About Us

Degree Options

The Chemistry Department at San José State University strives to provide broad access to the highest quality education possible in the molecular sciences at the baccalaureate and master's degree levels. To achieve this ambitious goal, we have crafted a curriculum affording students access to expert instructors in each of the sub-fields of chemistry via traditional classroom courses, hands-on laboratory courses, and research laboratories. At the undergraduate level, we offer programs leading to the B.S. Chemistry, the B.S. Chemistry, Concentration in Biochemistry, and the B.A. Chemistry. Our B.S. Chemistry degree is certified by the American Chemical Society. We also offer a Minor in Chemistry.

At the graduate level, our Department offers programs leading to the M.S. and M.A. degrees in Chemistry. Our graduate degrees are research based and require that a thesis based on original research be written and defended. Please visit our Academic Programs page for more information.

The Chemistry Department has been accredited by the  since September 1951. 

Careers

Students graduating from the Chemistry Department generally go on to further professional education, such as Ph.D. programs in chemistry or medical, dental, and pharmacy schools, or enter into the job market directly. Either way, upon completion of their education, most of our graduates find careers in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, energy, biomedical, or green technology sectors. For more about careers in chemistry, please visit the American Chemical Society's  page.

Instrumentation

The Chemistry Department maintains a large collection of state of the art instrumentation to effectively teach our students and to support our research mission. This equipment is distributed between teaching labs, research labs, and shared-use instrument centers. Some of the major instrumentation is listed below.

Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectrometers

  • Bruker Fourier 300 MHz NMR Spectrometer

Mass Spectrometers

  • Agilent 6546 Quadrupole TOF LC/MS
  • Agilent 6520 Quadrupole TOF LC/MS
  • Varian Saturn II GC/MS
  • PE Sciex API300 LC/MS/MS
  • Fisons Trio 1000 GC/MS
  • HP G1800A GCD GC/MS
  • Agilent 5975B GC/MS

Atomic Absorption/Emission

  • Perkin Elmer 5100 AA Spectrometer
  • Unicam 929 AA Spectrometer
  • Varian Liberty II ICP

Spectrophotometers

  • AVIV 215 Circular Dichroism Spectometer
  • Mattson Infinity FTIR
  • Mattson Genesis II FTIR
  • Thermo Mattson Satelite 1000 FTIR
  • Perkin Elmer System 2000 FTIR
  • Various UV/Vis Spectrophotometers
  • Varian Eclipse Fluorometer
  • (2) SPEX Fluorolog Fluorometers
  • Perkin Elmer LS-50B Fluorometer
  • Perkin Elmer LS3 Fluorometer
  • BioTek Synergy HTX Multi-Mode Microplate Reader

Calorimeters

  • Microcal VP-ITC Isothermal Titration Calorimeter
  • Microcal VP-DSC Differential Scanning Calorimeter
  • Parr Adiabatic Calorimeter

Lasers

  • Coherent Inova 70 Ionpure
  • (2) Coherent CR599 Dye Laser
  • Coherent Inova Sabre

Miscellaneous

  • Johnson Matthey Magnetic Susceptability Balance
  • Bruker EMX Electron Paramagnetic Resonance Spectrometer
  • EG&G 273 Potentiosta/Galvanostat
  • EG&G 263A Potentiosta/Galvanostat
  • BAS CV-50W Voltammetric Analyzer
  • (2) Park Scientific AFMs
  • Typhoon Trio Phosphorimager
  • Turner Biosystems Modulus II Plate Reader
  • (3) HP 3DCE Capillary Electrophoresis
  • (2) AKTA FPLC
  • Various HPLC Systems
  • Autopol III Polarimeter

Instrumentation Laboratories