Greetings from the John Carroll University Chemistry Department!
We understand that you may have an interest in studies in chemistry, so I would like to take this opportunity to tell you a little about our department.
We have ten full-time faculty, all of whom are Ph.D. chemists, and one adjunct faculty member who has a M.S. degree. About 20-25 students graduate each year from our department.
Our faculty are known for the close
personal attention they give to our students.
Class sizes are small – typically no bigger than 20 in our upper-level
courses, and no bigger than 40 in our introductory courses, and often much
smaller than this. A lot of time is
spent with students in one-on-one discussions in faculty offices or labs in the
new
The chemistry major is designed to fit the career needs of our students, with three main tracks; one that focuses on preparation for the world of the industrial or research chemist, one that prepares students for the health professions or life sciences and one that gives students a solid technical background for a variety of careers outside of the sciences, such as forensics, law, business and education.
Our labs are well equipped with modern scientific instruments,
most of which are housed in our Instrument Room on the third floor of the
A majority of our majors participate in undergraduate
research, usually during their last two years at JCU. This provides an excellent opportunity to
apply what's learned in the classroom to a real scientific problem. Students present their research discoveries
at scientific meetings, and sometimes their names appear on scientific papers
when they have contributed to a successful project. Research can be used for academic credit to
fulfill some of the requirements of the major.
In addition to opportunities to work on research with our faculty in the
Chemistry is often called the 'central science' because of its close relationship with many other sciences including physics, biology, environmental sciences, geology and materials science. It is an exciting time to be involved with science – and chemistry in particular – with new understanding of the molecular basis of living systems and their diseases, and new high-tech materials being discovered with applications in medicine, electronics and the world of the future.
I will be happy to answer additional questions – please
email me at dmascotti@jcu.edu or call
our department at (216) 397-4241. Thank
you for your interest in
Sincerely,
David P. Mascotti
Associate Professor and Chair, Chemistry