COURSE CURRICULUM

This Biochemistry Track within the MS Chemistry program is clearly designed as a focused biomedical and molecular science pathway within a broader chemistry master’s degree, with a strong emphasis on understanding how chemical and biochemical processes relate to real human diseases such as metabolic disorders, cancer, and neurodegeneration. The structure is relatively rigid at the core, beginning with CHEM 5810 Graduate Biochemistry I (4 credits) as the foundational requirement, ensuring all students build a shared advanced understanding of biochemical systems before specialization. From there, students must select either CHEM 5310 Advanced Organic Chemistry or CHEM 5530 Advanced Physical Chemistry as a required depth course, reflecting the program’s dual emphasis on molecular synthesis/structure versus physical and theoretical chemical principles. The track then requires additional elective specialization totaling at least 13 credits from a curated list of advanced topics, allowing students to tailor their expertise toward medically relevant chemistry domains such as neurodegenerative disease mechanisms (CHEM 5815), metabolic disease biochemistry (CHEM 5825), cancer biology at the molecular level (CHEM 5835), drug design and computational modeling (CHEM 5845), and bioinorganic medicine (CHEM 5860), alongside experimental and analytical training through laboratory courses like physical biochemistry lab or molecular structure labs. Importantly, even within this specialization, students may mix in broader graduate chemistry coursework such as Graduate Biochemistry II (CHEM 5830) or approved topics courses, ensuring both depth and flexibility. Overall, the degree requires a minimum of 30 total credits with at least 20 in chemistry lecture/lab courses, reinforcing a strong laboratory and research orientation. Compared to more interdisciplinary humanities or social science programs, this track is tightly structured and STEM-intensive, preparing students for research roles in pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, medical research, or further doctoral study, where advanced biochemical knowledge and experimental competence are essential for understanding disease mechanisms and developing therapeutic solutions.