School of Chemistry and Materials Science

RIT offers undergraduate and graduate degree programs that prepare you for professional work in research laboratories and industrial settings. The materials science graduate program seeks to provide solutions for several different fields, including energy, medicine, clothing, and equipment production.

Good to Know

• Chemistry and Biochemistry majors learn about the structure, composition, properties, and behaviors of molecules, giving them a strong foundation in preparation for a wide range of careers involving energy, medicine, materials, food, the environment, and sustainability.
   
• Chemistry and Biochemistry majors are highly competitive applicants for acceptance into veterinary school, medical and dental school, and various graduate programs.
   
• Graduate students in the materials science program learn problem-solving skills in several fields, including energy, medicine, clothing, and equipment production.

RIT’s chemistry and biochemistry programs feature rigorous, in-depth curricula that remain flexible enough to allow students to specialize in several other related fields. We offer robust undergraduate research and laboratory teaching experience opportunities, often as early as freshman year, with faculty mentorship and state-of-the-art facilities and instrumentation.

Graduate Programs

Our chemistry and materials science and engineering graduate programs prepare professional scientists by offering curricula that allow students to specialize in their chosen fields while engaging in rigorous, meaningful research using state-of-the-art instrumentation and facilities, under the guidance of a faculty mentor.

What’s different about an RIT education? It’s the career experience you gain by completing cooperative education and internships with top companies in every single industry. You’ll earn more than a degree. You’ll gain real-world career experience that sets you apart. It’s exposure–early and often–to a variety of professional work environments, career paths, and industries.

Co-ops and internships take your knowledge and turn it into know-how. Science co-ops include a range of hands-on experiences, from co-ops and internships and work in labs to undergraduate research and clinical experience in health care settings. These opportunities provide the hands-on experience that enables you to apply your scientific, math, and health care knowledge in professional settings while you make valuable connections between classwork and real-world applications.

Undergraduate research is one of the greatest strengths of our School of Materials and Chemistry Science programs. Alumni often come back to report that their undergraduate research experience is what set them apart upon graduation and strongly poised them for success. Students are encouraged to participate in undergraduate research experience under the guidance of faculty mentors as early as their freshman year. Students can also apply for summer research internships at RIT and other institutions. Once a student has worked at least one semester with a faculty mentor in our school, they may apply to the Chemistry Research Scholars Program.