The Biochemistry Program is a cross-college degree program. This means that faculty members from several departments within the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) and College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) participate in teaching and advising biochemistry majors. This is a particularly rewarding aspect of the program: students draw on a variety of perspectives from many different disciplines. Biochemistry majors are required to take a core curriculum of chemistry, biology, and biochemistry coursework.
Specialized Small Classes for Majors
Biochemistry majors also have access to specialized introductory coursework that is designed specifically for majors, that has much smaller class sizes than the general introductory science coursework. For example, and (organic chemistry 1/2 for first year students) is restricted to chemistry and biochemistry majors, and has a maximum capacity of 60 students; most sections of and (exploring biology) have sections restricted to 45 students with majors in the life sciences. In addition, all first-year biochemistry majors are encouraged to enroll in one-credit seminar courses that serve as an introduction to the discipline: and .
Plethora of Electives
Majors are required to take 9 credits of in areas related to biochemistry. Examples of courses in this category are shown below. Many students choose electives that are related to a specific area of interest, such as medicinal chemistry, neuroscience, nutrition, or others. In addition, student can count up to 4 credits of undergraduate research toward their degree.
What do biochemists do?
Biochemistry connects many different fields of science, from quantum physics to molecular biology.
Sample electives:
- Endocrinology
- Protein/nucleic acid structure
- Developmental biology
- Neurobiology
- Adv organic chemistry
- Immunology
- Virology
- Nutritional biochemistry
- Toxicology
- Psychopharmacology
If you would like to count a course that is not listed here as an elective, email the program directors for permission prior to registration.