You are here: Nevada Home > College of Science > Departments & Statewide Programs > Chemistry
| Contact Information for College of Science | |
|---|---|
| Phone | (775) 784-4591 |
| Fax | (775) 784-4592 |
| science@unr.edu | |
| Location | Davidson Math and Science Center Room 411 |
| Address | 1664 N. Virginia Street Reno, NV 89557-0424 |
| Contact | Contact Us |
Degrees offered:
Number of Faculty: 15
Current Students: 800
For more information:
Chemistry Department
The Department of Chemistry in the College of Science has earned a strong reputation as a leading teaching and research oriented department.
Nevada offers three undergraduate degrees in chemistry:
The "Professional" and "Environmental Chemistry" B.S. degrees provide the most rigorous chemistry training and are professional degrees certified by the American Chemical Society.
The "Field of Concentration in Chemistry" B.S. degree offers additional flexibility for students who need courses required of students preparing for careers in medicine, dentistry, law and other professions.
The department currently has about 18 teaching faculty, most of whom are actively involved in chemistry research.
In addition to undergraduate chemistry majors, the department has about 70 graduate students and 10 post-doctoral students.
Among the faculty are experts in Physical, Organic, Inorganic, Analytical, Biological, and Theoretical Chemistry. Many of our undergraduate students participate in chemistry research.

In the most recent National Research Council survey of chemistry departments, our department was ranked second nationally among departments of our size or smaller.
Our graduates go on to employment in academia, industry, and government; many of our Bachelor's degree graduates are admitted to high-ranked graduate chemistry programs, medical, or dental schools.
In addition to its widely recognized importance as a fundamental science, chemistry is central to the development of engineered materials, energy technology, pharmaceuticals and biotechnology, nanotechnology, and novel computational technologies.
Chemists are trained to find creative solutions to real-world problems with a quantitative and deep theoretical understanding of the microscopic world and of the tools used to probe and manipulate it. Chemists are employed in private industry, in electronic devices and semiconductor development, drug design and testing, medical devices, renewable energy, and analytical and environmental laboratories.
Similar opportunities exist in government laboratories in forensics, basic and applied research, defense, and in education and academia. A Chemistry major is also excellent preparation for graduate study in medicine and the health professions, law, government policy, and applied science and engineering.
Nevada offers three undergraduate degrees in chemistry. The "Professional" and "Environmental Chemistry" B.S. degrees provide the most rigorous chemistry training and are professional degrees certified by the American Chemical Society.
The "Field of Concentration in Chemistry" B.S. degree offers additional flexibility for students who need courses required of students preparing for careers in medicine, dentistry, law, and other professions. Nevada has an exceptionally strong undergraduate research program.
As a relatively small research oriented department, Nevada offers close, individualized interaction between students and faculty.
The department is equipped with the latest instrumentation facilities including optical and magnetic resonance spectrometers, lasers, ion and molecular beams, mass spectrometers, and an X-ray diffractometer for experimental work, and large computational clusters for theoretical chemistry and molecular modeling.
Most chemistry majors are actively engaged in research. Many undergraduates receive stipend and scholarship support for their research efforts and become authors of scientific publications resulting from their research
The research enterprise of the Chemistry Department is housed in a modern, four-story structure located in the central campus, adjoining the Leifson Physics Building and near the engineering research complex. It provides specialized laboratories containing the most sophisticated tools available.