So you’re interested in chemistry?

Perhaps you’re pretty sure that chemistry is the subject you want to major in, or, perhaps, it is just one of several possibilities.

Perhaps you’re not sure what a chemist really does after college.

Some of the pages on this site may help you decide if chemistry is for you, and, if so, what our program can offer you. They may also help you understand the differences between chemistry and chemical engineering, something that confuses a lot of students.

Our department of chemistry and chemical biology offers an environment that is at the forefront of research while being small enough for you to receive individual attention from faculty. Innovative teaching methods and small laboratory sections with research grade instruments allow us to offer an excellent formal instructional program, while our enthusiastic support of undergraduate research allows you to participate in exciting discoveries at all stages of your undergraduate career if you wish to do so.

Our research programs reach across the campus and beyond, linking together departments, schools, interdisciplinary centers. They stimulate the integration of inquiry, new knowledge, and education. The quality of our program is widely recognized, and our graduates are accepted into internationally recognized graduate and professional programs and excellent industrial positions. The Rensselaer Chemical Society (RCS) gives you the opportunity to interact with other chemistry undergraduate in all years and participate in a variety of informal, chemistry related activities.

The many opportunities for elective courses in our Chemistry and Chemical Biology curricula allow you to explore other subjects in some depth if you so desire, and most importantly, provide the opportunity to focus on a variety of interdisciplinary areas that is very important in today’s scientific research. The curriculum is flexible and broad enough that, in the event you decide that you do not really want a career in chemistry after graduation, you are prepared for a variety of alternatives. Medicine and law are two of the professions that you would be prepared to pursue, but there are many others.

Please look around our web site, and if there are any questions that you have about our department and educational program, don’t hesitate to contact us.

Oh, just a word about our name. The term “chemical biology” is defined as the application of chemical techniques to solve biological problems. Our name reflects the fact that many of our students and faculty are interested in the chemistry-biology interface.