Welcome to the Chemistry Department
About the Department
 The Department of Chemistry offers
different tracks leading to a B.S. in
chemistry, including two tracks that
are certified by the American
Chemical Society (ACS). These tracks
foster development and expression of
rational thought and help prepare
students for admission to Ph.D.
programs in chemistry, related
professional fields (such as medicine
and pharmacy), and positions in the
chemical and related industries. We
have seven major tracks that lead to
the B.S.
- chemistry ACS-certified
- chemistry
- biochemistry
- biochemistry-ACS certified
- dual degree in chemical engineering
(3-2 program)
- chemistry/teacher certification
The accelerated track for
pharmacy permits the student, if accepted at a
participating pharmacy school, to
complete only three years at Salisbury
University and earn a B.S. in
chemistry from SU after successful
completion of one year of chemistry-related courses at
the pharmacy school.
Chemistry Professions
 Indeed, because chemistry explains
the molecular basis of life and how
medicines work, a chemistry degree,
particularly our biochemistry track, is
a great way to prepare for careers in
medicine, pharmacy, dentistry and
other health-related professions.
Because forensics uses chemical and
biochemical techniques to analyze
evidence gathered from crime scenes,
you will find a number of chemists
employed in forensics labs.
| "There is a single light of science, and to brighten it
anywhere is to brighten it everywhere."
— Isaac Asimov, Author
and Professor of Biochemistry |
A B.S. in chemistry may be useful
for a number of other careers
including law, IT, and the
development and testing of new
materials that are used in numerous ways (car parts, agricultural products,
medicines, plastics for toys or medical
equipment, and more). A number of
careers typically open to those with a
chemistry degree are identified on the
ACS Web site (www.acs.org) via the
careers in chemistry links.
Chemistry Faculty
 The
chemistry faculty at SU are
dedicated to teaching their
undergraduate students. They
maintain a nearly open-door policy.
Many of the faculty hold review
sessions, problem sessions and homework sessions in addition to their
office hours. They cannot learn the
material for you, but they will design
lectures, activities and assignments to
help you learn the material, and they
will try to make themselves available
for some time outside of class to help
you with the course material.
At SU, the upper-level chemistry
classes tend to be small, which
permits some one-on-one interaction
between students and faculty. Your
absence in these classes will be
noticed. Even the general chemistry
classes are typically kept to class sizes
of 66 or less with 22 students in a lab.
Faculty tend to know chemistry
majors by sight and by name. Faculty
also tend to interact with the
chemistry club, “The Chem Society.”
With some faculty in attendance,
members of this club have gone
bowling, had end-of-the-semester
picnics and had weekly barbecues. In addition, they have assisted faculty
with demonstration shows and other
presentations. They have been known
to have fun while conducting
fundraisers. All chemistry majors
and minors are invited to join
The Chem Society.
Hands-on Opportunities
 Hands-on Opportunities
It is the department’s philosophy to
provide access to as much current
chemistry instrumentation as possible
during the completion of your degree.
For example, through regular
coursework, our students will operate
the department’s FTIR with and without an ATR, UV-Vis, HPLC,
GC, GC-Mass Spec, AA (or ICP), as
well as the department’s $300,000 400
MHz NMR spectrometer.
Students may expand their handson
experience through research with
chemistry faculty. Chemistry research
means making discoveries that are
not in the textbooks, giving you the
self-reliance and problem-solving
flexibility that mark you as
uniquely capable as a future
grad student or employee.
In addition to research
opportunities, students can also apply
to be lab assistants helping to set up experiments. Lab assistants typically
work in the general chemistry,
organic or biochemistry labs. Those
interested in teaching, or simply
learning the chemistry concepts even
better than when they took the class,
may also apply for positions as
grading assistants for faculty.
Grading assistants typically grade
homework sets and occasionally
quizzes. Both lab assistants and
grading assistants are paid.
"Chemistry itself knows altogether too well that —given the real fear that the scarcity of global resources
and energy might threaten the unity of mankind—chemistry is in a position to make a contribution toward securing
a true peace on earth."
— Kenichi Fukui, Co-recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1981 with Roald Hoffman |
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