Chemistry

A grounding in chemistry is beneficial for all science and non-science majors and can serve as the basis for numerous careers including those in health, pharmaceutical, geological, environmental and atmospheric sciences.

Highlights

  • Our program highlights how chemistry affects each part of our modern lives and why it is often called the “central science” with a substantial overlap between both biology and physics. 
  • A low student to faculty ratio will allow you to receive personalized guidance and mentoring from faculty experts inside and outside of the classroom. 
  • You will have access to merit and need-based scholarships and awards that can be used to supplement your investment in your undergraduate education or applied towards your graduate studies.
  • You will have valuable research opportunities in many areas of chemistry — including organic, medicinal, physical, computational, biological, inorganic, analytical, organometallic, environmental and green chemistry.
  • You will have hands-on laboratory training with access to modern scientific instrumentation, including high-field nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), gas-chromatography mass-spectrometry (GC-MS), infrared, UV-visible, and fluorescence spectroscopy.
  • By joining IC’s student-led Chemistry Club, you will be involved in the community with outreach events and activities in a fun, relaxed environment. 
  • You will have opportunities to gain experience as a supplemental instructor or a laboratory teaching assistant in general and organic chemistry courses.
  • AERO-STEM scholarships are available to academically talented, low-income students interested in pursuing degrees in certain STEM fields. Visit our scholarship page to learn more. 

Outcomes 

We are committed to educating liberal arts students to think critically and independently, to communicate ideas effectively and to Graduate READY for success in any 21st-century career or graduate school. 

Over the last ten years, nearly all of our graduates who applied to professional or graduate schools have been accepted — many to more than one program. Recent alumni are training or have graduated from UCLA, U. of Colorado, and U. of Illinois (chemistry PhD); Michigan State (forensic chemistry MS); U. of Wisconsin (Biochemistry PhD); U. of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (chemical engineering PhD); and Georgia Tech (chemical engineering MS). Nearly all of our graduates who have applied to the chemical industry or the government sector have received offers of employment.