The Program

The Chemistry major is an excellent choice for pursuing medical school, graduate school, or employment. Like most large universities, Wheeling Jesuit University offers two chemistry degrees: a B.S. or a B.A. The B.S. is ideal for students interested in pursuing a career in chemistry.  The 50-credit hours of prepares students to enter top quality graduate schools.  The B.A. is designed for pre-health careers such as pre-Med, pre-Dental, pre-physical therapy, pre-pharmacy, etc.  The program is very flexible, with 30-credit hours of chemistry, allowing students to take the required courses for various health-related careers.  It was especially designed for pre-Med majors.

The Opportunities

A 2002 Chemical and Engineering Salary Survey reports that the average starting salaries were: $31,000 for those with a B.S. degree; a $45,000 for those with a M.S. degree; and $67,500 for those with a Ph.D. Our Chemistry graduates have a 90 percent acceptance rate to top-tier graduate schools with full tuition and stipend. Recent graduates are enrolled at Georgetown Medical School, Northwestern University, University of Kentucky, Virginia Commonwealth University, Indiana University, University of Pittsburgh, Clemson, West Virginia University Medical School, George Washington University, Slippery Rock University, Chiropractic School-Chicago, Duquesne University, Osteopathic Medical School, Bowling Green University, Colorado School of Mines (Chemical Engineering), and West Virginia University (Chemical Engineering).

Facilities & Faculty

Our small class sizes and readily available faculty allow students to receive an excellent foundation in science. Classes and laboratories are located in the University's Thomas S. Acker, S.J., Science Center, a 50,000-square-foot state-of-the-art building houses science labs, as well as innovative classrooms and faculty offices.  This modern learning, teaching, and research facility offers students, faculty, administration, and staff the most advanced technology available.  This superior environment enhances our undergraduate teaching, and research programs.  Students have the opportunity to perform undergraduate research in our well-equipped laboratories containing GC/MS, HPLC, AAS, TGA/FTIR, FTIR, and multinuclear NMR. To learn more about our Department of Chemistry, call Dr. Mary Railing at 304-243-2272 or e-mail mrailing@wju.edu. To arrange a visit of the campus, or to apply, call 1-800-624-6992 or e-mail admiss@wju.edu or visit Wheeling Jesuit online at www.wju.edu