduction to Spectroscopy 4th Edition by Donald L. Pavia | $11.66 |
| 5.612 | 6 | Electronic Structure of Molecules | pdf of 6.701 | | Electronic Structure of Atoms and Molecules (LibreTexts) |
| 5.62 | | Physical Chemistry (Fall 2007) | syllabus | Physical Chemistry. 7th ed. by Atkins, P., and J. de Paula. | 8th ed 2006 on Internet Archives |
| | | | Physical Chemistry. 4th ed. by Silbey, R., R. Alberty, and M. Bawendi. (3rd edition on Internet Archives) | |
| UNITS IN MAJOR | 147 | | | | |
| ON-LINE | 66 | | | |
| Legend |
| Required |
| Elective |
| Alternate elective |
| Restrictive elective in Science & Technology |
| On-line |
