Chemistry can be described many ways, because it plays a part in our understanding the natural world from any perspective. Scientists in all fields use chemistry and the physical principles taught in chemistry courses even if they do not know they are using them. Material experienced by such a wide variety of individuals will be described in a very diverse manner.

In a more formal sense, chemistry is traditionally divided into five major subdisciplines: organic chemistry, biochemistry, inorganic chemistry, analytical chemistry, and physical chemistry. The types of problems studied in each subdiscipline are different, and the skills needed to be a practicing chemist in each discipline are different. At the heart of each, however, is a fundamental desire to understand the Universe on a molecular level.

Below are some descriptions of each of the subdisciplines of chemistry. The faculty hope they help you approach an understanding of the diversity of problems chemists investigate.