Introduction

Please click here to see Chemistry Department information.

Beginning with the Fall 2022 term, the Biochemistry Undergraduate Certificate is available to undergraduate non-degree seeking students. Degree seeking undergraduate students should consider completing the Biochemistry Minor. 

Program Delivery

• This is an on-campus program.

Declaring This Certificate

These program requirements are subject to periodic revision by the academic department, and the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences reserves the right to make exceptions and substitutions as judged necessary in individual cases. Therefore, the College strongly urges students to consult regularly with their Biochemistry advisor to confirm the best plans of study before finalizing them.

General Requirements

Students must satisfy all requirements as outlined below and by the department offering the certificate. 

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Certificate Requirements

1. Students must complete a minimum of 15 credit hours chosen from the approved courses.
2. Students must complete a minimum of six upper-division (3000-level and above) credit hours chosen from the approved courses below.
3. Students must earn a minimum grade of C (2.0) in all courses that apply to the certificate and must achieve a minimum cumulative certificate GPA of 2.7. Courses taken using P+/P/F or S/U grading cannot apply to certificate requirements.
4. Students must complete 15 credit hours from the approved required and elective courses with CU Denver faculty.

Certificate Restrictions, Allowances and Recommendations

1. All courses applied to the Biochemistry Certificate need to be taken within ten years of the graduation date with the exception of General Chemistry I and II Lecture and Lab: CHEM 2031 General Chemistry I, CHEM 2032 Majors General Chemistry I, CHEM 2038 General Chemistry Laboratory I, CHEM 2039 Majors General Chemistry I Laboratory, CHEM 2061 General Chemistry II, CHEM 2062 Majors General Chemistry II, CHEM 2068 General Chemistry Laboratory II, and CHEM 2069 Majors General Chemistry II Laboratory. In the event that the student would like to apply for expired credit for CHEM 3481 Majors Organic Chemistry I, the student will need to test at the 50th percentile on the ACS Standardized Exam for Organic Chemistry I.  
2. Prerequisite courses do not have to be completed at CU Denver. Required courses including electives must be completed in residency at CU Denver. Any residency exemptions need to be approved in writing by the Biochemistry advisor prior to the course(s) being taken at another institution.

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
Students should be aware of and complete appropriate prerequisite courses before beginning the certificate. The following represent common prerequisites-check each individaul course to better understand the specific prerequisites required:
CHEM 2031	General Chemistry I
or CHEM 2032	Majors General Chemistry I
CHEM 2038	General Chemistry Laboratory I
or CHEM 2039	Majors General Chemistry I Laboratory
or CHEM 2088	Honors General Chemistry I Laboratory
CHEM 2061	General Chemistry II
or CHEM 2062	Majors General Chemistry II
CHEM 2068	General Chemistry Laboratory II
or CHEM 2069	Majors General Chemistry II Laboratory
or CHEM 2098	Honors General Chemistry II Laboratory
BIOL 2010	Organisms to Ecosystems (Gen Bio)
or BIOL 2030	Honors Organisms to Ecosystems (Gen Bio)
BIOL 2011	Organisms to Ecosystems Lab (Gen Bio)
or BIOL 2031	Honors Organisms to Ecosystems Lab (Gen Bio)
BIOL 2020	Molecules to Cells (Gen Bio)
or BIOL 2040	Honors Molecules to Cells (Gen Bio)
BIOL 2021	Molecules to Cells Lab (Gen Bio)
or BIOL 2041	Honors Molecules to Cells Lab (Gen Bio)
CHEM 3411	Organic Chemistry I
or CHEM 3481	Majors Organic Chemistry I
CHEM 3418	Organic Chemistry Lab I
or CHEM 3488	Majors Organic Chemistry Laboratory I
CHEM 3421	Organic Chemistry II
or CHEM 3491	Majors Organic Chemistry II
CHEM 3428	Organic Chemistry Lab II
or CHEM 3498	Majors Organic Chemistry Laboratory II

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
Complete the following required courses:		6
BIOL 3611	General Cell Biology
CHEM 4810	General Biochemistry I
or CHEM 3810	Biochemistry
or CHEM 5810	Graduate Biochemistry I
Complete one of the following Biochemistry courses:		3
CHEM 4411	Bioconjugate Techniques and Theranostic Nanomedicine
CHEM 4815	Structural Biology of Neurodegenerative Diseases
CHEM 4820	General Biochemistry II
CHEM 4825	Biochemistry of Metabolic Disease
CHEM 4835	Biochemistry of Gene Regulation and Cancer
CHEM 4845	Molecular Modeling and Drug Design
CHEM 4860	Bioinorganic Chemistry: Bioinorganic compounds in medicine
CHEM 5830	Graduate Biochemistry II
Complete a minimum of 6 credits from the following Biochemistry elective courses, not already completed:		6
BIOL 3124	Introduction to Molecular Biology
BIOL 3226	Human Physiology
BIOL 3763
BIOL 3804	Developmental Biology
BIOL 3832	General Genetics
BIOL 4064	Cell Biology of Disease
BIOL 4125	Molecular Biology Laboratory
BIOL 4144	Medical Microbiology
BIOL 4165	Neurobiology
CHEM 3011	Inorganic Chemistry
CHEM 3111	Analytical Chemistry
CHEM 4121	Instrumental Analysis
CHEM 4411	Bioconjugate Techniques and Theranostic Nanomedicine
CHEM 4511	Physical Chemistry: Thermodynamics and Kinetics
CHEM 4521	Physical Chemistry: Quantum and Spectroscopy
CHEM 4815	Structural Biology of Neurodegenerative Diseases
CHEM 4820	General Biochemistry II
CHEM 4825	Biochemistry of Metabolic Disease
CHEM 4860	Bioinorganic Chemistry: Bioinorganic compounds in medicine
CHEM 5830	Graduate Biochemistry II
PHYS 3151 & PHYS 3161	Biophysics Outlook I and Biophysics Outlook II 1
PHYS 3452	Biophysics of the Cell NM
PSYC 3832	Neural Basis of Learning
Total Hours		15

¹

These two one-credit courses together fulfill one elective requirement.

To learn more about the Student Learning Outcomes for this program, please visit our website.