Chemistry


With a Chemistry degree from St. Ambrose, you'll be equipped to investigate and impact the world with the skills of a natural scientist. For those wishing to pursue a post-graduate education, this program will forge your path and provide you with a cutting edge as you take your next step.

Our graduates work in various healthcare fields, food chemistry, electricity generation and for companies that include Integrated DNA Technologies and Exelon.


Ambrose Advantages

  • Student-Designed Experiments
  • Research Opporunities for Freshmen
  • High Placement in Professional Programs

student examining

Student in Lab

students watching experiment

Our faculty is engaged and dedicated, ensuring that each student benefits from every learning experience. Whether it's our state-of-the art labs and equipment, internship placements, or joining our award-winning Chemistry Club, SAU provides the tools and experiences students need to think critically, methodically, and creatively.

Read our Chemistry program sheet (PDF)


More Information About the Chemistry Program

What will I learn?

Foundation courses cover the principles of chemistry and laboratory safety in-depth.

In later courses you will explore various levels of organic chemistry and labs, quantitative analysis, physical and environmental chemistry, and all students have the opportunity to create and participate in research.

Starting your first year, you can take part in small group research projects, and as a junior and senior, you'll be leading individual projects.

Student-led research is a highly stressed aspect of our curriculum because we want you to be exceedingly prepared. A Chemistry major can be a direct path to medical school. In fact, 80% of our students go on to medical school or graduate degree programs.

If your goal is to launch your career immediately after graduation, we'll help you find an internship that will deepen your learning and build on the skills you need to succeed in a career.

Each Chemistry department faculty has no more than five advisees, so we take the time to get to know you, make sure you stay on track, and give you the individualized attention SAU is known to provide. 

How can I extend my learning?

Our Chemistry majors have so many ways to advance their education and get involved.

You can work alongside faculty in the lab on research projects – yours or theirs – through our Undergraduate Summer Research Institute.

The College of Arts and Sciences holds a spring Undergraduate Scholars Conference, and in the fall the American Chemical Society's local chapter holds an Undergraduate Research Conference. Both allow you to share your work with peers. Build on your knowledge by teaching others as a Chemistry tutor or lab assistant, or discover your potential through an internship. We've had students intern at QCAnalytical Services, Valspar, hospitals, and crime labs.

You also get opportunities to inspire the next generation of chemists. Our students assist faculty with a summer science camp for elementary students and an afternoon of hands-on activities and chemical demonstrations during National Chemistry Week. As a member of the American Chemical Society student chapter, you can advance your knowledge and share what you know, too. Members participate in community volunteer projects and educational outreach.

Our students support each other in their goals. If you plan to attend medical school, join Doctors to Bee. Read this story to learn more. 

Join the Sustainability Committee. Our mission and shared values of academic excellence, the liberal arts, social justice, and community service require Ambrosians do more than simply advocate for sustainability; we must also challenge ourselves to do more - on campus, in the world, and for our future.

Earn a Peace Corps Prep certificate, a program that makes you a stronger candidate for volunteer positions within the Peace Corps or other service programs. You'll gain skills and a cultural worldview that employers value and best of all, most students can earn the certificate – awarded by the Peace Corps – without taking extra courses.

What are some possible job outcomes?

A chemistry degree from St. Ambrose is your ticket to pursue a variety of career opportunities, including industrial research and development, quality control, forensic science, agriculture, environmental studies, or teaching high school chemistry.

The degree can be your launching point to persevere in graduate school studying chemistry, chemical engineering, biochemistry, and even medicine, pharmacology, and other health sciences occupations.

St. Ambrose chemistry graduates are successful in finding jobs. In a recent chemistry alumni survey, 98% of respondents said they are employed in a chemistry-related profession. They are working for companies such as Exelon Corporation, Integrated DNA Technologies, and Texas State Forensics Lab.

What have alumni of this program done?
  • Andrew Friederich (BA) graduated in 2014 with a pre-med concentration and attends the University of Iowa Medical School.
  • Kialee Bowles (BA) also graduated in 2014 and went on to earn a master's degree in forensics from the University of Illinois-Chicago. She is now a forensic toxicologist for the Montgomery County Coroner's Office in Dayton, Ohio.
  • Anthony Dinh (BA) earned his Chemistry degree in 2015 and works at Integrative DNA Technologies in Iowa City.
  • Brianna Simpson (BS), a 2013 graduate, works at Texas Public Health and Safety in Forensic Analysis.
Faculty & Staff

Ritu Gurung, PhD, Assoc. Professor and Chair

Andy Axup, PhD, Professor
Alec Brown, PhD, Assoc. Professor
Kelly Giddens, PhD, Assoc. Professor
Joseph Dies, Lab Coordinator

Adjunct Faculty
Lisa Backus, MS
Randall Wanke, PhD
Jennifer Schmidt-McCormack, PhD

Degree Requirements

Bachelor of Arts in Chemistry

View Chemistry courses and descriptions in the online course catalog

Required:
†CHEM 105 General Chemistry I
CHEM 106 General Chemistry II
CHEM 110 Laboratory Safety
CHEM 150 Career Exploration in Chemistry
CHEM 207 Organic Chemistry I
CHEM 208 Organic Chemistry II
CHEM 209 Organic Chemistry Laboratory I
CHEM 210 Organic Chemistry Laboratory II
CHEM 301 Quantitative Inorganic Analysis
CHEM 303 Instrumental Analysis
CHEM 313 or CHEM 314 (labs)
CHEM 350 Introduction to Chemical Literature and Writing
+MATH 191 Calculus and Analytic Geometry I
MATH 192 Calculus and Analytic Geometry II

Choose either:
PHYS 251 and 253 OR PHYS 203 and 204

Plan to Graduate (BA in CHEM)

This is the suggested plan of study to graduate in four years with a BA degree in Chemistry. This plan assumes the student has not satisfied the foreign language requirement.

Year One

FallCreditSpringCreditPre-req
CHEM 105 4 †CHEM 106 4 MATH 171
MATH 171 3 †CHEM 110 & 150 2 CHEM 105
NSS 101 1 KIN 149 1
IL 101 1 †MATH 191 4 MATH 171
ENGL 101 3 COMM 129/132/203/228/329 3
Social Science Elective 3 PHIL Elective 100-200 3
Total Credits 15 Total Credits 17

Year Two

FallCreditSpringCredit
†CHEM 207/209 4 †CHEM 208/210 4
†MATH 192 4 †PHYS 203/L or 251/L 4
†PHYS 203/L or 251/L 4 THEO Elective 100-200 3
Humanities Elective 3 Elective 3
KIN Elective 1-2
Total Credits 15 Total Credits 15-16

Year Three

FallCreditSpringCredit
†CHEM 313/L or 314/L^ 4 †CHEM 303 (Instrumental) 4
†CHEM 301 (Quant) 4 †CHEM 319/L,321/L,333/L* 4
Foreign Language 101 3 †CHEM 350 Chem Lit (must be taken at SAU) 2
WI Elective (must be taken at SAU) 3 Creative Arts Elective 2
Humanities Elective 3 Foreign Language 102 3
Total Credits 17 Total Credits 15

Year Four

FallCreditSpringCredit
†CHEM 313/L or 314/L^ 4 †CHEM 319/L,321/L,333/L* 4
THEO/PHIL Elective (300 level) 3 2 Electives, 300 level 6
Elective (300 level) 3 Elective 3
Elective 3
Total Credits 13 Total Credits 13

* Must take one of these three courses
^ Do not have to take both of these courses
300 Level Credits: 21 Credits from requirements and need 9 more
† Needs prerequisite

Bachelor of Arts in Chemistry with a Concentration

In addition to courses required for the Bachelor of Arts in Chemistry major, students who want to add a concentration must take the following courses:

View Chemistry courses and descriptions in the online course catalog

Pre-Med Concentration

CHEM 319 General Biochemistry
CHEM 320 Biochemistry Laboratory
+BIOL 199 General Biology I: Foundations of Living Systems
BIOL 200 General Biology II: Foundations of Living Systems
BIOL 230 Human Anatomy and Physiology
BIOL 204 Advanced Human Anatomy and Physiology
BIOL 301 Cell and Molecular Biology
BIOL 303 Genetics

Students are encouraged to tailor their studies to admission requirements of medical schools in which they are interested by taking other science and mathematics courses as electives.

Forensics Concentration

BIOL 106 Human Genetics
BIOL 120 Forensic Biology
BIOL 230 Human Anatomy and Physiology
+CRJU 101 Introduction to Criminal Justice
CRJU 342 Criminal Evidence and Investigation
CRJU 411 The Constitution and Criminal Justice
CRJU 420 Applied Forensics Theory

Plan to Graduate (BA in CHEM w/Pre-Med Concentration)

BA in Chemistry with a Pre-Med Concentration

This is the suggested plan of study for students to graduate in four years with a Chemistry degree (BA) with a pre-Med Concentration. This plan assumes the student has not satisfied the foreign language requirement.

Year One

FallCreditSpringCreditPre-req
CHEM 105 4 CHEM 106 4 MATH 171
MATH 171 3 CHEM 110 & 150 2 CHEM 105
NSS 101 1 KIN 149 1
IL 101 1 MATH 191 4 MATH 171
ENGL 101 3 COMM 129/132/203/228/329 3
BIOL 199/L 4 BIOL 200/L 4 BIOL 199
Total Credits 16 Total Credits 18

Year Two

FallCreditPre-reqSpringCreditPre-req
CHEM 207/209 4 CHEM 106 CHEM 208/210 4 CHEM 207
MATH 192 4 MATH 191 PHYS 203/L OR 251/L 4 PHYS 203/251
PHYS 203/L 251/L 4 MATH 191 THEO Elective 100-200 3
BIOL 230/L 4 BIOL 199 BIOL 232/L 3 BIOL 230
PHIL 100-200 Elective 3
Total Credits 16 Total Credits 18

Year Three

FallCreditSpringCredit
†BIOL 303/L 4 †CHEM 303 (Instrumental) 4
†CHEM 301 (Quant) 4 †CHEM 319/320L 4
Foreign Language 101 3 †WI-CHEM 350 Chem Lit (must be taken at SAU) 2
†WI Elective (Must take at SAU) 3 †BIOL 301/L 4
Humanities Elective 3 Foreign Language 102 3
Total Credits 17 Total Credits 17

Year Four

FallCreditSpringCredit
†CHEM 313/L OR 314/L* 4 Creative Arts elective 2
THEO/PHIL Elective (300 level) 3 Humanities elective 3
Social Science elective 3 Electives 6
Elective 300-level 3 Elective 300-level 3
KIN Elective 1
Total Credits 14 Total Credits 14

* Must take one of these two courses
^ Do not have to take both of these courses
300 Level Credits: 21 Credits from requirements and need 9 more
WI=writing intensive
† Needs prerequisite

Bachelor of Arts with a Teaching Major in Chemistry

View Chemistry courses and descriptions in the online course catalog

Required:
CHEM 105 General Chemistry I
CHEM 106 General Chemistry II
CHEM 110 Laboratory Safety
CHEM 207 Organic Chemistry I
CHEM 208 Organic Chemistry II
CHEM 209 Organic Chemistry Laboratory I
CHEM 210 Organic Chemistry Laboratory II
CHEM 301 Quantitative Inorganic Analysis
CHEM 303 Instrumental Analysis or CHEM 333 Environmental Chemistry
CHEM 313 or CHEM 314
WI-CHEM 350 Introduction to Chemical Literature and Writing
MATH 191 and 192

Choose either:
PHYS 203 and PHYS 204
OR
PHYS 251 and PHYS 253

Education courses required for a teaching major are found on the Secondary Education webpage.

Bachelor of Science in Chemistry

View chemistry courses and descriptions in the online course catalog

Required:
†CHEM 105 General Chemistry I
CHEM 106 General Chemistry II
CHEM 110 Laboratory Safety
CHEM 150 Career Exploration in Chemistry
CHEM 207 Organic Chemistry I
CHEM 208 Organic Chemistry II
CHEM 209 Organic Chemistry Laboratory I
CHEM 210 Organic Chemistry Laboratory II
CHEM 301 Quantitative Inorganic Analysis
CHEM 303 Instrumental Analysis
CHEM 313 Physical Chemistry I
CHEM 314 Physical Chemistry II
CHEM 321 Advanced Inorganic Chemistry
CHEM 350 Introduction to Chemical Literature and Writing
PHYS 251 General Physics I: Mechanics
PHYS 253 General Physics II: Electricity, Magnetism, and Optics
+MATH 191 Calculus and Analytic Geometry I
MATH 192 Calculus and Analytic Geometry II

One elective from:
CHEM 319 General Biochemistry and CHEM 320 Biochemistry Laboratory
OR
CHEM 333 Environmental Chemistry

Choose either:
CHEM 428 Chemical Research I and CHEM 429 Chemical Research II
OR
CHEM 440 Chemistry InternshipRecommended courses: MATH 290 or 291

Plan to Graduate (BS in Chemistry)

Plan to Graduate

This is the suggested plan of study to graduate in four years with a BS degree in Chemistry. This plan assumes the student has not satisfied the foreign language requirement.

Year One

FallCreditSpringCredit
CHEM 105 4 †CHEM 106 4
MATH 171 3 †CHEM 110 & 150 2
NSS 101 1 KIN 149 1
IL 101 1 †MATH 191 4
ENGL 101 3 COMM 129/132/203/228/329 3
Social Science Elective 3 PHIL Elective 100-200 3
Total Credits 15 Total Credits 17

Year Two

FallCreditSpringCredit
†CHEM 207/209 4 †CHEM 208/210 4
†MATH 192 4 †PHYS 253L 4
†PHYS 251/L 4 THEO Elective 100-200 3
Humanities Elective 3 Elective 3
KIN Elective 1-2
Total Credits 15 Total Credits 15-16

Year Three

FallCreditSpringCredit
†CHEM 313L 4 †CHEM 303 (Instrumental) 4
†CHEM 301 (Quant) 4 †CHEM 319/320L 4
Foreign Language 101 3 †CHEM 350 Chem Lit (Must be taken at SAU) 2
WI Elective (must be taken at SAU) 3 Creative Arts Elective 2
Humanities Elective 3 Foreign Language 102 3
Total Credits 17 Total Credits 15

Year Four

FallCreditSpringCredit
†CHEM 314/L 4 †CHEM 321/L 4
THEO/PHIL Elective (300 level) 3 †CHEM 429 1
CHEM 428 1 †CHEM 333 4
Electives 6 Electives 6
Total Credits 14 Total Credits 15

* Must take one of these three courses
^ Do not have to take both of these courses
300-Level Credits: 21 Credits from requirements and need 9 more
† Needs prerequisite

Minor in Chemistry

Required:
†CHEM 105 General Chemistry I
CHEM 106 General Chemistry II
CHEM 207 Organic Chemistry I
CHEM 209 Organic Chemistry Laboratory I

Choose 7 credits:
CHEM 110 or other chemistry courses at the 200-level or above.

† satisfies a general education requirement


Ty Balduf '16


Ty's unique research into computational chemistry led to an invitation to present at the 255th American Chemical Society National Meeting & Exposition, and within the same session as one of the winners of the 2016 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Ben Feringa. While an SAU student, Ty became interested in computational chemistry and started reading journal articles and textbooks to learn more. Then he added a second major in math and a minor in computer science -- all skills he would need. And, he graduated in four years. "I thought I'd take advantage of the full experience and get as much out of my education as I could," Balduf said.

Read Ty's story

Nick Schaffner

Bachelor of Science in Chemistry,Class of 2021


Nick’s acceptance into the prestigious REU program allowed him to spend three months in Colorado, creating and testing a potentially ground-breaking advancement in treating medical conditions and disease. His research was published in Applied Materials & Interfaces, and his curiosity and comfort to ask "what if" was borne out by his St. Ambrose education and professors who supported his quest.

See My Story

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Contact


Ritu Gurung, PhD, Chairperson

Chemistry Department
Lewis Hall
518 W. Locust St.
Davenport, IA 52803
563-333-6127
GurungRitu@sau.edu

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