Message from the Chair
Welcome to the Department of Chemistry of the College of Staten Island (CSI)-City University of New York (CUNY). The Department offers undergraduate degrees in Chemistry and Biochemistry. Both degrees are approved by the “Committee on Professional Training” of the American Chemical Society. CSI is a senior college of CUNY located on a beautiful 204-acre campus centrally located on Staten Island and convenient to the metropolitan area of New York City and New Jersey.
The Department combines outstanding physical facilities with a close-knit community of scholars. Our 17 faculty members include professors who are nationally and internationally recognized in their fields. The department faculty members participate in PhD programs (Chemistry, Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics) at CUNY.
Our undergraduate program is innovative, directed to the career needs of our students, and provides opportunities for extracurricular and research activities. Students completing the undergraduate degree are well trained to start a career in chemical industry or further their studies in graduate schools or medical schools.
The Department also houses two major research centers, the CUNY Institute for Macromolecular Assemblies (MMA) and the Center for Engineered Polymeric Materials (CePM). MMA is positioned at the interface of chemistry, biology, physics and engineering. CePM is working to strengthen the partnering of polymer-related industry and academia. Through CePM and MMA’s activities, students will gain opportunities to create novel research projects and network effectively with academia and industry.
For more information please e-mail the Chair, Dr. Qiao-Sheng Hu or browse our website.
Qiao-Sheng Hu, PhD
Chair and Professor
Mission Statement:
The Chemistry Department at CSI offers courses for students who plan to major in the physical as well as the life sciences. A major in Biochemistry and Chemistry leading to the Bachelor of Science degree is offered and are approved by the American Chemical Society (ACS). The course offerings are intended to promote scientific reasoning, to develop lab skills and prepare the student for graduate and professional schools as well as employment in industry. Although, we offer advanced degrees (thru the CUNY Graduate Center), undergraduate education is our primary mission.
Consistent with the CSI institutional goals, the Chemistry Department strives for the following goals for our students.
1. Our students will acquire in-depth knowledge of the major areas of chemistry: Analytical, Biochemistry, Inorganic, Organic and Physical. Our students should be able to solve scientific problems.
2. Our students will acquire modern laboratory skills needed to solve issues related to biochemistry and chemistry and will be strongly encouraged to participate in research projects with the faculty and attend departmental seminars allowing undergraduates to come into contact with national and international scholars.
3. Our students will develop quantitative reasoning skills as well as write reports and communicate scientific findings orally. They will apply math concepts to chemical problems and learn to work as part of a problem-solving team.
4. Our students will learn proper study procedures and regulations for safe handling and use of chemicals and apply ethical responsibilities and professional conduct.
Chemistry Department Assessment
The department’s undergraduate curriculum and evaluation for degrees in Chemistry and Biochemistry are approved by the American Chemical Society (ACS) Committee on Professional Training (CPT). This agency reviews our courses, lab facilities, instrumentation, faculty, student undergraduate research papers, etc every five years. The department recently completed its first 5 year periodic review and the Committee on Professional Training agreed to continue approval. The Committee praised the strong curriculum offered to CSI undergraduates and commended the impressive quality of student research reports submitted. Students completing all of the required courses and approved electives receive a certified ACS degree in Chemistry or Biochemistry.
The guidelines and evaluation procedures of the ACS-CPT thus serve as the assessment plan for the undergraduate chemistry programs at CSI; we therefore derive our common learning goals and objectives for our course work from these same ACS guidelines. Student/Classroom Assessment The CSI chemistry faculty is aware of the ACS guidelines for course content and process skills that students need and are covered in our courses. Student assessment is evaluated using the following instruments:
- Quizzes
- Exams
- Lab reports and notebooks
- Use of modern chemical instrumentation
- Seminar presentation/library research
- Teaching evaluation
- Faculty advisor feed back
Completion of all course work required by the department and the College