Each year, groups of MIT freshmen are introduced to MIT’s laboratory environment through a four-week intensive January course called 5.301 Chemistry Lab Techniques. The stakes are high—students who pass the class are guaranteed a job in an MIT research lab. 

OpenCourseWare documented the experience of 14 students who took this course in January 2012. Follow their journey over 11 episodes and watch as they struggled with, but ultimately mastered, the techniques needed to be successful in an MIT chemistry lab.

WARNING NOTICE

The experiments described in these materials are potentially hazardous. Among other things, the experiments should include the following safety measures: a high level of safety training, special facilities and equipment, the use of proper personal protective equipment, and supervision by appropriate individuals. You bear the sole responsibility, liability, and risk for the implementation of such safety procedures and measures. MIT and Dow shall have no responsibility, liability, or risk for the content or implementation of any of the material presented. Legal Notice