Columbia University

Chemistry, the study of molecules, is a central science interesting for its own sake but also necessary as an intellectual link to the other sciences of biology, physics, and environmental science. Faculty find the various disciplines of chemistry fascinating because they establish intellectual bridges between the macroscopic or human-scale world that we see, smell, and touch, and the microscopic world that affects every aspect of our lives. The study of chemistry begins on the microscopic scale and extends to engage a variety of different macroscopic contexts.

Chemistry is currently making its largest impact on society at the nexus between chemistry and biology and the nexus between chemistry and engineering, particularly where new materials are being developed. A typical chemistry laboratory now has more computers than test tubes and no longer smells of rotten eggs.

The chemistry department majors are designed to help students focus on these new developments and to understand the factors influencing the nature of the discipline. Because the science is constantly changing, courses change as well, and while organic and physical chemistry remain the bedrock courses, they too differ greatly from the same courses 40 years ago. Many consider biochemistry to be a foundation course as well. Although different paths within the chemistry major take different trajectories, there is a core that provides the essential foundation students need regardless of the path they choose. Students should consider majoring in chemistry if they share or can develop a fascination with the explanatory power that comes with an advanced understanding of the nature and influence of the microscopic world of molecules.

Students who choose to major in chemistry may elect to continue graduate study in this field and obtain a Ph.D. which is a solid basis for a career in research, either in the industry or in a university. A major in chemistry also provides students with an astonishing range of career choices such as working in the chemical or pharmaceutical industries or in many other businesses where a technical background is highly desirable. Other options include becoming a financial analyst for a technical company, a science writer, a high school chemistry teacher, a patent attorney, an environmental consultant, or a hospital laboratory manager, among others. The choices are both numerous and various as well as intellectually exciting and personally fulfilling.