Department of Chemistry
Chemistry is where inquiry meets innovation and curiosity fuels discovery.
At WSU, you will learn to think across disciplines, enhance your reasoning abilities, and improve your knack for problem-solving—all of which are key skills for a career in any field you choose.
From forensics and pharmaceuticals to nanotechnology and homeland security, the study of the properties, composition, and structure of elements and compounds and their interactions is foundational to understanding our physical world and creating new opportunities.
Featured Courses
301 Descriptive Inorganic Chemistry
A survey of the chemistry of the elements using basic principles of bonding, acid-base and oxidation-reduction chemistry, and thermodynamics.
410 Advanced Synthesis and Characterization
Synthesis and characterization of organic and inorganic compounds and solid-state materials; modern synthetic technology, characterization methods, and laboratory techniques.
Department of Chemistry in the News
Former students establish scholarship in memory of WSU Prof. Roy Filby
Roy Filby may have retired from Washington State University more than two decades ago, but at the WSU Nuclear Science Center that he helped shape, his calculations are still in use, and his impact is still being felt.
Wogmans donate $3M for instructional chemistry laboratories
The effort to modernize Washington State University’s scientific learning spaces has received a boost, as Ned and Nancy Wogman pledged $3 million to outfit three instructional chemistry laboratories in the planned Integrated Sciences Building on the Pullman campus.
Researchers get first look at how relativity alters a chemical bond
For the first time, a team of researchers at Washington State and Brown universities has observed how relativity alters chemical bonds involving heavy atoms, where electrons move at nearly light speed.
Happy 30th anniversary to WSU’s resident science cat
August 1 marked the 30-year anniversary of the Ask Dr. Universe program.