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Chemistry Department

Welcome to the Chemistry Department website! Interested in where a chemistry or biochemistry degree could take you? Our graduates now work in a wide range of jobs — from global program manager of MeadWestvaco, to heading up research and development at PepsiCo, to acting as a forensic document examiner for the United States Secret Service. 

Roanoke alumni also have gone on to pursue graduate school in chemistry, medicine, dentistry, cancer research and more at places such as Harvard University, Boston University, Eastern Carolina University, University of Pittsburgh, University of Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth University and Virginia Tech.

What makes our department special?

  • National accreditation

    Lab student working at a computer

    As one of a handful of schools in Virginia accredited by the American Chemical Society and the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Roanoke College offers an ACS-certified degree and an ASBMB-certified degree. These are recognized by employers and graduate schools alike as a mark of quality. 

  • Meaningful research

    Close-up image of student's hands while working with lab equipment

    Roanoke students are encouraged to test their ideas through meaningful research from their very first course in chemistry — often using the type of advanced equipment that other schools reserve exclusively for graduate students. Recent topics include gene studies in Archaea, synthesis of highly-fluorinated molecules, palladium-catalyzed synthesis of amino acid derivatives, enzyme pathways to combat Malaria, boron-nitrogen interactions and computer simulations of acid rain droplets.

  • Real-world internships

    Close-up of student's hands while working with lab equipment

    Our students experience chemistry firsthand both inside and outside of the classroom. Recent students have interned at Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital, Elizabeth Arden, Innotech, Inc., Merck Laboratories, NASA-Langley, Novozymes, Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, ProChem and Western Regional Forensic Laboratory.

  • Close community

    Student and professor smiling in the lab

    Students and faculty here work together to provide the support, direction and opportunity that makes great science possible. Don't miss out on our full calendar of events.

How Roanoke Compares

In addition to classroom and research mentorship, our department provides expansive pre-professional advising for students interested in chemistry- and health-related careers. That support includes one-on-one mentoring as well as graduate and medical school admission training.