Chemistry degree?

You will need 4 labs, the only way you can waive this is if you have substancial and documented experience working in chemical laboratories.
For example if you have been working for years as a lab tech, and have used all the common techniques in wet chemistry and have gained expertise in instrumental chemistry, using UV and IR spectroscopy, HPLC and GC, etc. etc.

You can also get a Master's degree in Chemistry fully online from Lehigh University (http://cas.lehigh.edu/CASWeb/Content/default.aspx?pageid=497) or Illinois Institute of Technology (http://www.iit.edu/csl/bcps/psm/master_ac.shtml) Both reputable research institutions with Regional Accreditation.

 

If you would like to mix some bio with your chemistry, Saint Joseph College offers an online MS in Biochemistry. Here are the prereqs for this program:

PREREQUISITE ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS

The admissions requirement for this program requires a minimum G.P.A. of 2.5 and a degree in Chemistry, Biochemistry or a closely related field. Prerequisites for admission include undergraduate courses (graded with a C or better) in the following:

- 4 semesters in Chemistry with labs (at least 2 semesters of organic chemistry)
- 2 semesters of Calculus
- 2 semesters of Physics

Just as an FYI, SJC also offers an online MS in Biology (with less restrictive admission requirements). I contacted the SJC Office of Graduate and Professional Studies and and this is what I received in response to my question regarding admission to this program:

"You should have a degree in a related field. You should have 4 Bio classes with lab and also one with cell biology.

If you do not meet the requirements above, there are other things we look at such as letters of rec, letter of intent, essay if necessary, and also other college transcripts where we can calculate gpa."


Best of luck,

 

Hi Jen:

I do not want to defend Excelsior or even disagree with you, I just was informing about how it works, we may have reasonable criticisms, but that wasn't the point of my post.

At Excelsior you will need one upper level lab and at COSC you will need two, so Gen and Org Chem are not enough since they are always considered lower division.

I agree with you about the difficulty of passing a Chemistry GRE at the 80th percentile without previous preparation. But this may be possible for immigrants with foreign preparation, I know of one guy who was working as a lab tech and a chemist for more than 20 years, based on that experience he was able to waive his lab requirements, latter he took the GRE and as you said CLEP his gen ed.