As a chemistry and chemical biology major, you’ll learn logical thinking and creative problem solving and can either dive deep following a traditional curriculum or pursue a flexible program that may be ideal for those with alternative career goals. The department’s research areas include inorganic, materials, organic, analytical and physical chemistry, as well as chemical biology.
Requirements
Want to start right away? Here are some basic requirements for students wanting to major in chemistry. Keep in mind this isn’t the complete list of formal requirements — that list can be found on the Courses of Study page.
Earning the chemistry degree involves completing 60 credits of required courses:
- Core courses cover:
- Introductory Chemistry (combined lecture and laboratory),
- Organic Chemistry (lecture and one core laboratory course),
- Inorganic Chemistry (lecture course),
- Physical Chemistry (lecture and one core laboratory course),
- Calculus (lecture), and
- Physics (combined lecture and laboratory);
- Upper-level laboratory courses; and
- Upper-level electives in chemistry, chemical biology, and related areas
Sample classes
- Entrepreneurship in Chemical Enterprise
- Introduction to Quantum Chemistry
- Information Literacy for the Physical Scientist
- Chemistry of Natural Products: Combinatorial Chemistry
Outcomes
All information below is based on the 2014-2018 First-Destination Post-Graduate Survey. Lists are not exhaustive; rather, they are a sampling of the data. "Other" includes time off, travel, volunteer experiences, and/or preparing for graduate school. If you would like more information, please email as_careers@cornell.edu
42% Employed
50% Attending Grad School
4% Seeking Employment
4% Other
67% of the Class of 2014-2018 Chemistry & Chemical Biology graduates completed the survey. n = 242
Below, you will find:
- Top Employment Sectors
- Where Graduates Work
- Top Graduate Fields
- Where Graduates Study
Top Employment Sectors
- Education (26%)
- Biotech/Pharma/Life Sciences (12%)
- Nonprofit Organization (12%)
- Government (10%)
- Manufacturing (9%)
- Health and Human Services (9%)
- Consulting/Prof. Practice (7%)
- Law (4%)
- Agriculture (3%),
- Business - Other (3%)
- Communications & Media (1%), Financial Services (1%), Technology (1%)
Where 2014-2018 Chemistry & Chemical Biology Graduates Work
| Employer | Job Titles |
|---|---|
| Alnylam Pharmaceuticals | Temporary Chemist |
| AmeriCorps VISTA | Opioid Addiction Response Specialist |
| Amneal Pharmaceuticals | Quality Control Specialist |
| Baruch S. Blumberg Institute | Junior Apprentice Researcher |
| Beyond Meat | Food Technologist |
| Boston Children's Hospital | Clinical Research Coordinator |
| Bringham & Women's Hospital | Clinical Research Assistant Research Assistant |
| Broad Institute | Research Assistant |
| Central California Intellectual Property Group | Legal Assistant |
| City of Austin Health & Human Services Department | Communicable Disease Program Coordinator |
| City Year | Legal Administration Assistant |
| Colegio Rosa-bell | Teacher |
| College Achieve Central Charter Schools | Middle School Science Teacher |
| Columbia University | Clinical Research Coordinator |
| Dean and Company | Analyst |
| Delbarton School | Math and Science Teacher |
| Deloitte Consulting | Business Analyst |
| Duke Clinical Research Institute | Research Assistant |
| E&J Gallo Winery | Chemistry Intern |
| Epic Systems | Technical Problem Solver |
| Exeter Group, Inc. | Consultant |
| EY | Business Advisory Consultant |
| GlaxoSmithKline | Associate Scientist |
| Gloria Ferrer Caves & Vineyards | Harvest Lab Enologist |
| Healthcare Legal Solutions LLC | Paralegal |
| Hospital for Special Surgery |
Research Assistant |
| Hycor Biomedical | Research Associate |
| Lancaster Rehabilitation Center | Certified Nursing Assistant |
| LANXESS Solutions US | Urethanes Lab Technician |
| Massachusetts Institute of Technology | Senior Research Support Associate |
| Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center | Research Technician Research Study Associate |
| Morgan Stanley | Financial Advisor Associate |
| Mount Sinai Medical Center | Research Assistant Associate Researcher |
| National Institutes of Health | PREP Program Participant Post-baccalaureate IRTA Research Fellow Post-baccalaureate IRTA Trainee Research Assistant |
| Phillips 66 | Lab Technician |
| Procter & Gamble | Researcher |
| Product Safety Labs | Analytical Chemist |
| Reckitt Benckiser | R&D Future Leaders Program Associate |
| Rockefeller University | Research Assistant (2) |
| SellUP | Data Analyst |
| Shell | Refinery Process Chemist |
| Teach for America | Teacher |
| Ultra Tab Laboratories | Chemist |
| Underwriters Laboratories LLC | Chemist |
| United States Air Force | Bioenvironmental Engineering Officer |
| United States Department of Agriculture | Dairy Scientist |
| University of California at San Francisco | Research/Project Assistant |
| University of Michigan | Lab Technician |
| Weill Cornell Medicine | Research Technician (4) |
| Yale Orthopedics | Clinical Research Fellow |
| ZS Associates | Consultant |
Top Graduate Fields Pursued
- Chemistry & Chemical Biology (43%)
- Medicine (20%)
- Biomedical Engineering (6%)
- Materials Science Engineering (4%)
- Pharmacology (4%)
- Dentistry (2%), Biochemistry, Molecular & Cell Biology (2%)
- Art Conservation & Art History (1%), Chemical Engineering (1%), Law (1%), Nutrition (1%), Plant Biology (1%), Public Health (1%), Public Policy (1%), Molecular & Cell Bio (1%)
Graduate Degrees Pursued
- PhD (56%)
- MD (15%)
- MEN (6%)
- MS (5%)
- MD/PhD (5%)
- Cert. (2%)
- Master's (2%)
- DDS (1%), DO (1%), JD (1%), MPH (1%), MPP (1%), MSA/MBA (1%), DMD (1%), PharmD (1%)
Where 2014-2018 Chemistry & Chemical Biology Graduates Study
- Albert Einstein College of Medicine
- California Institute of Technology
- Columbia University In The City of New York
- Cornell University
- Duke University
- George Washington University
- Georgetown University
- Gerstner Sloan-Kettering School of Biomed. Sci.
- Harvard University
- Johns Hopkins University
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- New York Institute of Technology
- New York Medical College
- New York University
- Northeastern University
- Northwestern University
- Princeton University
- Roswell Park Cancer Institute Medical Dosimetry
- Rutgers University
- Scripps Research Institute
- Stanford University
- Suny Downstate Medical College
- Tri-Institutional PhD Program in Chemical Biology
- University of California-Berkeley
- University of California-Los Angeles
- University of California-San Diego
- University of California-San Francisco
- University of Cambridge
- University of Chicago
- University of Colorado At Boulder
- University of Edinburgh
- University of Illinois At Urbana-Champaign
- University of Massachusetts-Worcester
- University of Minnesota-Twin Cities
- University of North Carolina
- University of Oxford
- University of Pennsylvania
- University of San Francisco
- University of Southern California
- University of Texas
- University of Virginia
- University of Wisconsin-Madison
- Washington University In St Louis
- Weill Cornell School of Medicine
- Yale University
