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Chemistry: Program Overview, Universities, Careers & Salaries

Program Overview

Chemistry is a foundational scientific discipline dedicated to understanding the composition, structure, properties, and transformations of matter. This program equips students with a rigorous, inquiry-driven approach to exploring the physical world at both microscopic and macroscopic levels, preparing them for advanced study or careers in science, industry, and technology.

  • Atomic and Molecular Structure: Investigates the arrangement of atoms and electrons within molecules, including bonding patterns, molecular geometry, and electronic configurations that govern chemical behavior.
  • Thermodynamics and Kinetics: Examines the energy changes associated with chemical reactions and the rates at which they occur, offering insight into reaction feasibility and efficiency.
  • Quantum Chemistry: Applies principles of quantum mechanics to model electron behavior in atoms and molecules, providing a theoretical basis for chemical phenomena.
  • Analytical Chemistry: Focuses on techniques for identifying and quantifying substances, including spectroscopy, chromatography, and electrochemical methods.
  • Organic Chemistry: Studies carbon-based compounds, their synthesis, reactions, and structural relationships, with applications in pharmaceuticals, materials, and biochemistry.
  • Inorganic Chemistry: Explores the properties and reactions of non-carbon-based compounds, including metals, minerals, and coordination complexes.
  • Physical Chemistry: Bridges physics and chemistry to understand the physical principles underlying chemical systems, such as phase equilibria and reaction mechanisms.
  • Chemical Laboratory Practice: Develops hands-on skills in experimental design, instrumentation, data analysis, and safe laboratory procedures essential for real-world scientific investigation.

Chemistry Graduate Trends (2010-2024)

18,323
Total Graduates (2023-2024)
1,175
Universities & Colleges
7
Career Pathways

Chemistry Career Pathways & Salary Outlook

The following table presents salary data for occupations typically aligned with Chemistry degrees, including Natural Sciences Managers, Chemistry Teachers, Postsecondary and Chemists. These career paths represent common employment outcomes but are not guaranteed for all graduates. Salary ranges vary by location, employer, experience level, and specific role requirements. Nationally, these occupations employ approximately 1,366,340 professionals.


National Average Salaries

Occupation Median Salary Salary Range Total Employment Hourly Rate
Natural Sciences Managers 11-9121 $161,180 $79,830 - $239,200 100,870 $77.49
Chemistry Teachers, Postsecondary 25-1052 $86,220 $52,870 - $171,600 20,390 N/A
Chemists 19-2031 $84,150 $53,210 - $154,430 83,250 $40.46
Forensic Science Technicians 19-4092 $67,440 $45,560 - $110,710 19,450 $32.42
Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education 25-2031 $64,580 $47,330 - $104,670 1,072,540 N/A
Chemical Technicians 19-4031 $57,790 $39,030 - $90,990 55,640 $27.78
Food Science Technicians 19-4013 $49,430 $37,760 - $75,100 14,200 $23.76

Chemistry Salary Map by State

Geographic location significantly impacts earning potential for these careers. Average salaries range from $63,721 in Florida to $109,006 in District of Columbia—a 71% difference. The highest-paying states include District of Columbia, California, and Massachusetts. Nationwide, these occupations employ over 1,366,340 professionals across all states. Explore the interactive map below to compare regional compensation and identify optimal markets for your career goals.

Average Salary Range:

Top Universities for Chemistry by Graduate Enrollment

Below are the top 100 institutions offering Chemistry programs for the 2023-2024 academic year (the most recent data reported as of 2025), ranked by the number of graduates. The highest graduate enrollment in Chemistry is found at University of Florida (UF) (218 graduates), University of California (UCB), Berkeley (209 graduates), University of Wisconsin-Madison (191 graduates), University of California (UCI), Irvine (183 graduates), and University of Virginia (UVA), Main Campus (180 graduates). Combined, these colleges produced 8,678 graduates across all degree levels. Program availability varies by award level, including Associate, Bachelor's, Master's, and Doctoral degrees at participating universities and schools.

College Name Award Levels Graduates Location Control Website
University of Florida (UF)
Bachelor's
Master's
Doctorate (Research)
218 Gainesville, Florida Public ufl.edu
University of California (UCB)
Bachelor's
Master's
Doctorate (Research)
209 Berkeley, California Public berkeley.edu
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Bachelor's
Master's
Doctorate (Research)
191 Madison, Wisconsin Public wisc.edu
University of California (UCI)
Bachelor's
Master's
Doctorate (Research)
183 Irvine, California Public uci.edu
University of Virginia (UVA)
Bachelor's
Master's
Doctorate (Research)
180 Charlottesville, Virginia Public virginia.edu
Purdue University (PU)
Bachelor's
Master's
Doctorate (Research)
169 West Lafayette, Indiana Public purdue.edu
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC)
Bachelor's
Master's
Doctorate (Research)
168 Champaign, Illinois Public illinois.edu
University of California (UCSD)
Bachelor's
Master's
Doctorate (Research)
164 La Jolla, California Public ucsd.edu
Emory University
Bachelor's
Master's
Doctorate (Research)
157 Atlanta, Georgia Private emory.edu
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Bachelor's
Master's
Doctorate (Research)
151 Chapel Hill, North Carolina Public unc.edu
University of California (UCLA)
Bachelor's
Master's
Doctorate (Research)
148 Los Angeles, California Public ucla.edu
University of Chicago (UChicago)
Bachelor's
Master's
Doctorate (Research)
143 Chicago, Illinois Private uchicago.edu
University of Washington (UW)
Bachelor's
Master's
Doctorate (Research)
140 Seattle, Washington Public washington.edu
The University of Texas
Bachelor's
Master's
Doctorate (Research)
136 Austin, Texas Public utexas.edu
University of Michigan (U‑M)
Bachelor's
Master's
Doctorate (Research)
135 Ann Arbor, Michigan Public umich.edu
Ohio University (OHIO)
Bachelor's
Master's
Doctorate (Research)
132 Athens, Ohio Public ohio.edu
Texas A & M University
Bachelor's
Master's
Doctorate (Research)
131 College Station, Texas Public tamu.edu
University of Minnesota (UMN)
Bachelor's
Master's
Doctorate (Research)
126 Minneapolis, Minnesota Public twin-cities.umn.edu
Stony Brook University (SBU)
Bachelor's
Master's
Doctorate (Research)
124 Stony Brook, New York Public stonybrook.edu
Cornell University
Bachelor's
Master's
Doctorate (Research)
123 Ithaca, New York Private cornell.edu
Florida International University (FIU)
Bachelor's
Master's
Doctorate (Research)
116 Miami, Florida Public fiu.edu
New York University (NYU)
Bachelor's
Master's
Doctorate (Research)
116 New York, New York Private nyu.edu
University of Pennsylvania (Penn)
Bachelor's
Master's
Doctorate (Research)
116 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Private upenn.edu
Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU)
Bachelor's
Master's
Doctorate (Research)
116 Richmond, Virginia Public vcu.edu
University of South Florida (USF)
Bachelor's
Master's
Doctorate (Research)
110 Tampa, Florida Public usf.edu
Ohio State University
Bachelor's
Master's
Doctorate (Research)
103 Columbus, Ohio Public osu.edu
University of California (UCSB)
Bachelor's
Master's
Doctorate (Research)
101 Santa Barbara, California Public ucsb.edu
Princeton University
Bachelor's
Master's
Doctorate (Research)
100 Princeton, New Jersey Private princeton.edu
Pennsylvania State University
Bachelor's
Master's
Doctorate (Research)
96 University Park, Pennsylvania Public psu.edu
University of California (UCR)
Bachelor's
Master's
Doctorate (Research)
92 Riverside, California Public ucr.edu
University of California (UCD)
Bachelor's
Master's
Doctorate (Research)
91 Davis, California Public ucdavis.edu
University of Pittsburgh
Bachelor's
Master's
Doctorate (Research)
89 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Public pitt.edu
Florida State University (FSU)
Bachelor's
Master's
Doctorate (Research)
87 Tallahassee, Florida Public fsu.edu
CUNY Hunter College
Bachelor's
87 New York, New York Public hunter.cuny.edu
Harvard University
Bachelor's
Master's
Doctorate (Research)
85 Cambridge, Massachusetts Private harvard.edu
Indiana University (IUB)
Bachelor's
Postbac Cert.
Master's
Doctorate (Research)
84 Bloomington, Indiana Public indiana.edu
North Carolina State University (NC State)
Bachelor's
Master's
Doctorate (Research)
84 Raleigh, North Carolina Public ncsu.edu
California State Polytechnic University (CPP)
Bachelor's
Master's
83 Pomona, California Public cpp.edu
Irvine Valley College (IVC)
Associate's
83 Irvine, California Public ivc.edu
Georgia State University
Bachelor's
Master's
Doctorate (Research)
83 Atlanta, Georgia Public gsu.edu
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
Bachelor's
Master's
Doctorate (Research)
81 Cambridge, Massachusetts Private web.mit.edu
The University of Alabama (UA)
Bachelor's
Master's
Doctorate (Research)
80 Tuscaloosa, Alabama Public ua.edu
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech)
Bachelor's
Master's
Doctorate (Research)
78 Blacksburg, Virginia Public vt.edu
Yale University
Bachelor's
Master's
Doctorate (Research)
73 New Haven, Connecticut Private yale.edu
University of Iowa
Bachelor's
Master's
Doctorate (Research)
73 Iowa City, Iowa Public uiowa.edu
Northwestern University
Bachelor's
Master's
Doctorate (Research)
72 Evanston, Illinois Private northwestern.edu
University of Cincinnati (UC)
Bachelor's
Master's
Doctorate (Research)
72 Cincinnati, Ohio Public uc.edu
Oregon State University (OSU)
Bachelor's
Master's
Doctorate (Research)
71 Corvallis, Oregon Public oregonstate.edu
Johns Hopkins University (JHU)
Bachelor's
Master's
Doctorate (Research)
70 Baltimore, Maryland Private jhu.edu
Boston University (BU)
Bachelor's
Master's
Doctorate (Research)
70 Boston, Massachusetts Private bu.edu
Michigan State University (MSU)
Bachelor's
Master's
Doctorate (Research)
70 East Lansing, Michigan Public msu.edu
University of Oregon (UO)
Bachelor's
Master's
Doctorate (Research)
70 Eugene, Oregon Public uoregon.edu
Binghamton University
Bachelor's
Master's
Doctorate (Research)
69 Vestal, New York Public binghamton.edu
University of Illinois Chicago (UIC)
Bachelor's
Master's
Doctorate (Research)
68 Chicago, Illinois Public uic.edu
University of Missouri (UMKC)
Bachelor's
Master's
68 Kansas City, Missouri Public umkc.edu
University of Connecticut (UConn)
Bachelor's
Master's
Doctorate (Research)
67 Storrs, Connecticut Public uconn.edu
University of Oklahoma (OU)
Bachelor's
Master's
Doctorate (Research)
67 Norman, Oklahoma Public ou.edu
University of Utah (U of U)
Bachelor's
Master's
Doctorate (Research)
67 Salt Lake City, Utah Public utah.edu
University of Central Florida (UCF)
Bachelor's
Master's
Doctorate (Research)
66 Orlando, Florida Public ucf.edu
Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech)
Bachelor's
Master's
Doctorate (Research)
65 Atlanta, Georgia Public gatech.edu
University of Georgia (UGA)
Bachelor's
Master's
Doctorate (Research)
63 Athens, Georgia Public uga.edu
Rice University
Bachelor's
Master's
Doctorate (Research)
63 Houston, Texas Private rice.edu
San Diego State University (SDSU)
Bachelor's
Master's
Doctorate (Research)
62 San Diego, California Public sdsu.edu
University of South Carolina (USC)
Bachelor's
Master's
Doctorate (Research)
61 Columbia, South Carolina Public sc.edu
Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College (LSU)
Bachelor's
Master's
Doctorate (Research)
60 Baton Rouge, Louisiana Public lsu.edu
University of Massachusetts
Bachelor's
Master's
Doctorate (Research)
59 Amherst, Massachusetts Public umass.edu
Rutgers University
Bachelor's
Master's
Doctorate (Research)
59 New Brunswick, New Jersey Public newbrunswick.rutgers.edu
Appalachian State University (App State)
Bachelor's
59 Boone, North Carolina Public appstate.edu
The University of Texas
Bachelor's
Master's
Doctorate (Research)
59 Richardson, Texas Public utdallas.edu
University of Alabama (UAB)
Bachelor's
Master's
Doctorate (Research)
58 Birmingham, Alabama Public uab.edu
Northern Arizona University (NAU)
Bachelor's
Master's
58 Flagstaff, Arizona Public nau.edu
University of North Texas (UNT)
Bachelor's
Master's
Doctorate (Research)
58 Denton, Texas Public unt.edu
Northeastern University (NU)
Bachelor's
Master's
Doctorate (Research)
57 Boston, Massachusetts Private northeastern.edu
University of Rochester
Bachelor's
Master's
Doctorate (Research)
57 Rochester, New York Private rochester.edu
University at Buffalo (UB)
Bachelor's
Master's
Doctorate (Research)
57 Buffalo, New York Public buffalo.edu
Arizona State University Campus Immersion (ASU)
Bachelor's
Master's
Doctorate (Research)
56 Tempe, Arizona Public asu.edu
Diablo Valley College (DVC)
Other Award
56 Pleasant Hill, California Public dvc.edu
Wayne State University (WSU)
Bachelor's
Master's
Doctorate (Research)
56 Detroit, Michigan Public wayne.edu
The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV)
Bachelor's
Master's
56 Edinburg, Texas Public utrgv.edu
University of Arkansas (U of A)
Bachelor's
Master's
Doctorate (Research)
55 Fayetteville, Arkansas Public uark.edu
Colorado State University (CSU)
Bachelor's
Master's
Doctorate (Research)
55 Fort Collins, Colorado Public colostate.edu
Columbia University in the City of New York
Bachelor's
Master's
Post-Master's
Doctorate (Research)
55 New York, New York Private columbia.edu
William & Mary (W&M)
Bachelor's
Master's
55 Williamsburg, Virginia Public wm.edu
Saddleback College
Associate's
54 Mission Viejo, California Public saddleback.edu
University of Louisville (UofL)
Bachelor's
Master's
Doctorate (Research)
54 Louisville, Kentucky Public louisville.edu
University of Maryland (UMCP)
Bachelor's
Master's
Doctorate (Research)
54 College Park, Maryland Public umd.edu
Stanford University
Bachelor's
Master's
Doctorate (Research)
54 Stanford, California Private stanford.edu
University of California (UCSC)
Bachelor's
Master's
Doctorate (Research)
53 Santa Cruz, California Public ucsc.edu
San Jose State University (SJSU)
Bachelor's
Master's
52 San Jose, California Public sjsu.edu
University of Delaware (UD)
Bachelor's
Master's
Doctorate (Research)
52 Newark, Delaware Public udel.edu
University of Memphis (UofM)
Bachelor's
Master's
Doctorate (Research)
52 Memphis, Tennessee Public memphis.edu
Vanderbilt University (VU)
Bachelor's
Master's
Doctorate (Research)
52 Nashville, Tennessee Private vanderbilt.edu
Iowa State University (ISU)
Bachelor's
Doctorate (Research)
51 Ames, Iowa Public iastate.edu
University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW)
Bachelor's
Master's
51 Wilmington, North Carolina Public uncw.edu
Miami University
Bachelor's
Master's
Doctorate (Research)
51 Oxford, Ohio Public miamioh.edu
California Institute of Technology (Caltech)
Bachelor's
Master's
Doctorate (Research)
50 Pasadena, California Private caltech.edu
Montana State University (MSU)
Bachelor's
Postbac Cert.
Master's
Doctorate (Research)
50 Bozeman, Montana Public montana.edu
Western Washington University (WWU)
Bachelor's
Master's
50 Bellingham, Washington Public wwu.edu
Kennesaw State University (KSU)
Bachelor's
Master's
49 Kennesaw, Georgia Public kennesaw.edu
Florida Atlantic University (FAU)
Bachelor's
Master's
Doctorate (Research)
48 Boca Raton, Florida Public fau.edu

Frequently Asked Questions

Find answers to the most common questions about Chemistry programs

How much can I earn with a Chemistry degree?

Salaries for Chemistry graduates vary by role and location. Natural Sciences Managers earn a median of $161,180 annually, while Chemistry Teachers, Postsecondary earn around $86,220. Geographic location significantly impacts earnings—professionals in District of Columbia average $109,006 compared to $63,721 in Florida. Approximately 1,366,340 professionals work in related occupations nationwide.

Salary data from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS program, May 2024. Earnings vary by experience, employer, and market conditions.

Which universities have the largest Chemistry programs?

Currently 1,175 accredited institutions offer Chemistry degrees across the U.S. Programs with the highest enrollment include University of Florida (UF) (218 graduates), University of California (UCB), Berkeley (209 graduates), and University of Wisconsin-Madison (191 graduates).

Program size doesn't necessarily indicate quality—consider factors like faculty expertise, production opportunities, location, and available degree levels when choosing a school.

Data based on IPEDS program completions for 2023-2024 academic year. Numbers reflect programs where students graduated.

Is enrollment in Chemistry growing or declining?

Graduate numbers have increased over the past decade, rising from 17,575 in 2010 to a peak of 20,835 in 2020, before declining slightly to 18,323 in 2023-24. This represents a 4% increase overall from 2010.

The field remains specialized with steady interest, though opportunities are most concentrated in major metropolitan areas with active arts scenes like New York, California, and Illinois.

Graduate enrollment data from IPEDS, 2010-2024 academic years. Trends reflect reported completions at participating institutions.

What career paths are available with a Chemistry degree?

This degree prepares you for roles such as Natural Sciences Managers, Chemistry Teachers, Postsecondary, and Chemists. Related occupations employ approximately 1,366,340 professionals nationwide.

Skills in project management, creative leadership, and collaboration also transfer to event planning, arts administration, marketing, and corporate training roles. Many professionals work freelance or on a project basis across theatre, film, and live events.

Career pathways mapped using CIP-SOC crosswalk from the National Center for Education Statistics. Employment data from BLS OEWS May 2024.

Related Physical Sciences Programs

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