UB Programs At-A-Glance

Medicinal Chemistry

Department of Chemistry
College of Arts and Sciences
363 Natural Sciences Building
North Campus
Buffalo, NY 14260-3000

Phone: 716.645.6800, ext. 2035
Fax: 716.645.6963
Web: www.chem.buffalo.edu
Email: chemug@buffalo.edu

Jim D. Atwood
Chair

James W. McIver
Director of Undergraduate Studies

About the Department

Medicinal chemistry is the application of bioscience and organic chemistry to the design, synthesis and development of new drugs. The program teaches principles and skills needed to work on isolation, characterization, structure elucidation, synthesis, and chemical or biological transformations of drugs, as well as approaches to optimizing the properties of drugs.

Special Features

The Medicinal Chemistry program at UB is unique in the State University at New York system. It can prepare students for careers in pharmaceutical sciences, government, and for further study in medicine or dentistry.

Degrees Offered

Undergraduate: B.S., Minor
Combined: B.S./M.S.
Graduate: M.S., Ph.D.

About Our Degrees

Acceptance Criteria

Minimum GPA of 2.0 overall.

Acceptance Information

Deadlines: Rolling
Number of applicants/year: 15
Number of accepted majors/year: 10
Total number of majors currently enrolled: 30

Degree Requirements

See the Undergraduate Catalog.

Transfer Policy

Prerequisite courses taken by students at other institutions are generally accepted as equivalent to University at Buffalo courses that have comparable titles (e.g., general chemistry, organic chemistry, calculus).

About Our Courses

The typical class size for:

Freshman/introductory courses is: 50-300
Sophomore/intermediate courses is: 50-300
Upper level/advanced courses is: 15-30

Suggested Introductory Courses

  • BIO 200 Evolutionary Biology and BIO 201 Cell Biology
  • CHE 105 Chemistry: Principles and Applications I (preferred) or CHE 101 General Chemistry I
  • MTH 141 College Calculus I (preferred) or MTH 121 Survey of Calculus and Its Applications 1


For course descriptions, please see the Undergraduate Catalog.

About Our Faculty

The chemistry faculty includes a number of Ph.D. scientists who maintain active research programs in medicinal chemistry. Many of these have grants and contracts awarded in competitions with other scientists to support their research. The majority of outside support is from the National Institutes of Health. Faculty also hold memberships in various national organizations and several have been honored for their contributions to science.

Special Academic Opportunities

The Department of Medicinal Chemistry offers an accelerated, 5-year B.S./M.S. program for qualified students. Medicinal Chemistry majors apply in the junior year. Please contact the Department of Chemistry Graduate Office at 716-645-6800 for more information.

Awards

Medicinal chemistry students are eligible for the same awards as chemistry students; for a list of these awards, see the UB Programs At-A-Glance entry for Chemistry.

In the Department of Medicinal Chemistry, what do teaching assistants (TA's) do?

TA’s commonly conduct recitation and laboratory sessions under faculty supervision. TA’s also assist in the grading of quizzes and exams.

Extracurricular Activities

Medicinal chemistry students are welcome to join the chemistry undergraduate club, the Student Affiliates of the American Chemical Society.

See the UB Student Association.

Complementary Programs and Courses

Majors that complement Medicinal Chemistry

  • Biology
  • Biochemistry
  • Chemistry


Minors that complement Medicinal Chemistry

  • Biology
  • Chemistry


Courses outside Medicinal Chemistry that would improve employment opportunities:

Chemistry, especially synthetic and organic chemistry courses.

Career Information

  • Government scientist
  • Medicinal chemist in the pharmaceutical industry
  • Organic chemist
  • Pharmaceutical sales representative
  • Teacher
  • Technical librarian


Alumni in Medicinal Chemistry have found employment in the following fields:

  • Academe (Professor of Medicinal Chemistry)
  • Government (Food & Drug Administration)
  • Medicinal chemistry (pharmaceutical industry)
  • Pharmaceutical sales (pharmaceutical industry)


What percentage of graduates goes on to graduate school?

Variable; in 1998, 20%; in 1999 10%

What percentage of graduates goes on to find related employment?

Approximately 100% (The department knows of no graduate who is unemployed.)

Salary Trends

Beginning salaries paid by the major pharmaceutical firms generally range between $38,000 and $44,000, depending on qualifications of the applicants. The industry seeks to hire graduates who have good laboratory experience. In this regard, M.S. graduates are good prospects for employment in the pharmaceutical industry and are paid correspondingly more and given more responsibility.

Links to Further Information About This Program