Our chemistry program blends a long history of excellence with modern, high-impact, student-centered teaching.
The majors in the Chemistry and Biochemistry Department prepare students for a wide variety of careers in science. All of our majors take classes in the traditional disciplines of chemistry – analytical, biochemistry, organic, inorganic, and physical – as well as classes in physics and math. Students interested in pursuing health-related professions or biochemistry will also take a variety of classes in biology. We also have a seminar program which allows students to explore topics in depth that interest them that are not covered in our standard curriculum. All students in our majors will also get plenty of experience in the laboratory with the opportunity to do research with faculty.
Chemists study matter – what it is made of, how it interacts, and why it reacts the way it does. Biochemists apply that knowledge and study to the matter in living organisms. Chemists and biochemists develop new materials, new (environmentally-friendly, cheaper, safer) ways to make existing materials, research how drugs work, how to improve existing drugs, and how to make new drugs for old and new diseases. Biochemists and chemists make sure that food and drugs contain what they are supposed to and nothing they are not supposed to. Chemists and Biochemists test materials to make sure that they behave the way they should. Biochemists and chemists apply what they know about science to impact human and animal heath.
The department offers six different majors which are tailored to the interests and professional aspirations of our students:
- Chemistry
- A.C.S. Certified Chemistry
- Biochemistry
- Chemistry Pre-Medicine
- Chemistry Pre-Pharmacy
- Chemistry Engineering Dual-Degree
what you'll learn
Why study Chemistry or Biochemistry? Students who major in chemistry or biochemistry will be prepared for many future professions. You can get a job with your bachelor’s degree in research, development, analysis, or product safety. You can continue on to graduate school to earn a PhD and work in industry or academia to develop new pharmaceuticals, materials, batteries, solar technology, or to research how matter reacts to lead to new understanding of the universe. You can continue from Capital to a professional school to become a doctor, pharmacist, physician’s assistant, dentist, optometrist, veterinarian, etc. A degree in Chemistry or Biochemistry from Capital will prepare you for a successful future.
Where You'll Go
You'll also have the opportunity for internships at world-class, Columbus-based research facilities like Battelle, and Dow Corning, Eli Lilly and the Columbus Police Crime Lab. These internships will help you apply your chemical knowledge to practical, real-world problems, and help you enter the workforce or get into graduate school after you graduate. The record of Capital’s chemistry graduates is outstanding. More than 100 of our graduates have earned their doctorates in chemistry, while another 75 have completed work at the master’s level.
Today, our graduates are professional chemists at such corporations as:
- Dow Chemical
- Monsanto
- Upjohn
- Armco Steel
- Eli Lilly
- Proctor and Gamble
- Arco
Nearly half of Capital’s chemistry alumni who have earned their doctorates are involved in graduate-level teaching at schools like these:
- Duke University
- Penn State University
- University of Minnesota
- Case Western Reserve
- Temple University
- University of California
- U.S. Air Force Academy
- Justus Leibigs University in Giessen, Germany
Others are in research positions at government labs: Argonne National Labs, U.S.D.A., U.S. Geological Survey and the National Eye Institute. A number of chemistry graduates have continued on to medical school and are associated with institutions such as the Mayo Clinic, Johns Hopkins and Washington University in St. Louis. Still others are pursuing teaching careers in secondary education.