Indiana·Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations·SOC 19-2031

Best Chemist programs in Indiana, ranked by enrollment

Conduct qualitative and quantitative chemical analyses or experiments in laboratories for quality or process control or to develop new products or.

33 schools in Indiana run programs that feed this job, graduating 576 people a year. The job pays a median of $78,770 in Indiana across about 2,480 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).

Also calledChemistScientistResearch ChemistAnalytical ChemistOil ExpertMix ChemistAstrochemistCoal Chemist
Graduates / yr
576
in Indiana
Median pay · Indiana
$78,770
BLS OEWS May 2025
Jobs in state
2,480
people employed
Schools
33
with a feeder program
Avg graduation rate
60%
across those schools
Median net price
$20,836
per year, IPEDS

Fields of study in Indiana that lead to this job

Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.

3 programs in Indiana that lead to this job

Ranked by graduates per year in Indiana (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are national College Scorecard figures reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. Each program also links to its own Indiana page.

Degree programs that lead to this occupation, ranked by graduates per year
#ProgramGraduates / yrShare of pipelineSchoolsGrad earnings (1 yr)Median debt
1
CIP 40.0501In Indiana
548
95.1%
31$42,620$23,900
2
CIP 51.2004In Indiana
15
2.6%
1$48,728$23,761
3
Chemistry, Othermain feeder
CIP 40.0599In Indiana
13
2.3%
3$42,620$23,900

Top 25 schools in Indiana

Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 6 of the 33 schools in this state.

Schools ranked by graduates per year into this occupation
#SchoolGraduates / yrTop feeder programGrad earnings (1 yr)Grad rateNet priceAcceptance
1Purdue University - Main Campus
West Lafayette, IN Public · 2 feeder programs
193Chemistry, General$47,21383%50%
2Indiana University - Bloomington
Bloomington, IN Public · 1 feeder programs
97Chemistry, General$42,88980%78%
3University of Notre Dame
Notre Dame, IN Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs
50Chemistry, General95%$19,45211%
4Indiana University - Indianapolis
Indianapolis, IN Public · 1 feeder programs
48Chemistry, General$42,48254%76%
5Ball State University
Muncie, IN Public · 1 feeder programs
18Chemistry, General$42,67762%85%
6Indiana University - Southeast
New Albany, IN Public · 1 feeder programs
16Chemistry, General39%84%
7Butler University
Indianapolis, IN Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
14Chemistry, General80%$35,69685%
8University of Indianapolis
Indianapolis, IN Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
13Chemistry, General$40,61256%$18,93066%
9Valparaiso University
Valparaiso, IN Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
13Chemistry, General$37,52670%$20,15589%
10Indiana State University
Terre Haute, IN Public · 1 feeder programs
12Chemistry, General43%81%
11Saint Mary's College
Notre Dame, IN Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
11Chemistry, General69%$25,89676%
12Franklin College
Franklin, IN Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
10Chemistry, General60%$22,05570%
13University of Saint Francis - Fort Wayne
Fort Wayne, IN Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
10Chemistry, General55%$20,01296%
14Purdue University Northwest
Hammond, IN Public · 1 feeder programs
9Chemistry, General43%72%
15Marian University
Indianapolis, IN Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
8Chemistry, General67%$23,37195%
16University of Evansville
Evansville, IN Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
6Chemistry, Other64%$19,59378%
17Manchester University
North Manchester, IN Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
5Chemistry, General46%$17,98071%
18Purdue University Fort Wayne
Fort Wayne, IN Public · 1 feeder programs
5Chemistry, General36%84%
19Rose - Hulman Institute of Technology
Terre Haute, IN Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
5Chemistry, General78%$36,77577%
20Wabash College
Crawfordsville, IN Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
5Chemistry, General77%$19,02163%
21DePauw University
Greencastle, IN Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
3Chemistry, General75%$20,87457%
22Earlham College
Richmond, IN Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
3Chemistry, General69%$23,21373%
23Hanover College
Hanover, IN Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
3Chemistry, General67%$20,44284%
24Ivy Tech Community College
Indianapolis, IN Public · 1 feeder programs
3Chemistry, General40%
25Taylor University
Upland, IN Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
3Chemistry, General74%$20,83674%

All 33 schools in Indiana

Every school in Indiana with a program that feeds this job, ordered by graduates per year. Earnings are shown for the ranked schools above; open a school profile for the rest.

All schools in Indiana that feed this occupation
SchoolCityControlGraduates / yrFeeder programs
Purdue University - Main CampusWest LafayettePublic1932
Indiana University - BloomingtonBloomingtonPublic971
University of Notre DameNotre DamePrivate not-for-profit502
Indiana University - IndianapolisIndianapolisPublic481
Ball State UniversityMunciePublic181
Indiana University - SoutheastNew AlbanyPublic161
Butler UniversityIndianapolisPrivate not-for-profit141
University of IndianapolisIndianapolisPrivate not-for-profit131
Valparaiso UniversityValparaisoPrivate not-for-profit131
Indiana State UniversityTerre HautePublic121
Saint Mary's CollegeNotre DamePrivate not-for-profit111
Franklin CollegeFranklinPrivate not-for-profit101
University of Saint Francis - Fort WayneFort WaynePrivate not-for-profit101
Purdue University NorthwestHammondPublic91
Marian UniversityIndianapolisPrivate not-for-profit81

What chemists earn in Indiana

What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.

Median annual in Indiana
$78,770
Mean annual
$88,080
Jobs in state
2,480
What the range looks like
10th pct$56,960Median$78,77090th pct$133,140
Versus the national median
-13.7%

U.S. median $91,240. Indiana pays below the national figure.

Job concentration
1.46×

Concentrated here: Indiana employs more of this job per worker than the U.S. average.

Metro areas in Indiana

Evansville, IN
$95,210median
140 jobs
Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN
$78,770median
1,310 jobs
Elkhart-Goshen, IN
$77,830median
80 jobs
Terre Haute, IN
$76,290median
50 jobs
Fort Wayne, IN
$78,860median
60 jobs
Bloomington, IN
$77,080median
190 jobs
South Bend-Mishawaka, IN-MI
$74,890median
70 jobs
Lafayette-West Lafayette, IN
$52,140median
120 jobs

Job outlook

Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.

Projected growth 2024–34
+4.9%
About as fast as average
Openings per year
6,300
new jobs plus replacements
Employment change
4,300
86,800 → 91,000
Typical entry education
Bachelor's degree

Growth and openings are national. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish employment projections at state level, so these figures describe the occupation across the whole U.S., not this state alone.

How to get in

The full skills, tools, and day-to-day breakdown lives on the national Chemists page.

How to become a Chemist

Job zone 4 of 5 · SVP 7.0 to < 8.0
Typical entry education
Bachelor's degree

Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.

A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.

Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.

Top skills

ScienceCritical ThinkingReading ComprehensionSpeakingWritingActive Listening

The same job in other states

Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.

Related careers in Indiana

Every major mapped to this job

The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.

All 14 majors mapped to Chemists13 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
  • 40.0501Chemistry, General
  • 40.0502Analytical Chemistry
  • 40.0503Inorganic Chemistry
  • 40.0504Organic Chemistry
  • 40.0506Physical Chemistry
  • 40.0507Polymer Chemistry
  • 40.0508Chemical Physics
  • 40.0509Environmental Chemistry
  • 40.0510Forensic Chemistry
  • 40.0511Theoretical Chemistry
  • 40.0512Cheminformatics/Chemistry Informatics(no graduates reported)
  • 40.0599Chemistry, Other
  • 40.1002Materials Chemistry
  • 51.2004Medicinal and Pharmaceutical Chemistry

Common questions

Answers for people weighing chemists programs in Indiana.

What degree do you need to become a Chemist?+

Bachelor's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Chemistry, General, which awarded 548 degrees in Indiana in 2024-25, 95.1% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.

Which college majors lead to becoming a Chemist?+

The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 3 programs to this occupation. The largest are Chemistry, Pharmacy. Together they graduate about 576 people a year in Indiana.

How much do chemists earn in Indiana?+

The median is $78,770 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 13.7% below the U.S. median of $91,240. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.

Is demand for chemists growing?+

BLS projects a +4.9% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, about as fast as average, with roughly 6,300 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.

How many schools offer programs for this career in Indiana?+

33 institutions in Indiana reported graduates from at least one of the 3 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.

What other job titles do chemists work under?+

Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Chemist, Scientist, Research Chemist, Analytical Chemist among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 19-2031.

About the data on this page

Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024–25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).

  • BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics

    May 2025

    Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.

  • BLS Employment Projections

    2024–34

    Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.

  • IPEDS Completions

    2024-25 (provisional)

    Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.

  • College Scorecard, Field of Study

    2020-21 cohorts

    Median graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.

  • Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes

    latest available

    Graduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.

  • NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk

    CIP 2020 / SOC 2018

    Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.

  • O*NET Database 30.3

    30.3

    Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.

    Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA

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