BS Biochemistry at BYU: Fees 2026 Dates & Requirements

Chemistry and biochemistry are active branches of science that are vital to human existence. Inasmuch as the field embraces all aspects of the material world, it is subdivided into five areas of interest. Examples of these diverse areas include the regulation of protein synthesis, cellular signal transduction at the molecular level and proteometrics (biochemistry), design and synthesis of medicinal compounds (organic chemistry), design and synthesis of new molecular structures and materials (inorganic chemistry), spectroscopic study of energy transfer and molecular structures (physical chemistry), and analysis of medicinal compounds, biological materials, and contaminants or trace elements found in the environment (analytical chemistry).

Chemistry and biochemistry involve far more than test tubes and beakers. They include sophisticated methodologies such as recombinant DNA technology, working with a variety of instruments such as mass spectrometers, calorimeters, chromatographs, ultracentrifuges, lasers, X-ray diffractometers, electron microscopes and nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometers, all of which are used by undergraduate chemistry and biochemistry students at BYU. Computers also play an important role in these disciplines, with applications varying from simulation of molecules and the collection and analysis of data.