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As an undergraduate, your opportunities are endless.
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The Department of Chemistry at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is the place for inquisitive students who want to craft fulfilling and meaningful careers in the chemical sciences. Whether you aspire to work in the chemical sciences industry, pursue a career in academia or one of the many other related careers that a chemistry degree can offer, Illinois chemistry will prepare you to apply to top-ranked chemistry graduate programs and professional schools or prepare you to navigate a competitive job market by developing your technical, research, and analytical skills. As a chemistry major, you can:
- Participate in undergraduate research in the chemistry labs of world-renowned faculty.
- Gain valuable experience through study abroad programs and internships and co-ops at Fortune 500 and other companies.
- Develop leadership skills through various teaching and mentoring opportunities and honors programs.
- Get involved in award-winning student organizations, including local student chapters of the American Chemical Society (ACS), American Institute of Chemical Engineering (AIChE), Alpha Chi Sigma (AXS), Omega Chi Epsilon (OXE), National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers (NOBCChE), Society for the Advancement of Chicanos, Hispanics, and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS), and Womxn in Chemical Sciences (WiCS).
- Access a variety of resources in the School of Chemical Science Career Services office. Staff will help you pursue jobs in a variety of industries, including pharmaceuticals, energy, food/agriscience, consumer products, chemicals, technology, consulting, and more. Our students are in demand. More than 92 Fortune 100 companies (Dow, 3M, AbbVie, McKinsey, DuPont, and others) recruit our chemistry graduates. The SCS Career Services office can also help you prepare to continue your education in science or in professional graduate programs, including pharmacy school, medical school, law school, and others.
Students majoring in chemistry have a choice between two programs. Explore the different curricula and discover what a major in chemistry has to offer.
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"I chose the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign for the unique experience that being a Computer Science + Chemistry major offered and for the diverse group of students on campus. I participated in research at the Molecule Maker Lab Institute, gaining experience with a range of machine learning techniques in chemistry and have investigated ways of predicting molecules that perform well for a target property, especially in chemical spaces that pose synthesizability challenges. I got involved in research because I wanted to dive deeper into the applications of computer science in chemistry, which provided me with a richer understanding of how machine learning is used in chemistry."
Sofia Sivilotti (BS, '25), Technical Implementation Associate at Uncountable Inc.