Chemistry
Chemistry is sometimes called “the central science” for good reason—it is an incredibly versatile field of study.
So versatile, in fact, that Penn State Behrend offers you four options for tailoring your B.S. in Chemistry to your career goals: General Chemistry, the most traditional option, is a solid foundation for chemistry- and health-related employment or graduate study; Biochemistry, which applies the principles of chemistry to biological systems, is the starting point for your career in molecular biology, genetics, and microbiology; Business, if you’re looking for a technical degree that can prepare you to market or sell products in chemistry-dependent industries such as pharmaceuticals, foods, or cosmetics; and Education, if you picture yourself teaching in a secondary-school setting.
All Chemistry majors first study the fundamentals of general, organic, and analytical chemistry. Later coursework includes physical and inorganic chemistry, chemical instrumentation, and chemical literature, along with biochemistry, spectroscopy, crystallography, and other focused topics.
Why Penn State Behrend?
Penn State Behrend’s B.S. in Chemistry is an American Chemical Society-approved degree, which is your assurance of program rigor, faculty accomplishment, and curricular relevance. Other program strengths include:
- State-of-the-art laboratories that recently underwent a $6 million upgrade.
- New laboratory ventilation systems, secured and ventilated storage space, dedicated space for advanced chemistry, and a high-end instrumentation lab.
- A required hands-on industrial internship or undergraduate research experience to ensure that you graduate with real-world experience. Research experiences, which are overseen by a faculty mentor, frequently result in presentations at regional and national professional conferences.
- Financial support for your undergraduate research experience, either from $350,000 in annual college-wide funding or from your faculty mentor’s external grants. Chemistry-specific scholarships; $20,000 is awarded to chemistry majors each year.
- Four options to customize your degree to your interests. Within these options, you can prepare for direct entry to technical, laboratory, sales, or marketing positions; for master’s- or doctoral-level graduate education; for professional education in the fields of medicine or pharmacy; or for teacher-certification training.