Apply/Maintain ACS Approval

Apply for Approval

The ACS Committee on Professional Training is responsible for establishing guidelines and procedures for the approval of bachelor’s degree programs in chemistry. The staff of the Office of Professional Training are responsible for administering the ACS approval process. The ACS Guidelines contain requirements for ACS approval and describe the steps in the approval process.

Pre-Application

(Step 3.1 on page 18 of the ACS Guidelines booklet)

The first step in the application process is the completion of the pre-application form, which is a locked-format Word document. Please contact Darrell Alexander or Derrick Hendricks in the Office of Professional Training, 202-872-4589, if you have any questions about the form. Please be sure to complete all questions on the pre-application form. Any forms with missing information will be returned.

You may submit the pre-application form during two, 30-day periods each calendar year. Any forms received outside of those application windows will be returned.

October 1 – October 30
April 16 – May 15

Please submit your completed pre-application form to cpt@acs.org. No additional documentation or cover letter is required.

Review by CPT

(Step 3.2 on page 20 of the ACS Guidelines booklet)

Following the October 2008 submission period, CPT will review all of the completed pre-application forms that are received.

Response from Secretary of CPT

(Step 3.3 on page 20 of the ACS Guidelines booklet)

Within two months of the closing deadline (by December 30, 2008), the Secretary of CPT will report the outcome of CPT’s review to the department chair by letter. Two outcomes are possible.

The applicant does not meet the requirements covered in the pre-application form. The deficiencies will be listed in the letter to the chair. The department may submit a new pre-application after further development of the program, as soon as the next submission period, if appropriate.
The applicant meets the requirements covered in the pre-application form. The department will be invited to submit a full application package. The department has 12 months to complete and submit the full application package after receiving the invitation to do so.

The instructions and forms for the full application package will be posted on this site near the end of this year (2008).

Maintaining Approval

Annual Review

Institutions must report the following annually to the ACS Committee on Professional Training:

number of degrees granted by the chemistry program
graduates and the certification status of the baccalaureate graduates
supplemental information on the curriculum and faculty

The Committee reviews the report for completeness and consistency with the ACS guidelines and may request additional information.

Statistical information about the numbers of graduates at various levels is summarized and published by the Committee each year.

Periodic Review

To ensure compliance with the ACS guidelines, approved programs must submit a periodic report about their program.

See the ACS Guidelines for details on maintaining ACS approval.