Welcome to the Chemistry Department

About US

The Department of Chemistry offers Bachelor’s, Master’s and Doctoral degrees in chemistry and biochemistry.  We are committed to quality undergraduate education, and emphasize the practice of chemistry through exciting and fulfilling undergraduate research projects.  Our graduate program is regionally, nationally and internationally recognized.  Because much of northeast Ohio industry is based on chemicals and chemistry products, we are committed to improving the lives of people in the campus, community, region, state and nation through our chemical expertise.

Some facts about the department:

• First science department of Buchtel College began in 1884 by Dr. Charles M. Knight, who chaired the department till 1913
• First US laboratory course in rubber chemistry in 1886
• Home to the first PhD program at the University and had its first PhD graduate in 1956
• Currently ranked in the top 20 of chemistry PhD departments nationwide in the number of chemistry PhDs graduated
• We currently have more than $8M of modern chemical instrumentation and are nationally recognized for our mass spectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance instrument centers

Today in Chemistry

Teens conduct research with faculty mentors

A number of Akron-area teens have great stories to tell about their summer vacations, thanks to a forward-looking mentorship program that paired them with UA faculty in the sciences. Read more.