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Quantitative Analysis course

Department of Chemistry

APSU is a great place for chemistry majors for a variety of reasons. The department boasts a high placement rate for graduates into professional schools and employment opportunities. Our low student to faculty ratio enables students to have close interactions with their instructors. Undergraduate research within the department is growing and there are many opportunities to pursue a variety of research and to present your work to the scientific community.

The Department of Chemistry at Austin Peay State University (APSU) is nationally certified by the American Chemical Society (ACS), devoted to student success, and prepares students for a wide variety of career options. Our mission is to educate students to independently and critically think, apply chemical concepts and principles to better understand the scientific world, and help them to become scientifically literate. We use innovative pedagogical and research strategies to engage students and cultivate a passion for chemistry and scientific learning.

Chemistry is often called the “central science” due to the fundamental role it plays in every aspect of the world around us. A student majoring in chemistry has a deep commitment to understanding how our world exists and operates on a molecular level in accordance with the laws of nature. Chemistry is a very rigorous curriculum that involves physics and mathematics to help students understand the driving forces of the chemical reaction. There are many branches of chemistry and students often gravitate to specific fields like organic, inorganic, physical, biochemistry, or materials chemistry. 

In APSU's Chemistry Department, students learn how to communication and think critically about the sciences. Our faculty encourage students to ask difficult questions, solve problems, learn new skills, and evolve into productive global citizens. The Chemistry Department consists of eight full time faculty, two full-time temporary faculty, adjunct faculty, a lab manager and an office manager. Several undergraduate degree programs exist including a program approved by the American Chemical Society. In order to offer an ACS-approved degree, our department has demonstrated our ability to meet certain national standards year after year.

The department graduates 20-30 majors per year. These graduates go into various professional programs including chemistry graduate schools and medical, dental, veterinary medicine, or pharmacy schools. Many alumni are employed in industrial chemistry and government laboratories. We also have many students who are currently teaching in high schools or middle schools.

Our pre-professional students have gone on to further their studies at the following schools:

pre-pofessional schools chemistry alumni attended

Who do we advise?

The chemistry department advises: (1) those students majoring or minoring in chemistry and its related programs or concentrations such as forensic science, teaching, or biochemistry and (2) those students in the preprofessional programs of prepharmacy, predentistry, and premedicine.

jeffbeardmore
Dr. Jeff Beardmore, '81
Pediatrician, Medical Director at UnitedHealthcareArnett Clinic, Lafayette, Indiana

The chemistry program prepared me well for what was to come: medical school, residency and pediatrics. And I felt that the entire department cared about me as a student and as a person.
Allen Chaparadza
Dr.Allen Chaparadza
Current Assistant Professor of Chemistry at Austin Peay

This is something that has always been dear to my heart. I’m a firm believer that education should be able to transform lives in ways that are meaningful. I realize that with the little chemistry that I know, I have the ability to contribute something.
LaneParmely
Lane Parmely, '18
Currently a Graduate Student in the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry at the University of Mississippi

Lane is studying secondary DNA structures called i-Motifs and how small molecule binding can affect their formation. He says, Even though I'm growing as a student and as a scientist, I still miss Austin Peay everyday. I really miss that small school dynamic and the real sense of community between students and faculty.
rebekah finley
Rebekah Finley
APSU Chemistry Major, Lipscomb University Pharmacy School Class of 2018

Rebekah excelled in her two years at APSU prior to entering Pharmacy School. She said, The Chemistry Department at APSU was my home away from home.

Want to learn more?

If you want to talk with an advisor or have additional questions concerning chemistry or preprofessional programs served by the chemistry department, contact the chemistry department's temporary academic assistant, Bailey Harrison, at 931-221-7628 or by e-mail to harrisonbn@apsu.edu

Lisa Sullivan

Lisa Sullivan

Inorganic and Materials Chemist, Department Chair

Dr. Sullivan is investigating a low temperature synthesis of zirconium tungstate (ZrW2O8) which shows isotropic negative thermal expansion. Prepared nano-particulate ZrW2O8 will be incorporated into a polymer thin film to give a composite material that has controllable thermal expansion. Her group is also investigating a novel synthetic preparation of nanoparticulate silver and studying the antimicrobial efficacy of prepared samples.