Chemistry Major
Program Description
A chemistry degree from Rockhurst University leads to success, whether you plan to continue your education in graduate school or go directly into one of the many careers for chemists.
RU’s chemistry department is accredited by ACS (American Chemical Society), and its science degrees offer a broad spectrum of courses – from organic chemistry to physical chemistry to biochemistry – designed to meet your specific needs and desired vocational objectives. Professors within our chemistry degree program work closely with you as an individual in the classroom and lab setting, and are right there beside you during independent research to provide practical, real-world exposure to important scientific questions and methods.
Our Facilities
Students earning one of RU’s many science degrees have access to seven high-standard instructional laboratories, including two devoted entirely to advanced instrumentation and two student-faculty research laboratories. You can expect opportunities for interdisciplinary research as well. Learn more about our instrumentation and facilities.
ACS Accreditation
Our chemistry degree program is accredited by ACS, signifying that this science degree program meets or exceeds national and international chemical education standards. It also differentiates you when looking for chemistry degree jobs because employers typically find graduates of ACS-approved programs to be better prepared for technical employment.
Learning Outcomes
Graduates who earn a chemistry degree from RU will be able to:
- Demonstrate proficiency in laboratory skills and communicating results.
- Analyze chemical problems and develop solutions to those problems.
- Predict how matter interacts with itself and with energy using basic chemical principles.
- Use, critically evaluate and present scientific literature.
- Demonstrate and understand the importance of ethics in scientific work.
Course Map
We offer two Bachelor of Science in chemistry degree tracks:
Both options offer access to modern instrumentation and a rigorous chemistry degree curriculum to give you the intellectual, experimental and communications skills necessary for success in the variety of chemistry degree jobs available to you post-graduation.
What Has Chemistry So Excited? A Grant for a New Atomic Absorption Instrument, Of Course
If you’re a chemist looking to analyze the amount of sodium in drinking water, magnesium in windshield glass, or iron in breakfast cereal, you’ll likely reach for an atomic absorption instrument. Read more
Experiences
- Service-learning opportunities in the community.
- Field trips to local pharmaceutical and industrial companies.
- Student-faculty undergraduate research.
- Opportunity to join our ACS-affiliated student chapter and/or our chapter of Phi Lambda Upsilon (national chemistry honor society).
Outcomes
What can you do with a chemistry degree? Graduates go on to pursue graduate education or chemistry degree jobs in a diverse range of areas including:
- Industry: chemical, pharmaceutical, food, beverages, cosmetics, petroleum, agriculture, environmental, consumer products
- Medicine and health care
- Government research/national laboratories: FDA, EPA, USDA, NIH, NIST, DOE
- Research: medical, pharmacological, material design, environmental
- Chemical manufacturing, product and process development
- Quality assurance/ quality control
- Pharmacy technician and pharmacy sales
- Occupational and environmental safety and health, industrial hygiene
- Forensic chemistry
- Chemical education
