American Chemical Society Certification
The B.S. in Chemistry at High Point University is certified by the American Chemical Society’s Committee on Professional Training. ACS certification evaluates curriculum, student skills and faculty against national standards, so graduate programs and employers recognize an ACS-certified bachelor’s degree as meeting the society’s requirements.
SACSCOC Accreditation for Chemistry
The chemistry degree is offered by the Wanek School of Natural Sciences and is covered by High Point University’s institutional accreditation from SACSCOC, as are the biochemistry major and chemistry minor.
University Accreditation
High Point University is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) and has been continuously accredited since 1951. SACSCOC has granted HPU Level V status, which authorizes a university to award doctoral degrees.
The Wanek School of Natural Sciences
The Wanek School of Natural Sciences is a community of more than 450 scientist scholars in biology, biochemistry, chemistry, neuroscience and physics, with an average student-to-faculty ratio of 17 to 1. Its faculty are internationally recognized for published research and for their approach to undergraduate teaching.
The school sits on the Innovation Corridor, a half-mile stretch of campus with two brand new buildings and the Caine Conservatory, a 15,000-square-foot space with a classroom, working greenhouse and planting display.
Faculty Recognition
Dr. Heather Miller received the Henry Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award in 2023, one of eight awarded nationally that year and the first in HPU’s history, carrying a $75,000 grant. In 2026 she received HPU’s Ruth Ridenhour Scholarly and Professional Achievement Award and the North Carolina Biotechnology Center Academic Development Excellence Award.
Dr. Kelsey Kean received the Jean Dreyfus Lectureship and $25,000 in 2025, HPU’s first grant from the Jean Dreyfus Foundation.
NIH-Funded Research
The National Institutes of Health has continued its support for HPU research on antibiotic-resistant bacteria, with Dr. Heather Miller’s team awarded nearly $550,000 to continue the work. HPU’s first patent, announced in November 2024, covers loratadine and related small molecules as antibiotic adjuvants against MRSA, developed by Drs. Blackledge and Miller with undergraduate researchers.
Student Awards
Sadie Flagg, a chemistry major, won a Goldwater Scholarship in 2023 for research using atomic force microscopy on polymer thin films, then began a Ph.D. in materials science and engineering at Georgia Tech. Alexa Young earned a U.S. Department of Defense SMART Scholarship. Caroline Rivera, a chemistry and exercise science double major, was the 2023 American Kinesiology Association National Undergraduate Scholar.
Biochemistry graduate Rebecca Ulrich earned a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship, became a postdoctoral fellow at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard and received the American Chemical Society’s Irving S. Sigal Postdoctoral Fellowship.
National ACS Meetings
Twenty-three HPU undergraduates and six chemistry faculty presented 21 posters at the 2026 American Chemical Society national meeting in Atlanta.
U.S. News & World Report Rankings
In U.S. News & World Report’s Best Colleges 2027 edition, High Point University was named the #1 Most Innovative Regional University in the South and ranked #3 for Best Undergraduate Teaching.
Explore Chemistry at High Point University
Chemistry at High Point University is ACS certified and research active from the first year.
Curriculum & Research Careers & Student Organizations
Questions about the program? Email Dr. Todd Knippenberg at [email protected].