Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry

4 Years On Campus Bachelors Program

Illinois Institute of Technology

Program Overview

The B.S. in Biochemistry at Illinois Institute of Technology combines biology and chemistry to help students understand how biochemical processes work at the molecular level while building strong foundations in physics, mathematics, statistics and computation. It is particularly suited to students interested in health professions, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, data-driven life sciences or scientific research, with four specialization options—Pre-Health, Chemistry, Computation and Biophysics—allowing students to tailor the degree to their goals.

Curriculum Structure

Year 1: Students establish the scientific foundation of the degree through introductory biology, chemistry and mathematics. Courses such as BIOL 107 General Biology Lectures, BIOL 109 General Biology Laboratory, CHEM 122 Principles of Chemistry I and CHEM 123 General Chemistry Laboratory, and MATH 151 Calculus I introduce the core scientific concepts and laboratory skills needed for advanced biochemistry study.

Year 2: The second year expands students' knowledge of genetics, organic chemistry and physics while introducing computing into their scientific training. Students take BIOL 214 Genetics, CHEM 235 Organic Chemistry I and CHEM 236 Organic Chemistry I-Lab, and PHYS 123 General Physics I: Mechanics, followed by Organic Chemistry II, its laboratory and Physics II.

Year 3: Students move into dedicated biochemistry and quantitative coursework, connecting molecular processes with experimental and data-analysis skills. BIOL 301 Introductory Biochemistry, BIOL 402 Metabolic Biochemistry, BIOL 404 Biochemistry Laboratory, STAT 225 Introductory Statistics and CHEM 456 Computational Biochemistry and Drug Design give students experience with metabolism, laboratory investigation, statistics and computational approaches to biochemical problems; two semesters of Interprofessional Projects (IPRO) also add collaborative project work.

Year 4: The final year focuses on advanced biochemical theory, structure, physical chemistry and scientific communication. Students study BIOL 412 Structural and Mechanistic Biochemistry, BIOL 445 Cell Biology, CHEM 438 Physical Biochemistry or PHYS 410 Molecular Biophysics, and complete BIOL 451 Biological Literature, CHEM 485 Chemistry Colloquium and an approved upper-division laboratory.

Focus Areas

Biochemistry, metabolic biochemistry, structural and mechanistic biochemistry, computational biochemistry, drug design, cell biology, genetics, organic chemistry, physical biochemistry, molecular biophysics, analytical science, pre-health, chemistry, computation, data-driven life sciences and biotechnology.

Learning Outcomes

Students develop the ability to conduct reproducible experiments, analyze quantitative data, apply biochemical theory and laboratory methods, collaborate effectively and communicate scientific knowledge clearly and responsibly. The curriculum also develops foundations in biology, chemistry, physics, mathematics, statistics and computation that can support professional programs, graduate research and scientific careers.

Professional Alignment (Accreditation)

The Chemistry specialization is structured to meet American Chemical Society (ACS) certification requirements, providing additional preparation in analytical, instrumental and spectroscopic methods. The university's accreditation page separately identifies institutional accreditation by the Higher Learning Commission; the B.S. in Biochemistry itself is not listed there as an independently program-accredited degree.

Reputation (Employability / Institutional Strength)

Illinois Tech describes the B.S. in Biochemistry as a hands-on program at a research-intensive institution, with graduates pursuing biotechnology, health care, pharmaceutical and laboratory research pathways. The university also highlights alumni outcomes including a biochemistry graduate working as a Clinical Research Laboratory Manager at Illinois Tech's Center for Nutrition Research and another alumnus pursuing a Ph.D. in the International Max Planck Research School for Molecular Life Sciences.

Experiential Learning (Research, Projects, Internships etc.)

Illinois Tech's B.S. in Biochemistry is designed around hands-on laboratory training, research and project-based learning rather than classroom theory alone. Students complete dedicated biochemistry laboratories and upper-division laboratory work, can undertake undergraduate research, and use computational approaches through courses such as CHEM 456 Computational Biochemistry and Drug Design. The program also incorporates six credits of Interprofessional Projects, where students work across disciplines on real-world problems, while Illinois Tech's research environment provides opportunities to connect biochemistry with computational science and advanced laboratory research.

Students can gain practical and research experience through:

Biochemistry laboratory training: BIOL 404 Biochemistry Laboratory provides dedicated practical training, while approved upper-division options include BIOL 446 Cell Biology Laboratory, CHEM 461 Bioanalytical Chemistry Laboratory, CHEM 463 Analytical Method Development Laboratory, CHEM 434 Spectroscopic Methods in Identification and Analysis and CHEM 416 Advanced Chemistry Laboratory.
Undergraduate research: Students can use BIOL 491 Biology Research Project or CHEM 491 Undergraduate Research as approved upper-division laboratory experiences, providing a direct route into faculty-led research.
Computational tools and data science: CHEM 456 Computational Biochemistry and Drug Design is project-based and introduces computer-aided drug-design tools, including molecular docking, molecular mechanics force fields, electrostatics and quantitative structure-property relationships.
Computation specialization: Students choosing the Computation specialization can study CS 331 Data Structures and Algorithms, CS 422 Data Mining or CS 484 Introduction to Machine Learning, combining programming and data-driven methods with biochemistry.
Interprofessional Projects: The curriculum includes six credits of IPRO, Illinois Tech's interdisciplinary project program in which students from different disciplines work as teams on real-world problems, often with businesses, sponsors or community partners.
Advanced research environment: The Center for Interdisciplinary Scientific Computation (CISC) develops and applies computational methods for scientific discovery and supports interdisciplinary research, education and student training.
Specialized biochemistry facilities: Illinois Tech research facilities include equipment such as refrigerated microcentrifuges, SDS-PAGE systems, water baths, incubators and gel-drying systems for biochemistry and biology research.
Clinical and molecular research facilities: Illinois Tech's nutrition and biochemistry laboratory includes centrifuges, UV and fluorescence spectrophotometers, gel electrophoresis, fluorescence and chemiluminescence imaging, cell-culture facilities, PCR and other molecular-biology equipment.
National-laboratory research connections: Illinois Tech faculty research includes work using facilities at Argonne National Laboratory, including X-ray and computing resources for studying biological structures and related scientific questions.
Career-linked experiential opportunities: Illinois Tech's Career Services connects students with internships, co-ops and full-time opportunities through Handshake, career fairs, employer events and its Elevate program, which provides access to experiences including internships and research.

Progression & Future Opportunities

The B.S. in Biochemistry prepares students for careers and advanced study across health professions, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, data-driven life sciences and basic research. Illinois Tech specifically highlights pathways such as medicine, research and laboratory careers, while the program's specializations allow students to build toward health-professional programs, chemistry-intensive industries, computational life sciences or biophysics research.

Typical career roles include Physician, Research Scientist, Laboratory Director and Biochemistry Researcher. Depending on specialization and additional professional or graduate training, students can also move toward biotechnology, pharmaceutical research, computational biochemistry, analytical chemistry, structural biology and other scientific fields.

Students can strengthen their career and progression opportunities through:

Career Services: Illinois Tech Career Services provides career coaching, résumé and professional-development support, internship and co-op guidance, Handshake access, employer events and career fairs. Students are encouraged to meet with a Career Development Coach during their first semester and begin developing their career plan early.
Internships and co-ops: Illinois Tech's Career Services connects students with internships, co-ops and full-time positions, while employers can post unlimited internship, co-op and full-time opportunities through Handshake.
Employment statistics and salary figures: Illinois Tech's official Career Services site provides a Career Outcomes section for post-graduation outcomes and labor-market resources, but the official B.S. in Biochemistry sources reviewed do not publish a program-specific employment rate or graduate salary figure. Therefore, no unsupported salary or employment percentage is included here.
University–industry connections: Illinois Tech supports employer recruitment through career fairs, on-campus interviews, employer spotlights, networking events and its IL Tech Career Network, an exclusive platform for internships, co-ops and experiential-learning opportunities with partner organizations.
Interdisciplinary industry projects: The university's IPRO program brings students from different disciplines together to solve real-world problems, often in collaboration with businesses, sponsors or community partners.
Accreditation value: Students selecting the Chemistry specialization can pursue a curriculum structured to meet ACS certification requirements, adding recognized preparation in analytical, instrumental and spectroscopic chemistry. This is particularly relevant for students targeting chemistry-intensive industry or graduate research pathways.
Graduation outcomes: Illinois Tech's program page highlights graduates progressing into professional and research pathways, including a biochemistry alumnus working as a Clinical Research Laboratory Manager and another pursuing doctoral research in molecular life sciences.
Research-to-career preparation: Undergraduate research, advanced laboratory courses, computational biochemistry and IPRO projects allow students to graduate with practical research, quantitative-analysis, collaboration and scientific-communication experience.

Further Academic Progression: Graduates can continue into medical, dental, pharmacy, nursing, physician assistant and other health-professional programs through the Pre-Health specialization. They can also pursue graduate study in biochemistry, chemistry, computational biology, biophysics, structural biology and related life-science fields; Illinois Tech itself offers a Ph.D. in Biology with a biochemistry concentration, while its broader graduate portfolio provides additional routes into science and technology disciplines.