How to Apply to Chemistry at Ithaca College: Chemistry B.A. and B.S. in the School of Humanities and Sciences with an ACS-certified curriculum and required student research, plus admission and prerequisites for domestic, international (including Chinese) and transfer applicants

At Ithaca College, in Ithaca, New York, chemistry is taught by the Department of Chemistry in the School of Humanities and Sciences. Here is what you need to know, based on the college’s website, for domestic applicants, international applicants (including students at high schools in China) and transfer students. Biology and biochemistry have their own pages on the website; biochemistry gets one line here. The college also offers health-profession degrees such as athletic training, occupational therapy and physical therapy; they are outside the scope of this article, so see the website.

1. Degrees and options

• Chemistry B.A. and B.S.: the program page covers both under one heading and does not explain how the two degrees differ. The credit structure and required courses are in the college catalog, which was not among the pages read; not published in the pages read, so check the website.
• Accreditation: the department page says the chemistry curriculum is “approved and fully certified by the American Chemical Society”. Which degree carries the certified track is not stated in the pages read.
• Biochemistry B.S.: jointly administered by the Departments of Chemistry and Biology and started in 1985. It is mentioned only in passing here; see the website’s biochemistry program page for its courses and research requirement.
• Minor: the School of Humanities and Sciences majors-and-minors list includes a chemistry minor; its requirements are in the catalog and were not read.
• Facilities: the program page says many students graduate with more than 500 hours in the laboratory. The department page says chemistry is housed in the 125,000-square-foot Center for Natural Sciences, and the program page lists equipment including an X-ray diffractometer, a gas chromatograph/mass spectrometer, a 400 MHz NMR instrument, an atomic absorption spectrophotometer and a biomolecular mass analyzer.

2. How admission works: applying to the college, and when you declare

• The deadlines page groups programs by school: majors in the Schools of Business, Communications, Health Sciences & Human Performance and Humanities & Sciences share a February 1 regular decision deadline for first-year applicants, while some music, theatre and dance majors have auditions and their own deadlines. Chemistry is in Humanities and Sciences, and the pages show no separate admission standard, audition or portfolio for chemistry.
• The Program-Specific Information page has one line for STEM disciplines: if you are considering Biochemistry, Biology, Chemistry, Computer Science, Environmental Sciences, Mathematics or Physics, it recommends at least three years of high school science and mathematics.
• Whether you must name a major on the application, when you formally declare after enrolling, and any grade conditions for moving into chemistry are not stated in the pages read. Ask admissions or the department (chemistry@ithaca.edu, 607-274-3238).

3. Prerequisites and first-year courses

• High school preparation: beyond the three-years-of-science-and-math recommendation above, the pages read state no specific chemistry, physics or calculus prerequisite and no minimum AP or IB score.
• The first four semesters: the department’s program overview says you begin with four semesters of foundation courses: Principles of Chemistry, a year of Organic Chemistry, and a final semester of Quantitative Chemistry. Lectures run in parallel with one-credit laboratory courses, and you can always join a faculty member’s research group.
• Advanced courses: full-semester courses in Biochemistry, Inorganic Chemistry and Physical Chemistry, plus rotating Selected Topics electives. These are 7-week block courses, four scheduled each year, and majors and minors in Chemistry or Biochemistry may combine several of them to meet elective requirements. Examples on the department page include advanced organic synthesis, bioorganic chemistry lab, chemistry of environmental contaminants, chemistry of materials, nuclear magnetic resonance, medicinal chemistry, organometallic chemistry, X-ray crystallography and polymers in food chemistry; what is actually offered in a given year is announced by the department.
• Research and thesis: the department says chemistry majors complete the department seminar and the Senior Thesis; those who want an extra challenge can develop and defend an Honors thesis. The research page says students must select and participate in one research project by the end of four years; the required research course for chemistry majors is CHEM 48600, with CHEM 29000 for new or returning research students. Honors research is a year-long project.
• When to start research: you can start as early as your first year, you do not need a research idea, and many students stay in one lab while others switch. Each semester you submit an interest survey, then meet faculty and receive a lab placement.
• Summer research: the H&S Summer Scholars Program offers full-time, 8–10 week paid positions on campus; applications are due in February each year. The department often has additional positions supported by alumni funds, and chemistry Summer Scholar applicants are automatically considered for them.
• AP / IB credit: the admissions page says Ithaca grants college credit for AP and IB courses based on exam achievement; the Registrar says it accepts AP, CLEP and IB exams, A-Level credit only for Advanced Level (not AS), with results sent directly by the testing agency. Which required chemistry course AP Chemistry, IB Chemistry or calculus replaces is in the catalog’s Credit from External Sources section, which was not among the pages read.

4. Dates, fee and materials

• Application: Common App, or the Coalition App with Scoir.
• Deadlines (the page shows no year; verify the dates for fall 2027 entry):
  • Early Decision (binding) November 1; decisions by December 15; confirm enrollment by February 1.
  • Early Action (non-binding) December 1; decisions February 1.
  • First-year Regular Decision February 1; decisions by April 15.
  • Spring entry: November 1, with all supporting materials by December 1; contact admissions first.
  • Presidential Scholarship application November 1; scholar programs (Innovation, Leadership, MLK, Park) December 1.
• Application fee: USD 60 for first-year applicants; all Early Decision and Early Action applicants qualify for a fee waiver; the fee is waived for international applicants.
• Testing: test-optional since 2012. In most cases SAT/ACT scores may be withheld and applicants are considered equally for admission and for academic and talent scholarships; home-schooled applicants, and applicants whose schools give only descriptive report cards, must submit scores.
• Recommendations: optional; candidacy is fully considered without one. The pages read do not ask for a science teacher’s letter. Confirming enrollment takes a USD 500 non-refundable deposit credited to the first semester bill.
• What is weighed: rigor of curriculum and success in academic work come first, with challenging coursework (dual enrollment, AP, IB) encouraged; activities, work, leadership and service also count.

5. Domestic applicants

• Admission: a secondary school report and official transcript are required, and first-trimester or first-marking-period senior grades should follow. Any priority or guarantee for New York residents is not stated in the pages read.
• Testing: optional, see above.
• Tuition: the tuition page lists a single full-time figure with no in-state/out-of-state split: USD 59,440 for full-time 2026-27 (see costs below). The tuition for your own entry year is not in the pages read; check the website.
• Scholarships: all incoming students are automatically considered for the Ithaca College Scholarship, with no extra application. There is also a USD 1,500 NYS Resident Scholarship, a USD 1,500 Good Neighbor Scholarship (residents of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Massachusetts and Connecticut) and a USD 2,000 per year Residential Experience Scholarship for students living on campus. For federal aid, file the FAFSA; priority dates match the admission deadlines.
• Innovation Scholar Program Award (School of Humanities and Sciences): requires enrollment in a School of Humanities and Sciences degree program, full-time study, a 3.0 cumulative GPA and participation in program activities; applications are due December 1.

6. International applicants

• Application fee: waived for international applicants; choose the Institutional Fee Waiver in Common App. The college counts as international students those without U.S. citizenship (not U.S. dual citizens, permanent residents with a valid green card, or U.S. citizens living abroad).
• Financial aid application (required): after submitting Common App, complete the Financial Aid Application in IC Connect or waive consideration in its first question; without this the application is not complete and will not be reviewed. The CSS Profile and ISFAA are not accepted.
• Transcripts: official secondary school transcripts with courses and grades for all years attended, official leaving exam results, and transcripts from any college attended. Documents not in English need a certified English translation, and both the original and the translation are required. Transcripts and letters must be submitted by a school official through Common App, Naviance, Scoir or Parchment, or mailed by the school if electronic submission is not possible. Another page says the transcript or marks sheet should bear the school seal and a school authority’s signature.
• Recommendation: optional; if sent, it must come from the principal, school head or college counselor directly from your school.
• English: applicants whose native language is not English must submit a proof; the college lists recommended minimum scores: TOEFL 80 (4.0 on the new scale), IELTS 6.0, PTE 54, Duolingo 115, or SAT EBRW 600. Applicants who attended a school or college where English is the principal language of instruction and earned passing grades in English courses for at least three years are exempt.
• Choosing your applicant type: First Year Student if you are finishing or have finished secondary school and have not enrolled full time in higher education; Transfer Student if you have earned more than 9 college credits after secondary school.
• Aid: international students do not qualify for U.S. federal or state aid, but may qualify for institutional scholarships, grants and campus employment. For the Presidential Scholarship (full tuition and fees, renewable for up to four years), international citizens must submit the Ithaca College Financial Aid application by November 1; it cannot be combined with a scholar program.

7. Applicants from China

• Gaokao: the website does not say how Gaokao results are used and has no China-specific page. International applicants must submit “official leaving exam results”; which exam that means for applicants in China is not published, so ask admissions (admission@ithaca.edu, +1 607 274 3124). Whether materials from the high school graduation exam (huikao) are needed is also not published.
• Transcripts: submit as above, for all secondary years, with certified English translations and the originals.
• Exam credit: AP, IB and A-Level (Advanced Level) credit is accepted; the course-by-course table is in the catalog (not in the pages read). Whether Gaokao results earn credit is not published.
• English: see the recommended minimum scores above. The website has no separate English requirement for applicants from China.

8. Costs and scholarships

• 2026-27 estimate: tuition (full-time, 12–18 credits per semester) USD 59,440; housing and meals USD 16,520; books USD 850; personal expenses USD 1,100; transportation USD 550; Student Support and Technology Fee USD 300; health insurance USD 4,260 (waivable with proof of comparable coverage); total USD 83,020. Part-time is USD 1,982 per credit. First-year students also pay a one-time USD 325 orientation fee.
• Scholarships: the Presidential Scholarship (full tuition and fees, separate application due November 1) goes to select first-year students; the Ithaca College Scholarship is considered automatically for all new students.
• Department awards and research funding: the department website has a student awards section and paid on-campus summer research (above); the amounts and conditions of chemistry-specific scholarships are not stated in the pages read.
• Outcomes: the Chemistry program page says chemistry majors pursue graduate study at universities such as UC Berkeley, Caltech, Purdue, Harvard and Penn State; others go to medical, dental or other health-professional schools, or into law, forensics, environmental science, high school teaching, or companies such as DuPont or GE. The department page says graduates have worked in medicine, dentistry, education, pharmaceuticals and biotechnology, and have gone on to chemistry Ph.D. programs including the Scripps Research Institute, UC Berkeley, UC San Diego, Harvard, the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the University of Pennsylvania. It also says that over the last five years the department has been awarded more than $400,000 in grants from the National Science Foundation, the Research Corporation and the American Chemical Society.

9. Transfer students

• Eligibility: the transfer page says you can apply if you hold a high school diploma (or equivalent) and then earned nine or more college credits or enrolled full time at another college. The international applicants page says “more than 9” college credits; the two differ slightly, so confirm with admissions.
• Deadlines: fall entry March 1 (decisions by April 15, confirm by May 1); spring entry November 1 (priority), decisions by December 15. There is no transfer application fee.
• Materials: final high school transcript and all college transcripts; a recommendation or academic evaluation and test scores are optional. Unofficial transcripts are accepted for review, but official ones are required if you enroll. International transfer applicants coming from colleges outside the U.S. need a certified course-by-course evaluation (WES is accepted) and certified English translations.
• Credit: only courses with a C- or higher are evaluated; credits transfer, grades do not; credit cannot be awarded from a high school transcript. How the calculus, general chemistry and organic chemistry courses you have completed are placed against the chemistry requirements is not stated in the pages read; ask the Department of Chemistry.
• Scholarships: Phi Theta Kappa Transfer Scholarships of USD 2,000 per year, no limit on the number, require membership, a 3.5 cumulative GPA and full-time enrollment. International fall transfer applicants submit the college’s Financial Aid Application.

Checklist

Domestic applicants:

• At least three years of high school science and math; apply by November 1 (ED), December 1 (EA) or February 1; USD 60 fee (free for ED/EA)
• Presidential Scholarship by November 1, scholar programs by December 1; file the FAFSA

International applicants (including China):

• Choose the Institutional Fee Waiver; complete the IC Connect financial aid application; send all secondary transcripts and leaving exam results with certified translations
• Prepare TOEFL 80, IELTS 6.0, PTE 54 or Duolingo 115 (recommended minimums)
• Ask admissions how Gaokao and huikao materials should be submitted

Transfer students:

• Apply by March 1; credit is evaluated for courses with C- or higher; ask the Department of Chemistry how chemistry sequences are placed

Sources: Ithaca College, Chemistry (B.A., B.S.) program page; Biochemistry (B.S.) program page; Department of Chemistry; Department page: program overview; Department page: advanced electives; Department page: student-faculty research; Research for credit; Summer research; Biochemistry program; Application Deadlines; Test Optional; Program-Specific Information; Required Supporting Documents; What We Consider; International Applicants; Financial Aid for International Students; Scholarships for New Students; 2026-27 undergraduate tuition and fees; Transfer Students; Transfer credit for new students; International transfer credit. The deadlines page shows no year and costs are for 2026-27; check the Ithaca College website for the latest.