75th Anniversary of the ACS Committee on Professional Training
For 75 years, the Committee on Professional Training (CPT) has promoted excellence in postsecondary education and provided leadership to the ACS in the professional training of chemists.
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The Committee on Professional Training (CPT) was established by a vote of the ACS Council on April 13, 1936, as a permanent committee to develop standards for curriculum, facilities, and faculty and was granted the authority to evaluate chemistry programs’ compliance with those standards. CPT continues to perform this service for the American Chemical Society and undergraduate programs in chemistry. As of June 30, 2010, 661 colleges and universities appeared on this list of ACS-approved schools.
For 75 years, the ACS Committee on Professional Training has maintained standards, administered an approval process for chemistry degree programs (at no charge to the institutions), and conducted studies on trends in higher education. Chemistry is the only science to benefit from published standards for the education of professionals in the field and to provide regular review and feedback to departments offering those degrees. The Committee’s surveys provide data on emerging issues to inform the approval process and the academic community. The ACS approval process nurtures the continued development of academic chemistry programs and the preparation of the professional chemists of the future.
CPT describes the requirements for program approval and student certification are described in the ACS Guidelines for Bachelor’s Degree Programs. CPT also makes available a series of supplements designed to provide information relevant to the design of the undergraduate chemistry curriculum, development of student skills, and program development beyond that provided by the ACS Guidelines and Evaluation Procedures for Bachelor’s Degree Programs.
Join CPT in celebrating its 75th anniversary this year. Visit www.acs.org/cpt for more information.