Taxol, found in the Pacific Yew tree of the Northwest's ancient forests and whose structure is shown above, is an example of a molecule that has helped the lives of many by its activity as an anticancer agent. The basis for the medicinal action of Taxol rests upon chemistry. Welcome The Department of Chemistry at Pacific Lutheran University is well-equipped to help you understand the many facets of chemistry in our lives. Our curriculum will prepare you for a job or for graduate study toward an advanced degree. Our curriculum takes an uncommon but very practical approach to the first two years of college-level chemistry.
Students take only one semester of general chemistry in their first year.
Depending on their high school math and chemistry preparation, students enroll in either the regular or advanced course in general chemistry. Then in the spring, students move directly to organic chemistry. In the following year, students complete organic chemistry in the fall and take analytical chemistry in the spring. This sequence introduces students to a broad range of chemistry early in their studies. It emphasizes the essential principles of general chemistry, moves promptly to organic chemistry to add more connections of chemistry to life and the world around us, and then rounds out student's technical and quantitative skills with analytical chemistry.