chemistry is central to modern science
and most phenomena in biology medicine
geology and the environmental sciences
and can be described in terms of the
chemical and physical behavior of atoms
and molecules the undergraduate
curriculum in chemistry exposes the
student to the principal areas of modern
chemistry including organic inorganic
physical analytical and biochemistry a
degree in chemistry opens the door to a
wide variety of industrial careers such
as electronic materials biotechnology
medicinal chemistry pharmaceuticals food
chemistry forensics or nanotechnology
others have entered government service
as research chemists in the Food and
Drug Administration the Environmental
Protection Agency DOD DOE or law
enforcement crime laboratories fields
such as patent law commercial
development and scientific writing are
open to graduates many chemistry majors
go on to university graduate programs
across the nation to prepare for careers
in academia government or industry the
UC Santa Cruz chemistry and biochemistry
department offers both the chemistry
Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Arts
The Bachelor of Science degree should be
the choice if a student is interested in
working in industry immediately after
college The Bachelor of Science program
also provides a good background for
graduate work in chemistry The Bachelor
of Arts program has fewer requirements
and should be considered by students who
wish to take more science courses
outside of chemistry to enter an
interdisciplinary area examples might be
aquatic chemistry geochemistry chemical
physics mathematics environmental
chemistry or Health Sciences The
Bachelor of Arts might be a good choice
for students who wish to become high
school teachers for both degrees the
courses stress the fundamentals of
chemistry and allow students to pursue
independent research becoming involved
in research is an excellent opportunity
for chemistry majors for students interested in
pursuing graduate school undergraduate
research is a way of expanding your
education outside of the classroom as
well as a way to better prepare yourself
for the rigors of graduate study a
research experience can greatly enhance
your education and further your
preparation for industry business and
professional schools
additionally there are summer internship
opportunities available for high school
students community college students and
undergraduates such as access and Mark
study abroad is an outstanding feature
available for UC Santa Cruz education
students who wish to engage in this
opportunity should work with their
adviser early on to plan expectations
and next steps some UC Santa Cruz
graduates are working as researchers in
industry in the areas such as food
textiles medicinal drugs and petroleum
others have entered government service
as research chemists in the Food and
Drug Administration the Environmental
Protection Agency or law enforcement
crime laboratories fields such as patent
law commercial development and
scientific writing are open to graduates
many chemistry majors go on to
university graduate programs across the
nation to prepare for careers in
research teaching or both the degree in
chemistry also provides a strong
disciplinary background in preparation
for a career in the most important area
of science teaching in high school a
major in chemistry is also an excellent
beginning to one of the many
opportunities in the Health Sciences for
more information about our majors and
courses offered please visit our website
at chemistry.ucsc.edu
