Originally Posted by Val
No or few labs is the new normal. Labs are expensive, and there's a trend among colleges and universities to cut them or not require them. It's depressing.

That's a shame. Science is inherently a hands-on discipline. It's not just about learning what others have discovered; it's got to be about learning how to discover new stuff for yourself. Also, it's much less interesting without the lab. (not that I wouldn't have given anything at the time to not have to do organic chemistry lab; the number of chemical burns I sustained in the class . . . ugh).