Chemistry

Your future in Chemistry

Do you enjoy discovering how materials are made? Are you an independent worker? Do you like working with your hands? A bachelor's degree in chemistry from the University of North Texas may be for you.

Chemists work for:

• Food, oil and gas, and paper manufacturers
• Government agencies
• Makers of electronic and scientific instruments
• Manufacturers of chemicals
• Research firms

Our chemistry alumni include a former president of Dow Corning Corp.-Europe, a former head patent attorney of Eli Lilly and Co., two past presidents of the American College of Surgeons, and many other outstanding researchers and university professors.

Recent undergraduates have been heavily recruited for industrial and government positions. Other graduates have attended some of the country's top graduate and medical schools.

What we offer

We take pride in providing you a quality education by combining formal classroom instruction with training using state-of-the-art instrumentation. Our degree programs include a:

• Bachelor of Science in Chemistry degree if you want to be a professional chemist in an industry or with a university
• Bachelor of Science in Chemistry degree with a concentration in forensic science if you desire a career in a private or forensic lab
• Bachelor of Arts degree in Chemistry that helps you pursue a career in a chemistry-related area such as business, marketing and sales, professional health services, environmental studies, pharmacology and patent law
• Bachelor of Arts degree in Chemistry with teaching certification that prepares you to teach chemistry and related sciences at the elementary and secondary school levels

The forensic science program is the only bachelor's program in Texas and one of the only 35 programs accredited by the American Academy of Forensic Sciences (410 North 21st Street, Colorado Springs, Colo. 80904; 719-636-1100).

We supply many opportunities for our students to participate in undergraduate research. This prepares you for graduate school, helps you gain experience for possible internships or leads to being published in a scientific journal.

Our faculty members include professors who have been honored by the American Chemical Society, one of the world's foremost computational chemists and others who have been recognized at the university level for their high-quality teaching and research. Their research interests span the traditional areas of analytical, inorganic, organic, physical chemistry and chemical education. They also collaborate with colleagues from other UNT departments in computational, materials and organometallic chemistry. Our computational chemistry research group is one of the nation's largest groups.

The Chemistry Resource Center and the Computational Chemistry Instructional Laboratory provide mentoring and tutoring services to chemistry majors. You can also interact with others who enjoy chemistry in the student chapter of Alpha Chi Sigma, a professional chemistry fraternity.

Our chemistry department has several scholarships, monetary awards and jobs available to assist you financially. We can also help you apply for national and international scholarships. Recent chemistry undergraduates have won prestigious Barry M. Goldwater and Intel scholarships and have fared well in competitions for National Science Foundation fellowships.

The chemistry program is recognized for its excellence in education, earning accreditation from the American Chemical Society (1155 Sixteenth St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20036, telephone 800-227-5558).

What to expect

Regardless of your degree plan as a chemistry major, you will take courses in:

• Analytical chemistry — the study of the structure, composition and nature of substances
• Inorganic chemistry — the study of noncarbonbased compounds such as those in electronic components
• Organic chemistry — the study of carbonbased compounds such as those in medicines and plastics
• Physical chemistry — the study of characteristics of atoms and molecules and chemical reactions

You may specialize in one of these areas as a professional chemist. You will also take courses in statistical measurements and methods.

Our Career Center, Internships and Cooperative Education office, and professional academic advisors are among the many valuable resources that are available to you at UNT. The Career Center and the Internships and Cooperative Education office can provide advice about future employment opportunities as well as getting hands-on experience in your major. Academic advisors will help you plan your class schedule each semester.

How to enroll at UNT

High school students

We encourage you to fulfill the graduation requirements for the Recommended Program or the Distinguished Achievement Program in high school. In your junior year, take the SAT or the ACT and have your scores sent to UNT.

In your senior year, apply for admission at www.applytexas.org by March 1 and request that your high school transcript be sent to the UNT admissions office.

Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate courses can count toward college credit at UNT. For details, visit www.unt.edu/credit.

Transfer students

If you're attending a Texas community college, you should consult our Transfer Articulation web page, the UNT Undergraduate Catalog and an academic counselor/advisor to review your degree plan. Proper planning allows you to receive the maximum amount of transfer credits.

Our Transfer Center will help you make a successful transition to college life at UNT by connecting you to a peer mentor and other campus resources. Each year, we welcome more transfer students than any other institution in the state. The center is in the University Union, Room 320. More information is at transition.unt.edu.