The way the world operates is a given. The earth circles the sun. A year ticks by in 12 months, 365 days. The sun rises in the east and sets in the west. People go to work, and people go home. Life moves in a rhythm that feels routine, yet as integral to the human existence as the sun is to the solar system, is chemistry. From the molecules in our bodies, to the sunscreen we slather, to the onions that make us cry, there’s a chemical reasoning behind everything.
The scientific prowess of chemists, however, is anything but mundane. At Texas A&M University’s Department of Chemistry, researchers use chemistry to solve some of the world’s most pressing problems. Whether that’s finding solutions to better cancer treatment or getting rid of pollution in big, busy cities, Texas A&M chemists work to advance healthcare, energy, and sustainability. It’s one of the best departments in the game, ranked #68 worldwide by the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2025.
Learn from globally renowned faculty
Akin to the motions of everyday life, researchers at Texas A&M seek improvements to the world as if it were an everyday norm. Its world-renowned faculty are leaders in fields like energy, synthesis, materials, and properties of new molecules. They’re using their expertise to forge discoveries in industries like medicine and engineering, and they’re imparting their wisdom onto the next generation of science leaders.
The faculty collects awards and acclaim for their groundbreaking efforts left, right, and centre. Just in February 2025, an assistant professor in the Department of Chemistry received the National Science Foundation CAREER Award for her work exploring the unseen depths of the periodic table, and her dedication as an educator. Back in October 2024, a Texas A&M chemist renowned internationally for her work in synthetic and mechanistic inorganic chemistry, was honoured by the Texas A&M Aggie Women Network with the 2024 Eminent Scholar Award.
As a student at Texas A&M Chemistry, there’s no room for mediocrity when you’re led by the best of the best. These distinguished educators are the frontiers of discovery, leading you to reach for the same trajectory of success. Through diverse programme tracks, experiential learning, and research-led training, Texas A&M is the gateway to an impactful career.
Chemistry at Texas A&M is applied to the real world, advancing industries across healthcare, energy, and sustainability. Source: Texas A&M University
Hear from a graduate
Research discovery at Texas A&M Chemistry leads to discovering your own passions. Dr. Samantha Yruegas, an Aggie alumni and first-generation student, never knew she’d find her calling in inorganic chemistry. She hadn’t known that she could get paid while earning a higher degree in graduate school, let alone pursue a route in academia herself.
“Even as freshmen, they explained how students begin undergraduate research and what the possibilities were thereafter,” she says. “All of these experiences were profoundly motivating.”
For her, discovery began at Texas A&M Chemistry as an undergraduate student. She worked in Dr. Oleg Ozerov’s lab, the Emile and Marta Schweikert Professor in Chemistry. There, she found her love for organic chemistry and took it up as a course with Dr. Marcetta Darensbourg, Distinguished Professor Davidson Chair in Science.
Today, Yruegas teaches the course as the James and Deborah T. Godwin Assistant Professor at Rice University. “Reach out to faculty and start research early,” she says. “The people you meet — professors and fellow students — will become collaborators, friends, and mentors.”
The Department of Chemistry hosts five centres and institutes, from the High Performance Research Computing to an Immersive Visualisation Centre. Source: Texas A&M University
Wide budget, vast opportunities
If you seek the opportunity, you will find it in College Station, Texas. Texas A&M Chemistry dedicates a vast research budget to supporting its faculty and students in developing innovative research projects and ultimately, shaping a better world. Graduate students are privy to funding opportunities for research, and the school is home to rich, state-of-the-art centres and institutes.
Case in point: back in 2023, a Texas A&M chemist was awarded a US$20 million grant to expand the NSF Centre for the Mechanical Control of Chemistry. It’s an interdisciplinary centre that brings chemists, physicists, and engineers together to advance the field of mechanochemistry. Last year, in December, Texas A&M became one of 14 institutions to share more than US$2.1 million in funding with the Beckman Scholars Programme. It supports six freshmen in STEM fields and their mentors through 15 months of intensive research.
With excellent funding support, faculty and students have the means to strive for global research. Many researchers at Texas A&M conduct international collaborations with experts in countries like Germany, Japan, the UK, and beyond. Students can further connect with pioneers worldwide through the Aggie Alumni Network and build their connections.
“A&M has a strong alumni network in industry that I felt helped me understand the transition from academia to industry,” says graduate Sam Kempel, who is currently a chemist at Evonik ––, a world leader in specialty chemicals. “The alumni returning to the school to give advice on networking and share their experiences in industry were a huge benefit to me.”
Check out the Texas A&M Department of Chemistry and begin your journey today.
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