What is it about the Chemistry degree that provides such a valuable background for employment in virtually any sector of society? Perhaps the answer to this question lies in the centrality of chemistry to science and society. Consider some of the topics discussed in Chemical and Engineering News, a worldwide magazine devoted to the field of chemistry:

• Causes of the Gulf War Syndrome (illness experienced by veterans of the first Gulf War)
• Causes of diabetes
• Environmental concerns about genetically modified foods
• Art and science
• Fine particulate air pollution and health
• Antidepressants and suicides in teenagers
• Natural plastics
• Molecular machines
• Clean coal technology
• Arctic warming and the Greenhouse Effect
• Renewable resources
• Beetle juice (poisons from beetles)
• Ancient beauty (chemical analysis of Roman-era cosmetic cream)
• Stem cells
• Computing and molecular design
• Growing nanotubes

These, and many more that could be cited, show the centrality of chemistry to understanding the environment, health and biotechnology, material science, and information technology.

In their study of Chemistry, students learn the methods of critical thinking and the means to apply their analysis in a creative manner in order to solve problems. It is exactly this ability that any employer, any graduate admissions committee, any medical school is seeking. When they see a graduate with a degree in Chemistry, they see a person who knows how to solve a problem. They see a person who knows how to think!

The Chemistry Department at Iona has much to offer the entering freshman. In addition to an excellent curriculum and a dedicated faculty, small class sizes assure every student that they will get professional assistance suited to individual needs. Graduates have gone on to careers in medicine, industry, law, and education, earning PhD, M.D., DDS., and law degrees.

All courses in this department, including laboratory sessions, are taught by instructors with doctoral degrees. Internship and Cooperative programs exist for those students interested in obtaining industrial experience while they are still undergraduates. In addition, upper classmen are invited to participate in joint research projects with faculty members.