Medicinal and Pharmaceutical Chemistry

Types of Degrees Medicinal and Pharmaceutical Chemistry Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many medicinal and pharmaceutical chemistry graduations there were for each degree level during the last year for which data was available.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Doctor’s Degree	117
Master’s Degree	74
Bachelor’s Degree	20

What Medicinal and Pharmaceutical Chemistry Majors Need to Know

In an O*NET survey, medicinal and pharmaceutical chemistry majors were asked to rate what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important in their occupations. These answers were weighted on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the most important.

Knowledge Areas for Medicinal and Pharmaceutical Chemistry Majors

According to O*NET survey takers, a major in medicinal and pharmaceutical chemistry should prepare you for careers in which you will need to be knowledgeable in the following areas:

• Medicine and Dentistry - Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
• Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
• Chemistry - Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
• Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.

Skills for Medicinal and Pharmaceutical Chemistry Majors

The following list of skills has been highlighted as some of the most essential for careers related to medicinal and pharmaceutical chemistry:

• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Instructing - Teaching others how to do something.
• Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.

Abilities for Medicinal and Pharmaceutical Chemistry Majors

As a medicinal and pharmaceutical chemistry major, you will find yourself needing the following abilities:

• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).

What Can You Do With a Medicinal and Pharmaceutical Chemistry Major?

People with a medicinal and pharmaceutical chemistry degree often go into the following careers:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Pharmacists	5.6%	$126,120

Who Is Getting a Bachelor’s Degree in Medicinal and Pharmaceutical Chemistry?

This major is dominated by women with about 60% of recent graduates being female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of medicinal and pharmaceutical chemistry majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	3
Black or African American	0
Hispanic or Latino	1
White	14
International Students	2
Other Races/Ethnicities	0

Geographic Diversity

Students from other countries are interested in Medicinal and Pharmaceutical Chemistry, too. About 10.0% of those with this major are international students.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Medicinal and Pharmaceutical Chemistry

Some careers associated with medicinal and pharmaceutical chemistry require an advanced degree while some may not even require a bachelor’s. In general, the more advanced your degree the more career options will open up to you. However, there is significant time and money that needs to be invested into your education so weigh the pros and cons.

Find out what the typical degree level is for medicinal and pharmaceutical chemistry careers below.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
Bachelor’s Degree	9.8%
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Baccalaureate degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees carrying the title of Master.	11.3%
Master’s Degree	3.7%
Post-Master’s Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Master’s degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees at the doctoral level.	0.3%
First Professional Degree - awarded for completion of a program that: requires at least 2 years of college work before entrance into the program, includes a total of at least 6 academic years of work to complete, and provides all remaining academic requirements to begin practice in a profession.	37.5%
Doctoral Degree	36.8%
Post-Doctoral Training	0.6%

Online Medicinal and Pharmaceutical Chemistry Programs

The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	0	0
Certificate (2-4 Years)	0	0
Associate’s Degree	0	0
Bachelor’s Degree	3	0
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	26	0
Post-Master’s	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	21	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Majors Related to Medicinal and Pharmaceutical Chemistry

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to medicinal and pharmaceutical chemistry.

Major	Number of Grads
Pharmacy	13,599
Pharmaceutical Sciences	1,792
Other Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration	1,258
Pharmaceutics and Drug Design	553
Industrial and Physical Pharmacy and Cosmetic Sciences	408
Natural Products Chemistry and Pharmacognosy	239
Clinical and Industrial Drug Development	224
Pharmacy Administration and Pharmacy Policy and Regulatory Affairs	216
Pharmacoeconomics/Pharmaceutical Economics	139
Pharmaceutical Marketing and Management	61
Clinical, Hospital, and Managed Care Pharmacy	29

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020
• Image Credit: By {} under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.