Careers and Outcomes
From pharmaceuticals to forensics, from medicine to materials science, our programs prepare you for success—whatever your field.
We’ll prepare you for health-related fields like medicine, dentistry and veterinary science, in industrial or government research laboratories, or as a secondary-school science teacher. Each of our programs serve as an excellent foundation for careers in environmental studies, law, business, education, technical writing and editing, and scientific information retrieval.
For our graduates, a major in chemistry or biochemistry becomes a launching pad to professional achievement.
Chemistry and Biochemistry Graduate Outcomes, 2007-2017*
Industry
- Melissa Birr ’16 earned her law degree in May of 2019 and is currently counsel for Eligo Energy, LLC
- Dess Cook ’15 works as a chemist at Polymer Ventures in Burr Ridge
- Corianne Randstrom ’15 works as an analytical chemist at AbbVie pharmaceuticals in North Chicago
- Alexis Burnelli ’14 works as a research chemist at INX International in West Chicago
- Drew DeJarnette ’11 is solving crimes at the Georgia Bureau of Investigation with an M.S. in forensic science from Michigan State University
- David Anderson ’04 is working as a research chemist at Integrated DNA Technologies (Coralville, Iowa) and has a Ph.D. in medicinal chemistry from Iowa State University
- Therese Dorigan ’88 earned her law degree and currently practices environmental law in Oak Brook
- Melissa Birr ’16 earned her law degree in May of 2019
Secondary Education
- Samuel Bartlett ’14 teaches at Rantoul Public High School
Health Professions
- Kaitlin Hoepfner ’13 earned her PharmD at Midwestern College of Pharmacy and is now working for CVS Health Specialty Pharmacy
- Paige Tsuda ’12 is an anesthesiologist working in California
- Amanda Andersen ’11 completed her M.D. at Southern Illinois University in 2015 and is starting her residency at Phoenix Children’s Hospital and Banner University Medical Center in Phoenix
- Michael Gannon ’11 completed a doctor of pharmacy degree at the University of Illinois at Chicago in 2015, and is now working in specialty product development at CVS Health and mentors Elmhurst University students interested in pharmacy
- Chris Hulstein ’11 completed the pharmacy program at University of Wisconsin-Madison and is now working as a clinical pharmacist at Providence Health and Services in Portland, Oregon
- Ryan Applegate ’08 is working as a physician assistant after completing his degree at the University of Iowa
- Ashley Spindler ’08 completed the physician assistant program at Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science and is working in the Chicago area as an emergency room physician assistant
Post-Graduate Degrees
- Roxanne Siuda ’21 is attending Boston University to complete a Ph.D. in pharmacology and experimental therapeutics
- Britta Schwartz ’20 is studying biomedical sciences at East Tennessee State University
- Nicholas Drago ’18 is a physical chemistry Ph.D. candidate at the University of California, Irvine. His work has included developing sensors for the detection of COVID-19.
- Ryan Woitas ’17 is completing the dentistry program at the University of Illinois at Chicago
- Drew Cesta ’16 earned his Ph.D. in July of 2021 from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
- Maryna Oleksyuk ’16 is working on her Ph.D. in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Illinois at Chicago under Leslie Aldrich
- Rachel Trumpy ’14 is pursuing her M.D. at the University of Illinois College of Medicine
- Katherine Lupo ’12 and Michelle Fleetwood ’13 completed their Ph.D. degrees in chemistry at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2019
* Outcomes data was collected by the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry over the past 10 years. Numbers have been rounded for the pie chart illustrated above.