Why Major in Chemistry or Biochemistry

A bachelor of science degree in chemistry or biochemistry provides you with a foundation that can take you anywhere you want to go. Some of the many career paths our students have chosen include: medicine, research, pharmaceuticals, law, and nursing. Each year we also have a number of students who choose to go into teaching, service, or directly into the workforce in a science-related field.

Those interested in medical or dental school will find that either program of study fulfills the medical/dental school requirements and leads to high MCAT/DAT scores. As a result, our majors experience a high acceptance rate into these professional programs.

Absolutely. Each year we have a number of students who choose to study abroad. When and where you choose to go will depend on a number of factors including language requirements, whether you want to take science classes abroad or not, and your plans for post-graduation. The best thing to do is sit down with the chemistry/biochemistry advisor who can help you determine your best options.

Definitely. Approximately 33% of our students have a second major, and an additional 50% of our students choose to have one or more minors. The second half of the junior year and the senior year in both programs are relatively light. Therefore, there is plenty of time to fit in the courses for your other program(s) of study.

Switching from another College of Science major during the first four semesters is usually easy. During this period, all science students are taking fundamental science courses. Even if you have taken a different course number, or taken a course out of sequence from our majors, there is a good chance we can still count those credits. Students from the Colleges of Engineering, Business, or Arts and Letters who are considering switching should meet with the chemistry/biochemistry advisor as soon as possible so she can determine how your existing classes fit into our requirements. Most students can still easily graduate on time if they make the switch prior to the beginning of their junior year. The “What If” tool in the Graduation Progress System (GPS) is a great way to get an initial look at how your existing courses will fit into an alternative major or minor.

You cannot use your AP Chemistry credits. After that, it depends on a number of factors. Biochemistry majors cannot use AP Biology credits, but chemistry majors can count them as a general elective (i.e. not for science electives or pre-professional programs). Both chemistry and biochemistry will count AP Physics credits if you score high enough to meet the appropriate physics course level for the major. Both chemistry and biochemistry also allow the use of AP Calculus AB and AP Calculus BC credits. Another factor is whether or not you are considering medical school. Many medical schools want to see that you have taken the college level courses and therefore do not accept AP credits. Finally, it depends on how confident you feel with the material. Upper level science courses assume you have taken the introductory courses here. Therefore, they build off the content included in these college level courses. The question you should ask yourself is this: do the benefits of using your AP credits outweigh the benefits of seeing this material taught by Notre Dame professors? We often encourage incoming students to use their non-science AP credits but to consider taking all of their science classes here, even if the major allows the AP credits to transfer. This will give you a great start to your academic career.

Our two primary concerns are your overall success at Notre Dame and whether or not you can graduate within four years (total combined for both schools). As we review a course syllabus from another institution, we look to see how the content of the course you took compares to the content our students have seen here. We need to see that the primary concepts covered by your course are the same and that you will be fully prepared for the upper level courses you will encounter in our program. We want to ensure that you can move into our program with confidence. It is not in anyone’s best interest if you find yourself struggling to fill in gaps. We also want to ensure that a sufficient number of courses will transfer so that you are still on track to graduate at the end of four years. You should contact the chemistry/biochemistry advisor early in the application process to ensure that you are able to complete your requirements for an on-time graduation.