Chemistry

Develop your knowledge of chemical principles and prepare for graduate study or a career in chemistry or engineering.

Our curriculum provides a strong foundational knowledge of chemistry and plenty of hands-on opportunities to apply scientific reasoning to increasingly complex problems. You’ll progress through the coursework and regular labs, culminating in a capstone project that allows you to engage in original research.

Major and Minor Offered

Chemistry (BS major, minor)

Why Study Chemistry at Principia College?

Our 6:1 student-to-faculty ratio allows invaluable access to faculty.
We’ve developed exciting internship opportunities with a variety of companies and organizations, including Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium, Coca-Cola, Chevron, and Colgate-Palmolive.
We prepare students to continue their education in some of the top graduate schools in the country.
Students have many hands-on learning opportunities—tracking pollution levels in area rivers and streams, conducting experiments in the forensic lab, and using gas chromatography to discover how octane levels relate to the makeup of gasoline.
You can join our award-winning solar car team and build and race a car in the U.S. and around the world.

Capstone Projects

Engage in original research and present your findings to the College community. Here are topics from some recent projects:

Bioremediation of diesel fuel in soil
Non-Newtonian fluid enhancement of Kevlar vests
Multi-step synthesis of chrysanthemic acid
Microplastics in the Mississippi River
Chocolate analysis for fat and carbohydrates
Isolation of oil from Jatropha seeds
Supercritical fluid extraction of eugenol oil from cloves

Scientific and Applied Skills

Develop scientific skills by utilizing the department's instrumentation:

Nuclear magnetic resonance
Gas chromatography/mass spectrometry
High-performance liquid chromatography
Raman spectroscopy
X-ray diffraction
UV-visible spectroscopy
Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy
Electron paramagnetic spectroscopy

Abroads

Principia abroad programs are open to all majors, and students are encouraged to apply for any abroad program that interests them. All abroads involve individual research that students can tailor to their interests.

Note: See the College Catalog for more detailed information about our program and departmental learning outcomes.

Our graduates often continue their studies at top universities, including these:

Lehigh University
Saint Louis University
University of South Dakota
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
Oregon State

Our graduates also pursue the following types of professional opportunities:

Research and management at a chemical company
Patent law
Government laboratories such as the EPA, FDA, and USDA
Teaching high school or college
Working at cosmetic and soap companies

From Our Alumni

“I work with a team of chemists and engineers where we support projects in development for global markets. The chemistry coursework at Principia provided the necessary scientific background to be successful in my job. The principles of working with chemicals, lab procedures, safety rules, and teamwork are skills I learned at Principia.”

–A 2012 grad hired by Reckitt-Benckiser, a UK-based multinational company

“My graduate program is highly competitive, and Principia prepared me for the amount of work required at the graduate level. The professors taught me how to learn effectively and how to manage my time efficiently. The academic program, along with participation on the solar car team, track team, Pan-African Conference, and Dance Production, gave me a full Principia experience.”

–A 2011 grad earning a master’s degree in chemistry at Lehigh University

“Going on the Peru Abroad was a perfect fit for me. I interviewed government officials, attorneys, and business professionals for my individual research project on worker safety in the industrial workplace. I loved learning in Principia’s supportive atmosphere with the Christian Science foundation. I’ve felt the support of the faculty who could see my true potential.”

–A 2015 grad who interned at MOTE Marine Laboratory and Aquarium and at the Nano Science and Material Science Center at the University of Central Florida