Putting the Cart Before the Horse: Lack of Alignment Between Chemistry and Calculus Coursework Suggests the Need to Revisit Undergraduate Chemistry Program Guidelines

The goal of this commentary is to open a conversation regarding the alignment and relevance of the coursework required by students majoring in chemistry. By drawing from research in undergraduate mathematics, physics, and engineering education, we highlight the implications of requiring chemistry majors to take calculus-based physics: students take calculus early in their program and are being “filtered” out of STEM. For universities in the United States, it is common for undergraduate chemistry majors to start taking calculus during their first year; however, calculus is used sparingly in chemistry until the end of students’ academic careers when they take physical chemistry. Although current American Chemical Society Approval Program guidelines recommend calculus-based physics, there is flexibility, allowing algebra-based physics as an alternative. We suggest chemistry programs take a similarly flexible stance that provides avenues and scaffolding for the students we serve that do not enter the university prepared for calculus, emphasizing that students need more time to build competency in computation and reasoning skills relevant for calculus.