What can I do with my degree?
Is there a demand for chemists?
What is the job placement rate for Western graduates?
How can I decide if chemistry is the right career for me?
How does your program prepare graduates for a career in chemistry?

What can I do with my degree?
Chemistry graduates can be found at all levels in the local, regional, and national chemical industry ranging from bench scientists to senior chemists, corporate staff members and chief executive officers. Some of the corporations our graduates are currently employed with include Phoenix Scientific, Inc., Quintiles, Inc., Nestle Purina PetCare, CombiSep, Inc., and Zila, Inc. Recent Chemistry education graduates are found teaching in the classrooms of area high schools and on the faculty at the University of Eastern Kentucky and Iowa State University.

Nearly half of the graduates from the Department of Chemistry go on to attend graduate schools across the country. Acceptance to professional schools averages 85% for science students due to the overall strength of the academic program at Western. Several of our graduates have gone on to study chemical engineering, optometry, materials science, and physical, analytical, and inorganic chemistry.

Whether your goal is to become a scientist or a teacher, or continue on to graduate school, you should examine chemistry as a college major.

Is there a demand for chemists?
Even in times of high unemployment rates, chemists remain one of the most highly sought after graduates in the country.

What is the job placement rate for your graduates?
The Department of Chemistry boasts a placement rate greater than 95% for graduates.

How can I decide if chemistry is the right career for me?
If you are fascinated with science and interested in understanding the physical universe we live in, the incredibly fascinating field of chemistry is for you! Students who choose chemistry find it as interesting as it is challenging, and take great pride in their undergraduate degree.

To find out more, talk to any faculty member in Western’s Chemistry Department. They can answer several of your questions and can connect you with graduates in Chemistry careers.

How does your program prepare graduates for a career in chemistry?
Students receive individual attention from faculty in small class settings. All faculty members have their doctorate degrees in chemistry, with all major fields of chemical study represented – including analytical, biochemical, inorganic, organic and physical.

Our nationally accredited chemistry program also focuses on an intense laboratory experience. Students begin using sophisticated instrumentation in their first course. The use of instrumentation to investigate chemical problems is then continued throughout the curriculum in order to adequately prepare students for the industrial workplace or for advanced education.