Students at Stony Brook University are placed in one of three General Chemistry I offerings as their first chemistry class towards their major. The Department of Chemistry uses the Online Chemistry Placement and Preparation (OCPP) process to not only to place students in the most appropriate course, but also to prepare them for a good performance in the class. We emphasize that there is no grade associated with the OCPP process that goes into your Stony Brook University transcript.
The Spring 2027 OCPP Course is an online process implemented with the Mastering Chemistry software from Pearson. This is the online environment where you will be working to complete the OCPP work. The Spring 2027 OCPP course, in turn, is embedded in the OCPP Chemistry Placement - Spring 2027 Brightspace site at Stony Brook University.
While enrollment in the OCPP course is free of charge, it is important to note that after enrollment a student has at most 12 weeks (84 days) to complete the required objective(s) (although in most cases the deadlines set up by Academic Advising will be due well before the 12 weeks access code expires).
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Spring 2027: only General Chemistry IB, CHE 131, is offered in the Spring semester. This option is appropriate for freshman, transfer, continuing, and non-matriculated students that satisfy the requirements and co-requisites for the courses.
Please note that you will not be able to register in CHE 131 until you complete the required OCPP work.
First year students: the deadline for first year students to complete the OCPP work is Monday January 4, 2027.
If you have any questions concerning Academic Advising for first year students, including problems with satisfying the deadline, please contact your general advisor/advising unit.
For incoming undergraduate students: you can find contact information for your advisors in your StartSBU Portal.
Transfer students: Incoming transfer students needing to complete the OCPP Placement and Preparation process for the Spring 2027 registration will see an OCPP item on their checklist in their Stony Brook portal. The requirement for students to go through the OCPP process is based upon a thorough review of their transcripts, the major (and/or pre-health plans) that they are pursuing at Stony Brook University, and whether they need to take the OCPP in their first semester at Stony Brook. Choosing not to take the OCPP when listed on the student's checklist can lead to significant delays in their graduation date. It is in the student's best interest to complete the OCPP as soon as possible (as per the student's checklist instructions) since the student can only receive a Registration Workshop to choose Spring 2027 classes once the OCPP is completed along with any other checklist requirements. In short, a delay in going through the OCPP process as directed often leads to larger delays in completing science major requirements and fulfilling prehealth prerequisites. Consequently, taking the OCPP is a crucial step on the road to academic success.
Continuing students: the Spring 2027 OCPP course closes on Monday February 1 at 8:00 AM (but the required OCPP objectives close on Sunday January 31 at 11:45 PM). However you should plan on finishing the OCPP work well in advance of that date, as it is very likely that by early January all seats in General Chemistry I will already be taken.
For current undergraduate students looking for general academic advising: you can use the Find Your Advisor Tool.
Specific instructions for registering in the Spring 2027 OCPP course may be found in the section "Registration Instructions to the Mastering Chemistry Spring 2027 OCPP Course" in the webpage "Guidance and Instructions" selected from the menu at the top of this page.