About the Chemistry Department

When students participate in research, they are participating in the discovery of new knowledge. This can increase their confidence in their own abilities and often provides the absolute proof that science is an evolving enterprise and that they can contribute to that process. The importance of one-on-one interactions between students and their faculty mentors cannot be underestimated. Professional relationships that can last for a lifetime are often formed in these environments. This leads to Creighton University alumni that have very positive, endearing memories of their undergraduate years and a continuing connection to the University in the form of their mentors. Obviously, undergraduate participation in faculty scholarship yields great rewards for all involved, the students, the faculty, and the University.

One traditional measure of scholarly productivity involves analyzing the number of publications and presentations that result from the scholarly endeavors and quantifying the external support (funding and equipment for such activities). By those measures our faculty have fared very well.

• 150 Publications in national and/or international journals
• 25 with Creighton University undergraduate student co-authors
• 250 presentations at regional, national, or international meetings, 84 of which had undergraduate co-authors and most read by the undergraduate students themselves
• Averaging $1,000,000 as principle investigators for external funding in support of research and average another $1,000,000 as co-principle investigators.
  • NSF
  • NIH
  • Department of Agriculture
  • Research Corporation
  • ACS-PRF
  • NASA
• Clare Boothe Luce funds
• Health Science Strategic Investment Fund

Undergraduates matriculating from our department continue with their formal education. The Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Creighton prepares its students for many possible futures. The formal training in laboratory-based courses is an integral portion of this preparation. We believe that our laboratory courses instill in the students an ability to problem solve in unique and creative ways, utilizing both team-based and independent learning environments.

• 33% Proceed to medical or dental school
• 34% Enroll in Ph.D. programs in chemistry or chemistry-related (e.g., biochemistry, chemical engineering, environmental science) disciplines
• 33% Participate in organized volunteer programs (Jesuit Volunteer Corps or Peace Corps), or obtain employment in chemistry-related fields, or enroll in MBA or JD programs

The Chemistry and Biochemistry Department at Creighton provides formal training for our state-of-the-art instrumentation. Undergraduates in the department gain experience with these instruments through both laboratory-based courses and research experiences. Students that matriculate from our department receive a robust, hands-on education in instrumentation that empowers them to gather primary data, evaluate the meaning of this data, and creatively apply appropriate instrumentation to solve problems in the chemical sciences.