At the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Miami University, our mission is to provide an outstanding educational experience for our students. We offer a B.A. and B.S. in Chemistry and Biochemistry, and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Chemistry. Chemistry and Biochemistry majors get to expand their education by participating in undergraduate research programs. The undergraduate research experience in our department at Miami is distinctly different from other institutions.
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Congratulations to Heeyoung Tai, who won the Miami University 2025 Distinguished Educator Award!
Choose a competitive focus area of Chemistry or Biochemistry and select advanced CHM, Mathematics, and related cognate courses to specialize your degree. Minors, co-majors, or micro-credentials will enhance your degree, or consider a simultaneous M.S. degree to jumpstart your career. Our department offers both a Bachelor of Science and a Bachelor of Arts degree in either Chemistry or Biochemistry.
The Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry offers graduate programs leading to the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees. Both degree programs emphasize original research and are designed to educate professional chemists for teaching and research. In addition, the moderate size of our program (about 55 students), allows students to establish close personal relationships with each other and with faculty members.
Housed in Hughes Laboratories, the Chemistry and Biochemistry Department offers personal education in modern classrooms and laboratories, with opportunities for cutting-edge research on state-of-the-art highly specialized instrumentation, including 200-850 MHz NMR spectrometers, x-ray diffractometers, and the Ohio Advanced EPR Lab.
Our department is deeply committed to Miami University's efforts to offer "the best undergraduate experience in the nation" and we offer a large breadth of chemistry instruction and research in the following areas:
Our faculty delivers outstanding in-class instruction and rigorous curriculum while also being committed to providing excellent out-of-class opportunities. Independent research is strongly encouraged for all undergraduate majors and our faculty members are dedicated to mentoring both undergraduate and graduate students on a variety of research projects.
In collaboration with our Alumni Board and the Center for Career Exploration & Success, we connect students with meaningful internship opportunities to apply their learning gains and advance their career aspirations.
Many of our faculty members rank among the top of their field with respect to publications, and undergraduates are routinely included as co-authors on papers as a result of their outstanding research efforts. Our Chemistry/Biochemistry majors are frequent recipients of University awards and scholarships including University Summer Scholarships (USS), Dean’s scholars, and undergraduate research awards. Our majors routinely appear on the Dean’s list, President’s List, and earn Department and University Honors upon graduation. Undergraduates in the Department have been awarded prestigious accolades from external foundations and funding agencies such as the Beckman Scholar, Goldwater Scholar, and Astronaut Scholar awards, predoctoral fellowships from the National Science Foundation, and American Chemical Society Scholar awards.
Devkota, Govinda Prasad; Lama, Roshan; Hartley, C. Scott
Chemistry – A European Journal, in press
Reynolds, Draven Blade; Campbell, Conner; Scheyer, Matthew W.; Williams, Patrick L.; Loka, Patricia; Hamilton, Kayla; Oriaku, Ogechi; Damoh, Ihsanne; Guerra Diaz, Alejandro; Mbey-Ogbonnaya, Gabriel; Shah, Puspa K.; Sanders, Charles R.; Lorigan, Gary A.; Sahu, Indra D.
The Journal of Physical Chemistry B 2025, 129, 9880–9892
Baral, Renuka; Gunn, Jackson V.; Hartley, C. Scott
ChemSystemsChem, in press
In this video, Dr. Meredith Erb shows off some of our classrooms and discusses our lecture classes.
In this video, Dr. Erb shows off our freshman- and sophomore-level teaching labs and discusses our undergraduate lab classes.
In this video, Dr. Rick Page shows off an example of some of our world-class facilities and discusses the importance of the undergraduate research experience.
We are always happy to meet with prospective students to discuss the program and show off our facilities. To arrange a visit, please contact our undergraduate or graduate faculty listed below or call the department office at (513) 529-2813.
In addition to individual visits, the department also participates in a number of larger Miami recruiting events, including the Discover the Sciences day in the fall and all Make It Miami events in the spring. We also host a departmental open house every spring, which typically coincides with one of the Make It Miami days.
Contact Information: Undergraduates: Dr. Meredith Cline Erb, chemundergrad@miamioh.edu | Graduate Students: Dr. Scott Hartley, chemgrad@miamioh.edu
Welcome to the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Miami University. Our mission is to provide a great educational experience for our students. We offer Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) and Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degrees in Chemistry and Biochemistry, as well as Master of Science (M.S.) and Doctorate (Ph.D.) degrees in Chemistry. Our department has about 340 undergraduate majors and 66 graduate students, supported by 26 faculty members and 10 staff members. Our graduates are well-prepared for careers in chemistry, biochemistry, pharmacy, medicine, dentistry, academia, and industry. In the last two years, 70% of our Chemistry and Biochemistry majors who applied were accepted into medical school, while the national acceptance rate is 42%.
The Department is located in Hughes Laboratories, which features modern classrooms, laboratories, and advanced equipment. We specialize in areas such as analytical chemistry, biochemistry, biophysical chemistry, chemistry education research, inorganic chemistry, materials chemistry, organic chemistry, and physical chemistry. We have several high-field NMR spectrometers and multiple EPR spectrometers. The Structural Biology and Metabonomics Center of Excellence and the Ohio Advanced EPR lab are also part of our department. Adding to our state-of-the-art offerings, our newest facility—the Student Success Center—has been thoughtfully designed to provide chemistry and biochemistry majors with an inviting space for solitary or group study, meetings, tutoring sessions with graduate students, and convenient advising appointments. This center also serves as a hub for engagement with the Center for Career Exploration and Success (CCES), hosting a variety of enriching events designed to further enhance student success.
We encourage Chemistry and Biochemistry majors to expand their education through undergraduate research programs. Our department offers a unique undergraduate research experience, unlike many large public universities that focus mainly on graduate research. Faculty members mentor undergraduates directly, understanding that research is vital for a well-rounded education. Students are given the unique opportunity to engage in hands-on learning that extends beyond the confines of traditional classrooms, applying textbook knowledge to address real-world challenges. This invaluable research experience equips students with essential training and skills that will bolster their future endeavors.
Whether you are a current student, a prospective student, an alumnus, or simply someone eager to discover more about our Department, I warmly invite you to explore the exceptional opportunities awaiting you within the Chemistry and Biochemistry Department through this webpage. Your journey toward scientific knowledge and discovery starts here!
Carole Dabney-Smith, Ph.D.
Professor and Chair
Help us prepare the next generation of leaders in the chemistry fields—and our society as a whole. We have numerous scholarships, grants, and programs accepting contributions from donors like you.
