The Biochemistry Major
Biochemistry is a major for students who wish to work at the interface between biology and chemistry. Biochemists seek to understand at the molecular level the complex chemical structures and accompanying reactions that determine biological processes such as metabolism, disease, reproduction and growth, and their regulation through chemical messenger-receptor interactions in the immune, endocrine and nervous systems. The distribution requirements represent a balance between chemistry and biology, and between lecture and laboratory, while the overall program develops the distinct professional perspective needed to bridge molecular events to biological response.
Students who graduate with a degree in Biochemistry are well qualified for positions as professional biochemists in the pharmaceutical industry, in areas such as drug-receptor research, bioanalytical chemistry and drug metabolism, and in the biotechnology field in jobs dealing with biomolecule isolation, purification and modification, as well as in a variety of other employment opportunities. The program also provides excellent preparation for those who intend to further their studies in Biochemistry or related fields (e.g. Pharmacology or Immunology) at the graduate level.
Since Biochemistry embodies in its distribution requirements all the technical courses needed for admission to medical, dental and veterinary schools, it is the major of choice for prehealth professionals.
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