Biological, Chemical & Physical Sciences
Department of Biological, Chemical & Physical Sciences
John Zasadzinski, Chair
http://www.iit.edu/csl/bcps/
Degrees Offered
B.S. in Biochemistry
B.S. in Biology
B.S. in Chemistry
B.S. in Molecular Biochemistry & Biophysics
B.S. in Physics
Minors
Biochemistry
Biology
Chemistry
Physics
Premedical Studies
Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry (B.S.)
Most of the challenges facing society require an understanding of both biology and chemistry, and the Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry prepares students for these challenges.
Students in the biochemistry degree program take a challenging array of lecture and discussion classes as well as laboratory courses. The program provides substantial flexibility, so students and their academic advisors can tailor the program to the students' particular needs. The program provides a thorough preparation for students headed for careers as clinicians or as researchers. Many biochemistry majors will participate actively in research during the school year or during the summer.
Bachelor of Science in Biology (B.S.)
With courses ranging from human biology to biology in literature, the Bachelor of Science in Biology is a flexible base for interdisciplinary study. Students can count on opportunities to work closely with professors on research like studying how cells convert food into energy, or the preclinical development of drugs.
Not all biology majors become biologists. IIT's biology program offers a great preprofessional education for those interested in medicine, lab research, or other health-related fields. It's also an excellent preparation for graduate school.
There is a wide-range of career options available to people with biology backgrounds. For example, some graduates are employed as college professors, environmental health officers, FDA scientists/administrators, forensic scientists, geneticists, high school teachers, patent lawyers, pathologists, physicians, research biologists, veterinarians, and wastewater treatment biologists.
Bachelor of Science in Chemistry (B.S.)
IIT's undergraduate program in chemistry provides education in chemical theory and experimentation. The Bachelor of Science in Chemistry at IIT, approved by the American Chemical Society Committee on Professional Training, provides excellent pre-professional training for careers in medicine, law, business, and other areas of science and healthcare.
Many chemists are actually involved in the synthesis of new materials. But even synthetic chemists spend much of their time outside the lab planning their experiments, learning what other chemists have done and are doing, and even modeling their proposed reactions on the computer. Chemists analyze the structure of chemicals, discover the forces that govern chemical changes, and invent chemical reactions, which create new molecules and materials — like life-saving pharmaceuticals and insecticides — for the benefit of mankind. Most of the clothes we wear and the containers that hold our food are made of synthetic fibers and polymers that were conceived and developed by chemists.
Bachelor of Science in Molecular Biochemistry & Biophysics
The Molecular Biochemistry & Biophysics (MBB) major is designed to prepare students for careers in life science research and clinical medicine. For MBB majors who are interested in a medical career, IIT offers an excellent premedical studies program as well as combined-degree programs with Rush Medical College and Midwestern University's Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine.
Local employers of IIT graduates with the MBB degree include Argonne National Laboratory, Baxter Healthcare, Abbott Laboratories, IIT, University of Chicago, Northwestern University, Loyola University, University of Illinois Chicago, and University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Occupations for our graduates are varied, from successful patent attorneys working in areas related to biological inventions, to veterinary medicine, environmental health, and pathology.
Bachelor of Science in Physics (B.S.)
According to Nature Magazine, Chicago is the "first city for physics" with not one, but two U.S. Department of Energy research labs. IIT students pursue a variety of research programs at both facilities. Research opportunities abound, providing graduate-style scholarly activities for qualifying students. IIT's faculty includes a 1988 Nobel Prize winner in physics and the inventor of new X-ray imaging technology that may make breast cancer detectable at earlier stages.
IIT undergraduates are encouraged to become involved in research conducted by faculty members. Qualifying students will have the opportunity to join a team of physicists working on cutting-edge experiments at Fermi National Accelerator Lab (FNAL), including the world's premier neutrino oscillation experiment (MINOS), and the world's premier b-quark experiment (BTeV). Current research programs at IIT include accelerator and beam physics research, use of X-rays to identify new and novel material properties, biophysics of membrane structures, and X-ray analysis of metalloprotein structures and functions.
IIT's sophisticated equipment gives students the chance to explore chaos theory and quantum physics, study biological membranes via computational clusters, or investigate high temperature superconductors using a scanning tunneling microscope. Physics students study electromagnetism, thermal physics, quantum physics, and computational science.
Sample Curriculum
To view a sample curriculums for the Biological, Chemical & Physical Sciences, please visit the BCPS website:
