Welcome to the webpage of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at North Carolina Central University. The department is certified by the American Chemical Society (ACS), the organization that sets the nation’s professional and educational standards for chemists. We are unique among Chemistry departments in the UNC system as the only HBCU Chemistry program that has been continuously accredited by the American Chemical Society (ACS) since 1974.
About Chemistry and Biochemistry
The mission of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry is to provide students with an educational environment that will stimulate their intellectual curiosities, enhance, and develop academic and professional skills in chemistry and chemistry-related disciplines, promote a sense of self-assurance and discipline, and instill a dedication to the advancement of science and scientific knowledge for the benefit of all peoples.
Total Students
Degree Programs
Faculty and Staff
The Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry offers courses leading to Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in Chemistry. The department is approved by the American Chemical Society (ACS), the chemists' organization that sets professional and educational standards for chemists in the United States of America, to certify graduates who have completed an ACS-approved set of courses. Approval by the American Chemical Society demonstrates that this department maintains an undergraduate program capable of developing chemists and chemistry graduates who are prepared with thorough training in the fundamentals of chemistry and their application to modern life.
The department has approximately 50 undergraduate and 15 graduate students. The department’s faculty consists of ten tenured/tenure-track faculty and two fixed-term faculty. Students will receive specific training in the use of state-of-the-art scientific instrumentation, enhance their laboratory skills, and develop knowledge of the creativity, methods, and processes involved in designing, carrying out, and reporting results of scientific research while participating in faculty-directed research projects on campus or in off-campus cooperative education or internship opportunities.
Our faculty members have active research programs in materials science, polymers, sensors, environmental remediation nanoscience, natural products chemistry, protein engineering, and endocannabinoid system research, in addition to other leading areas of research in chemistry and biochemistry. Many of these research programs are funded by federal agencies like the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Army Research Office, and the National Institutes of Health.
The quality of our undergraduate program helps our graduates obtain jobs and go to the best professional and graduate schools. In recent years, the department has graduated 31 students with B.S. degrees. Out of these 31 BS graduates, 10 have gone on to degree programs in graduate and professional schools, which include Ph.D. programs, medical, dental, and pharmacy schools. Our master's graduates have gone on to both industrial careers and Ph.D. programs.
Our department offers four concentrations, the ACS-certified concentration, the biochemistry concentration, the pre-health professions concentration, and the forensic science concentration, in addition to the regular chemistry track.
The Biochemistry concentration (Chemistry B.S.) offers a rigorous education focused on the chemical processes that occur within or in relation to living organisms.
The ACS-Certified Chemistry concentration (Chemistry B.S.) provides a general chemistry education that has been approved by the American Chemical Society, allowing the department to certify graduates who have completed the ACS-approved courses.
The Pre-Medicine, Pre-Dentistry, and Pre-Pharmacy track (Chemistry B.S.) offers a chemistry education geared towards students preparing for entrance to pharmacy, medical, or dental programs.
The Forensic Science concentration (Chemistry B.S.) provides students with the scientific knowledge and technical skills needed to succeed in the forensic science field, as well as an understanding of criminal law, procedures, and court processes.
The M.S. degree in Chemistry is designed to prepare students for careers in teaching, research, and industry, as well as for entrance to Ph.D. or professional degree programs. Students can choose either thesis-based or non-thesis-based options.
In the 3+2 B.S. Chemistry (NCCU)/M.S. Packaging (MSU) joint degree program, students spend their first three years at NCCU, completing most of the requirements for their B.S. degree in chemistry, and they spend two years at Michigan State University to complete their final year for the B.S. degree and the first year of their M.S. degree. The second year at MSU will be used to complete their M.S. degree program in packaging.
In the 3+4 B.S. chemistry (NCCU)/Pharm.D. (Howard University) joint degree program, students spend their first three years at NCCU, completing most of the requirements for their B.S. degree in chemistry, and they spend four years at Howard University to complete their final year for the B.S. degree and the first year of their Pharm.D. degree. The second through fourth years at Howard University will be used to complete their Pharm.D. degree.
The accelerated Bachelor's/Master’s (ABM) degree program (Chemistry B.S. and M.S.) allows students to complete the requirements for both a B.S. and an M.S. degree within five years.
The department offers scholarships such as the E. L. Totten, Christopher S. Meldrum, Brodie/Keith Chemistry, Larry J. Haith Memorial, and John A Myers Endowed Scholarship to qualified students.
The Department of Chemistry maintains affiliations, partnerships, collaborations and cross-disciplinary programming with several institutions and academic units on campus, as well as across the state and the country.
There is an active student chapter of the American Chemical Society in the department. In addition, the university offers over 100 student organizations, which cater to a wide variety of student interests.
Harper, Pamela L
Administrative Support/Graduate Specialist
Chemistry and Biochemistry
Mohammed, Abdul K
Professor and Department Chair
Chemistry and Biochemistry
Apply now for an undergraduate or graduate degree in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry.
Mary M. Townes Science Building, Room 3202 
919-530-6462