If you couldn’t guess by the title, I am a biochemistry major. I initially wanted to start college as a chemistry major. When I met with my advisor over the summer going into my freshman year of college he recommended I be a biochem major based on what I wanted to do career wise. For my long term goal, I want to work at the Center for Disease Control (CDC) and do experimental pharmaceutical research. I always liked science and medicine but I didn’t want to work with patients directly. Eventually came to the conclusion that research is what I wanted to do.
As a biochem major you might imagine, I take a lot of science classes. I have taken basically everything that the chemistry department has to offer as well as my fair share of biology classes, and I even took physics. All the science classes are structured to have a lecture and a lab. I generally always have to take the lab and the lecture but sometimes the lab can be optional. I personally like taking labs because it gives the hands-on opportunity to apply what I have learned in lecture. In addition to science classes, I have also taken a lot of math. I have taken all the way to calculus III (YIKES) for my major. I had to take up to calc III because it is a prerequisite to some of the upper level chemistry classes such as physical chemistry. Also, in order for me to graduate with my Bachelor’s in Science (BS) I am required to do research as part of my major.
In general I do one credit of research per semester until I meet my requirement. I currently do research with biomaterials which you can read more about in my post about research. My advisor for research, Dr. Salas is very caring about research and my future. He is encouraging me to pursue medical school or a Master program, specifically in Public Health. I am going into my senior year as a biochem major, so if you have any questions about being a biochem major or any other type of STEM major feel free to reach out!
Written by Emily M., a Rutgers—Camden Undergraduate Student and Raptor Ambassador.