College of Chemistry
Introduction to the College
Chemistry, chemical biology, and chemical and biomolecular engineering provide fantastic opportunities for pursuing a stimulating and gratifying career while making a positive impact on society. Since chemistry is the gateway to all the molecular sciences and much of engineering, the College of Chemistry facilitates many possible career paths.
Humans live in a chemical world where their lives, environment, energy, food, and products are all impacted and/or provided by the activities of chemists and chemical engineers. Making new organic, inorganic, and nano materials; developing new drugs and methods for delivery; developing new synthetic procedures; understanding fundamental elements of chemical structure, bonding, and reactions; exploring chemical biology, the chemical basis of biological processes; producing sustainable energy through biofuels and photovoltaics; and improving the environment through green chemical processes all depend critically upon chemistry and chemical engineering. Students entering these fields today will find exciting careers addressing fundamental challenges in chemistry, applying chemical concepts to problems in related scientific areas, and using established concepts to pioneer new technologies.
The Department of Chemistry and the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering in the College of Chemistry rank among the most prominent in the nation, and both are renowned for their excellence in a diverse range of subdisciplines and applications. Nowhere else will students find such a wide selection of instructional excellence in the chemical sciences and their applications or such varied opportunities for research. Superb facilities at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory enhance many of the College’s research programs. The California Institute for Quantitative Biomedical Research (QB3) provides a dynamic interdisciplinary environment in which students and faculty in the college collaborate with their colleagues in the physical and biological sciences and in engineering to conduct cutting-edge research into biological problems and to produce the breakthroughs of the future.
With only two departments, the College of Chemistry provides a relatively small and collegial place in which to live and work while being nestled in one of the most beautiful and vibrant cosmopolitan areas in the world. Students' intellectual, scientific, and social experiences at Berkeley will shape their lives and outlooks for years to come.
Explore majors and minors available through the College of Chemistry.