Best Chemist programs in South Carolina, ranked by enrollment
Conduct qualitative and quantitative chemical analyses or experiments in laboratories for quality or process control or to develop new products or.
22 schools in South Carolina run programs that feed this job, graduating 245 people a year. The job pays a median of $79,670 in South Carolina across about 770 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).
Fields of study in South Carolina that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.
2 programs in South Carolina that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year in South Carolina (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 South Carolina page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chemistry, Generalmain feeder CIP 40.0501In South Carolina → | 229 | 93.5% | 22 | $42,620 | $23,900 |
| 2 | Chemistry, Othermain feeder CIP 40.0599In South Carolina → | 16 | 6.5% | 1 | $42,620 | $23,900 |
Top 22 schools in South Carolina
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 2 of the 22 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of South Carolina - Columbia Columbia, SC Public · 1 feeder programs | 48 | Chemistry, General | $39,018 | 79% | — | 60% |
| 2 | Clemson University Clemson, SC Public · 1 feeder programs | 47 | Chemistry, General | — | 87% | — | 38% |
| 3 | Furman University Greenville, SC Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 30 | Chemistry, General | — | 79% | $24,932 | 43% |
| 4 | College of Charleston Charleston, SC Public · 2 feeder programs | 29 | Chemistry, Other | $39,208 | 66% | — | 60% |
| 5 | Winthrop University Rock Hill, SC Public · 1 feeder programs | 16 | Chemistry, General | — | 57% | — | 79% |
| 6 | Citadel Military College of South Carolina Charleston, SC Public · 1 feeder programs | 12 | Chemistry, General | — | 75% | — | 23% |
| 7 | Wofford College Spartanburg, SC Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 10 | Chemistry, General | — | 84% | $24,459 | 52% |
| 8 | Lander University Greenwood, SC Public · 1 feeder programs | 9 | Chemistry, General | — | 50% | — | 81% |
| 9 | University of South Carolina - Upstate Spartanburg, SC Public · 1 feeder programs | 7 | Chemistry, General | — | 43% | — | 67% |
| 10 | Francis Marion University Florence, SC Public · 1 feeder programs | 5 | Chemistry, General | — | 43% | — | 86% |
| 11 | Presbyterian College Clinton, SC Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 5 | Chemistry, General | — | 51% | $20,548 | 68% |
| 12 | Claflin University Orangeburg, SC Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 4 | Chemistry, General | — | 52% | $23,698 | 65% |
| 13 | Erskine College Due West, SC Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 4 | Chemistry, General | — | 45% | $21,534 | 63% |
| 14 | University of South Carolina Aiken Aiken, SC Public · 1 feeder programs | 4 | Chemistry, General | — | 40% | — | 79% |
| 15 | South Carolina State University Orangeburg, SC Public · 1 feeder programs | 3 | Chemistry, General | — | 37% | — | 83% |
| 16 | Bob Jones University Greenville, SC Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 2 | Chemistry, General | — | 65% | $18,053 | — |
| 17 | Charleston Southern University Charleston, SC Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 2 | Chemistry, General | — | 47% | $21,848 | 96% |
| 18 | Coastal Carolina University Conway, SC Public · 1 feeder programs | 2 | Chemistry, General | — | 48% | — | 75% |
| 19 | Converse University Spartanburg, SC Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 2 | Chemistry, General | — | 62% | $19,465 | 68% |
| 20 | Southern Wesleyan University Central, SC Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 2 | Chemistry, General | — | 52% | $19,568 | 100% |
| 21 | Benedict College Columbia, SC Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 1 | Chemistry, General | — | 24% | $19,589 | 96% |
| 22 | Columbia College Columbia, SC Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 1 | Chemistry, General | — | 37% | $23,986 | 94% |
All 22 schools in South Carolina
Every school in South Carolina 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.
| School | City | Control | Graduates / yr | Feeder programs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of South Carolina - Columbia | Columbia | Public | 48 | 1 |
| Clemson University | Clemson | Public | 47 | 1 |
| Furman University | Greenville | Private not-for-profit | 30 | 1 |
| College of Charleston | Charleston | Public | 29 | 2 |
| Winthrop University | Rock Hill | Public | 16 | 1 |
| Citadel Military College of South Carolina | Charleston | Public | 12 | 1 |
| Wofford College | Spartanburg | Private not-for-profit | 10 | 1 |
| Lander University | Greenwood | Public | 9 | 1 |
| University of South Carolina - Upstate | Spartanburg | Public | 7 | 1 |
| Francis Marion University | Florence | Public | 5 | 1 |
| Presbyterian College | Clinton | Private not-for-profit | 5 | 1 |
| Claflin University | Orangeburg | Private not-for-profit | 4 | 1 |
| Erskine College | Due West | Private not-for-profit | 4 | 1 |
| University of South Carolina Aiken | Aiken | Public | 4 | 1 |
| South Carolina State University | Orangeburg | Public | 3 | 1 |
What chemists earn in South Carolina
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $91,240. South Carolina pays below the national figure.
1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.
Metro areas in South Carolina
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
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
The same job in other states
Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.
Related careers in South Carolina
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 South Carolina.
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 229 degrees in South Carolina in 2024-25, 93.5% 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 2 programs to this occupation. The largest are Chemistry. Together they graduate about 245 people a year in South Carolina.
How much do chemists earn in South Carolina?+
The median is $79,670 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 12.7% 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 South Carolina?+
22 institutions in South Carolina reported graduates from at least one of the 2 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 2025Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.
BLS Employment Projections
2024–34Projected 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 cohortsMedian graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.
Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes
latest availableGraduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.
NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk
CIP 2020 / SOC 2018Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.
O*NET Database 30.3
30.3Tasks, 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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