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School of Science

Chemistry & Biochemistry

Program Information

A History of Excellence

What will majoring in Chemistry or Biochemistry at Manhattan College mean to you while at the college and after graduation? This page attempts to answer these questions.

We start by taking a brief look at the history of the department and what it has meant to the nearly one thousand students who have graduated from Manhattan College with a Chemistry or Biochemistry major since the first bachelor of science degree in chemistry was awarded in 1934.

The Chemistry and Biochemistry curricula at Manhattan College are designed exclusively for the undergraduate student. We have 12 full-time faculty of professorial rank with doctorates in a wide variety of areas of specialization. These faculty members are, first and foremost, teachers interested in and capable of teaching undergraduate students. They also recognize the necessity of research to keep abreast of and to be part of the changes taking place in their area of specialization. Their research work is carried out with the help of their undergraduate students, the only kind of student in our department. Our history of teaching excellence has always included introducing our students to sound scientific research.

In addition to the usual classroom and laboratory meetings between student and faculty member, and the collaborations in research, there is another aspect to our history of undergraduate teaching excellence. A genuine personal interest in students impels members of the department to make themselves readily available to students for individual assistance and guidance, which is vital for the real understanding and mastery of many areas of chemistry. The faculty to student ratio at Manhattan College is 1 to 15.

The Chemistry and Biochemistry programs at Manhattan College are approved by the American Chemical Society (A.C.S.), the national organization that measures programs for their standards of excellence. Our program features a hands-on laboratory component that prepares students for work in industry or graduate school.

Class sizes in chemistry, like most programs at Manhattan, are small and rarely exceed twenty students. Advanced courses often have even fewer students.

Manhattan's Chemistry Department provides state-of-the-art instrumentation including an X-ray generator, Fourier-transform infrared and nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometers, a double-monochrometer fluorimeter, a recording double beam absorption UV and visible spectrophometer as well as computer interfaced, scanning spectrphometers, a mass spectrophometer, an atomic absorption spectrophometer with graphite furnace, four high performance liquid chromatographs, rotovaps, and gas chromatographs.

The Biochemistry Research Laboratory includes a cold room, preparative centrifuges and an ultracentrifuge, lyophilizer, electrophoresis apparatus, automated fraction collectors, and equipment for protein and nucleic acid biochemistry.

Chemistry and Biochemistry

Manhattan students have access to biochemistry, organic, physical, analytical, and instrumental laboratories as well as research laboratories in environmental studies, organic synthesis, biochemistry, and polymers. This impressive array of laboratory facilities and instrumentation is yours to use in regular course work, independent studies, and undergraduate research projects. Such equipment is important only if it's accessible. At Manhattan, we assure students full use of all of our science resources.

Undergraduate research in the Chemistry Department has been stimulated recently by funding from the National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, NASA, Hughes Medical Foundation, and the Pew Charitable Trusts.

Our graduates do exceptionally well. In fact, for the past 50 years, the Chemistry Department has ranked first among undergraduate chemistry college programs in New York State as a source of graduates who go on to obtain their Ph.D.s.

The Biochemistry Curriculum

The goal of the Biochemistry Curriculum is to give students a solid background in this unique discipline which combines chemistry and biology. Biochemistry is most simply defined as the chemistry of living systems, it is the science which tries to explain how "lifeless" molecules work together to make "living" organisms. Understanding the macromolecules - proteins, nucleic acids, carbohydrates, and lipids - is the foundation for understanding of the living world. Thus, the Biochemistry Curriculum involves courses in chemistry, biology and biochemistry. Details of the courses which make up this program are in the College Catalog. The goal of the program is to give students an understanding of the chemistry of life.

Because biochemistry is such a broad science, it is excellent preparation for many different careers. Biochemistry is an excellent major for students who plan to enter medical or dental school or any of the health professions, where biochemistry is a required part of the curriculum. Biochemistry is also an excellent major for students who are considering careers in the pharmaceutical, food, cosmetics, or biotechnology industries. Here, the background in biochemistry is applied everyday. Finally, students who are thinking about research careers will find that biochemistry is one of the fastest growing fields today. There are many possibilities, so the biochemistry degree gives students a great deal of flexibility in their career choices. The biochemistry faculty are always available to discuss career decisions, graduate school choices, etc.