WHAT CAN YOU DO WITH A DEGREE IN CHEMISTRY OR BIOCHEMISTRY?

Careers

The American Chemical Society’s Committee on Professional Training ranks our program tied for No. 1 nationally among four-year colleges in the number of certified bachelor’s degrees awarded in chemistry and biochemistry. College of Charleston chemistry and biochemistry majors readily find employment.

• Employers actively seek our chemistry and biochemistry graduates.
• Recent graduates found immediate employment in positions such as pharmaceutical sales representative, research associate, industrial chemist, lab technician and forensic chemist, to name a few.

Graduate School

More than 50% of our graduates eventually pursue graduate studies in chemistry. If you plan to pursue graduate studies in chemistry or biochemistry, teaching assistantships and fellowships are available from all graduate schools.

• All of these students have received stipends, which currently range from $18,000 to $22,000 per year to pursue graduate teaching and research.
• Recent graduates are currently enrolled in graduate programs at the University of Florida, University of Massachusetts, University of California at Berkeley, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Duke University, the University of Virginia, and other prestigious institutions.

Professional School

If you plan to attend professional school, you should know that:

• Between 25 and 35% of our chemistry and biochemistry graduates go on to study medicine or dentistry.
• More than 90% of our students who pursue pre-medical studies in chemistry are accepted into medical school.

Teaching

You can also teach. The state of South Carolina has reciprocity agreements with many states, so your horizons are unlimited.

• Our graduates are actively recruited by districts within the state as well as by those in surrounding states.
• Your degree and certification can also be a solid stepping stone to careers in education administration.

Student Oriented Institution

As a chemistry or biochemistry major at the College of Charleston, you’ll be in a department where the focus is entirely on undergraduates.

• You’ll have priority access to all our facilities, equipment and research opportunities, and benefit from a variety of degree programs we’ve developed to match your career goals.
• Our chemistry and biochemistry programs are nationally known for their quality, the dedication of their faculty, and for the success of their students.

Active Learning Opportunities

Research is an important component of the academic program and we maintain an active and successful mentored research program. You can earn academic credit working with a member of the faculty as an active partner, analyzing and solving problems in creative and cooperative ways. This experience gives you a significant advantage when you apply to graduate and professional schools. Our students frequently co-author publications and they all present their research results publicly. In a recent year, our students presented their research at:

• Topical sessions, poster sessions and oral presentations at the annual meeting of the South Carolina Academy of Science.
• Poster sessions at the National Conference on Undergraduate Research, the Southeastern Regional Meeting of the American Chemical Society, the College of Charleston School of Sciences and Mathematics Poster Day, and the national meeting of the American Chemical Society.

Examples of recent student research titles include:

“Study of Metalloenzymes by Electron Spin resonance and X-Ray Fluoresnce Spectroscopy”“Spiro (Benzisothiazole Dioxides – Isoxazolines) and Pyrazole Ortho_Benzenesulfonamides: Multiple Anion Synthesis and Characterization”

“Applications of Molecular Modeling to Drug Design”

“An Investigation Into the Role That Tetrahydrobiopterin Plays in Nitric Oxide Synthase”

“Vibrational spectroscopic studies, conformations and ab initio calculations of n-propyl tichlorosilane”

“A Sequential Extraction Study of a Lead Contaminated Soil”

“The Preparation of Nitrogen Ligands for Metal Ions; Synthetic Design and Computational Analysis”

Internships. A field internship is a hands-on laboratory experience in a non-academic lab. You can earn up to four hours of credit through such experiences.

Lab assistants. You can further enhance your professional résumé by serving as an assistant to instructional faculty in teaching labs.

Other Special Opportunities

Student Challenge Math and Science Bowl. You can join faculty monitors for this unique annual academic competition for Lowcountry high school students.

Alpha Chi Sigma (chemistry fraternity). Our chapter of this national organization provides you with the chance to connect both professionally and socially with other students in the program.

Supplemental instruction. Selected students have the opportunity to take on the role of a paid student teacher in after-hours help sessions, assisting other students.

Seminar series. Each year, the department sponsors more than a dozen seminars and lectures by experts on a variety of topics related to chemistry and biochemistry. A small sample of recent speakers includes:

• Meg Landis of Pfizer, Inc. (“Career Opportunities for Chemists at Pfizer Global Research and Development”)
• Geoffrey Smith of the University of Georgia (“Studying the Chemical Transformation of Atmospheric Aerosols in the Laboratory”)
• Sergey Krupenko of the Medical University of South Carolina (“The Role of Folate and Folate Enzymes in Cellular Function”)
• Karen Becker of Becker & Associates Consulting (“The Science and Business of New Healthcare Products”)

“I’ve had amazing opportunities to do quality research – with fellow students and my faculty mentor – both inside and outside of a lab. On occasion, the results of our work have been published in professional journals. I’ve also had the chance to present research results at the college and at national and regional meetings of scientific organizations. It's been a rewarding experience that has left me better prepared for graduate school.”

John Knight ’07