Professor Stephanie Homan poses with three students in the Chemistry lab.

Chemistry Department

A strong, wide-ranging foundation in Chemistry from which to pursue future opportunities in medical, dental, veterinary, and optometry programs, as well as graduate study.

Meet the Department Chair

Michael Polen, Ph.D.

Lecturer of Chemistry and Department Chair

Overview

A strong, wide-ranging foundation in Chemistry from which to pursue future opportunities in medical, dental, veterinary, and optometry programs, as well as graduate study.

students with professor in chemistry lab

Chemistry Major: Invites students to explore all the parts and particles of matter that make up the world we know, and equips them to continue discovering what we don't yet know.
Chemistry-American Chemical Society Specialization: The American Chemical Society (ACS) specialization is a more rigorous curriculum than the standard major. The ACS specialization gives students a strong foundation in chemical knowledge and experimentation in preparation for industry or advanced studies.
Chemistry Major with Education Minor: For Chemistry majors interested in teaching, adding a minor in Education offers a path to both elementary and secondary level certification in the state of Maryland.
Biochemistry Major: Apply the study of Chemistry to living systems in Biology. Lab and research opportunities will prepare you for advanced study or a fulfilling career.
Chemistry Minor: Offers an excellent complement to another major, and creates a broad awareness and diversified expertise.

Research in Chemistry

A student demonstrates a chemistry process in the lab.

Finding solutions professors and students uphold equity and inclusion in the chemistry lab

While making compounds and refining solutions, McDaniel students learn to define the role of the chemist — and find it to be limitless. Supported by Chemistry faculty in classrooms and research labs, students prepare for fulfilling careers in the sciences.

Two students and a professor stand together in the lab, all three wearing white lab coats.

In the lab: students illuminate sunscreen performance

We wear sunscreen to prevent burns, but have you ever wondered if your go-to formula is really blocking the sun? To find out, student researchers are testing the light-blocking abilities and chemical compositions of popular sunscreens as part of the Student-Faculty Collaborative Summer Research Program.

2020 summer research students and professor Dana Ferraris on Eaton Hall steps

McDaniel students join in worldwide research efforts to discover drugs to treat COVID-19

In the face of the deadly global coronavirus pandemic, pharmaceutical data vaults have been unlocked and shared – an unprecedented move in research that McDaniel Chemistry professor Dana Ferraris seized to give his students the opportunity this summer to discover drugs to fight COVID-19.

Alumni Spotlight Dr. Kaitlin Mahoney ’13

Dr. Kaitlin Mahoney ’13 is in her element. The Exercise Chemistry graduate is now in training as Primary Care Sports Medicine Physician with the University of Tennessee. She sees patients at a family medicine clinic and at the UT student health center. She is learning from neurosurgeons, orthopedic surgeons, doctors of physical therapy and athletic trainers and is gaining experience as a team physician with the Knoxville Ice Bears. Becoming a physician and working with athletes of all kinds has been on Mahoney’s radar for as long as she can remember.

Read "Dr. Kaitlin Mahoney ’13"

Meet Graduates of the Chemistry Department

We're proud to call these recent graduates alumni, and prouder still to share a selection of their stories here – told as only they can tell them, in their own words.