Chemistry
Major, Minor
Degree: Bachelor of Science

Chemistry, the science of matter, is at the heart of everything we do. This is a vital, creative field, intellectually challenging and a solid foundation for careers in fields as diverse as art, business, law, medicine and technology.
The Union College Chemistry Department, certified by the American Chemical Society, is characterized by small classes and laboratory settings; an outstanding collection of chemical instrumentation; and dedicated, accessible faculty with expertise in everything from organic and inorganic chemistry to analytical, forensic and environmental chemistry.
You will encounter extraordinary opportunities for research and for internships. You’ll be exposed to research talks and career advice from industrial, academic and government chemists during a weekly seminar series. And you will benefit from studying chemistry within the context of a liberal arts college, where you may simultaneously explore your interests in arts, classics, history, economics and many other disciplines.
Courses and requirements
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Courses
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Major - Chemistry, A.C.S., B.S.
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Major - Chemistry, Basic, B.S.
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Interdepartmental major
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Minor
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Facilities
Our facilities and instrumentation are top-notch. Major instruments available to undergraduates include a 400 MHz nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometer, research-grade mass spectrometers, liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry, thermogravimetric analyzer, scanning electron microscope, atomic absorption spectrometer, voltammetric analyzer, atomic force microscope, IR and Raman microscopes and much more.
In addition, the Peter Irving Wold Center is home to the Aerogel Fabrication, Characterization and Applications Lab, an interdisciplinary facility for faculty and student researchers in chemistry and mechanical engineering that includes state-of-the-art instrumentation.
Research
Union College and the Chemistry Department have a strong tradition of student-faculty research. In addition to participating in the campus-wide Steinmetz Symposium research day, many chemistry students present at national and regional conferences and publish in well-recognized journals. The department awards some 30-40 summer research fellowships each year. Students also pursue summer research at other institutions and in government labs.
Beyond campus
After Union
- Analytical scientist, Momentive Performances Materials
- Associate professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, MIT
- Associate professor Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, University of California, Davis
- Assistant professor, Yale University
- Chemist, NuLabel Technologies
- Co-founder, Nth Cycle
- Fuel cell and battery patent examiner, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
- Graduate student researcher, University of California, Berkeley
- Ph.D. candidate in chemistry, University of Connecticut
- Ph.D. candidate in chemistry, Texas A&M University
- Physician, Christiana Care
- Science teacher, Cohoes High School
- Senior research chemist, Nalco Chemical Company
Science & engineering news


Chemistry Club members make liquid nitrogen ice cream.