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Medicinal & Pharmaceutical Chemistry

Types of Degrees Medicinal & Pharmaceutical Chemistry Majors Are Earning

Students pursuing Medicinal & Pharmaceutical Chemistry can earn degrees at several award levels.

Award Level	Graduates
Bachelor’s Degree	13
Master’s Degree	74
Doctor’s Degree	98

What Medicinal & Pharmaceutical Chemistry Majors Need to Know

Coursework for Medicinal & Pharmaceutical Chemistry develop a specific mix of knowledge, skills, and abilities — derived from O*NET surveys of workers in occupations that Medicinal & Pharmaceutical Chemistry graduates commonly enter.

Knowledge Areas

This major prepares you for careers needing Medicinal & Pharmaceutical Chemistry emphasizes the following knowledge areas:

• English Language — Importance 4.5 / 5; level 5.5 / 7.
• Education and Training — Importance 4.4 / 5; level 5.7 / 7.
• Biology — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 5.1 / 7.
• Medicine and Dentistry — Importance 3.8 / 5; level 3.9 / 7.
• Chemistry — Importance 3.6 / 5; level 4.6 / 7.

^{Importance is rated 1–5; level is 1–7. Source: ONET Online — weighted across related occupations.*}

Skills

Skills built by a Medicinal & Pharmaceutical Chemistry program reflects the day-to-day work of related occupations:

• Speaking — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.8 / 7.
• Reading Comprehension — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 5.0 / 7.
• Writing — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.9 / 7.
• Critical Thinking — Importance 4 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.
• Active Learning — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.

Abilities

Abilities most relevant to Medicinal & Pharmaceutical Chemistry careers — again drawn from O*NET surveys of related occupations:

• Oral Expression — Importance 4.5 / 5; level 5.2 / 7.
• Written Comprehension — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 5.0 / 7.
• Written Expression — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 5.0 / 7.
• Oral Comprehension — Importance 4 / 5; level 5.0 / 7.
• Speech Clarity — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.5 / 7.

Common Job Activities

Day-to-day, Medicinal & Pharmaceutical Chemistry graduates report doing:

Activity	Frequency / Importance
Training and Teaching Others	4.5 / 7
Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge	4.4 / 7
Working with Computers	4.4 / 7
Getting Information	4.3 / 7
Thinking Creatively	4.2 / 7
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships	4.1 / 7
Interpreting the Meaning of Information for Others	4.1 / 7
Making Decisions and Solving Problems	4.1 / 7
Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work	4.0 / 7
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates	4.0 / 7

Technology Skills Used on the Job

Most frequently-cited tools used by Medicinal & Pharmaceutical Chemistry professionals:

Tool / Software	Category	In-Demand
Microsoft Excel	Spreadsheet software	✓
Microsoft PowerPoint	Presentation software	✓
Microsoft Word	Word processing software	—
Microsoft Office software	Office suite software	✓
Email software	Electronic mail software	—
Image scanning software	Optical character reader OCR or scanning software	—
Blackboard Learn	Computer based training software	—
Collaborative editing software	Word processing software	—
iParadigms Turnitin	Information retrieval or search software	—
Microsoft Outlook	Electronic mail software	—
DOC Cop	Information retrieval or search software	—
Course management system software	Computer based training software	—

^{Source: ONET Online technology skills, weighted across related occupations.*}

Sample Job Titles

Real job postings for Medicinal & Pharmaceutical Chemistry graduates include:

• University Faculty Member
• Lecturer
• Associate Professor
• Assistant Professor
• Adjunct Instructor
• Instructor
• College Professor
• Professor
• College Faculty Member
• Neurological Surgery Teacher
• Neurosurgery Professor
• Infant Care Teacher
• Corrective Therapy Aide Teacher
• Chiropractic Teacher
• Gericare Aide Teacher

Education Typically Required

Across the occupations open to Medicinal & Pharmaceutical Chemistry graduates, the typical level of education actually held by current workers is distributed as:

Education Level	Share of Workers
Master’s degree	33.8%
Doctoral degree	25.9%
Post-doctoral training	21.1%
Bachelor’s degree	12.2%
Associate’s degree (or other 2-year)	3.1%
Postsecondary certificate	2.0%
Post-baccalaureate certificate	1.4%
Post-master’s certificate	0.4%
Some college courses	0.1%

^{Source: ONET Online education / training / experience requirements.*}

Who Is Earning a Degree in Medicinal & Pharmaceutical Chemistry?

Gender Distribution

This field has a relatively balanced gender distribution: 58.9% women and 41.1% men among Medicinal & Pharmaceutical Chemistry graduates.

Gender	Graduates	Share
Women	109	58.9%
Men	76	41.1%

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the national level, the racial-ethnic distribution of Medicinal & Pharmaceutical Chemistry graduates is as follows:

Race / Ethnicity	Graduates	Share
White	80	43.2%
Asian	17	9.2%
Hispanic or Latino	13	7.0%
Black or African American	2	1.1%
Two or More Races	4	2.2%
Race Unknown	4	2.2%
International Students	65	35.1%

^{See minority definition below.}

How Much Do Medicinal & Pharmaceutical Chemistry Graduates Earn?

The U.S. Department of Education tracks median earnings of Medicinal & Pharmaceutical Chemistry graduates 1, 4, and 5 years after completion. These numbers tend to grow steadily as graduates gain experience and move into mid-career roles.

Years Out	Median Earnings
1 year	$100,486
4 years	$129,383
5 years	$140,029

By year 5 out, median earnings rise to $140,029 — roughly 39% above the 1-year mark.

^{Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, field-of-study earnings tracker.}

Is a Degree in Medicinal & Pharmaceutical Chemistry Worth It?

Strictly by the federal earnings tracker, Medicinal & Pharmaceutical Chemistry graduates earn a median of $129,383 four years after completion — roughly 240% above the national median for workers with only a high school diploma (~$38,000).

^{ROI estimate compares the program’s 4-yr median earnings against the 2023 BLS CPS median earnings for high-school-only workers. Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard + BLS Current Population Survey.}

Related Programs

You may also be interested in these closely related fields of study:

Program	CIP Code
Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration	51.20
Clinical and Industrial Drug Development	51.2006
Clinical, Hospital, and Managed Care Pharmacy	51.2008
Industrial and Physical Pharmacy and Cosmetic Sciences	51.2009
Natural Products Chemistry and Pharmacognosy	51.2005
Pharmaceutical Marketing and Management	51.2011
Pharmaceutical Sciences	51.2010
Pharmaceutics and Drug Design	51.2003
Pharmacoeconomics/Pharmaceutical Economics	51.2007
Pharmacy Administration and Pharmacy Policy and Regulatory Affairs	51.2002
Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration, Other	51.2099
Pharmacy	51.2001

References

The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students and international students. This number is then divided by the total number of students to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• National Center for Education Statistics (IPEDS)
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard

More about our data sources and methodologies.