Working as a PhD Chemistry

The University of Pennsylvania was founded by Benjamin Franklin when he had a little down time between establishing a country and experimenting with lightning. Since opening its doors to students in 1751, the Ivy League university has accumulated a notable list of accomplishments, including the creation of one of the first medical schools in the US. The university has about 21,000 students who pursue their studies in four undergraduate schools and a dozen graduate and professional schools, including the renowned Wharton School and the Annenberg School for Communications. Its student-teacher ratio is very low 6:1. Former president Judith Rodin was the first female to head an Ivy League university.

We provide a thriving community for those with an overwhelming desire to teach and to learn, to research, and to serve. At the University of Minnesota, we continually inspire the next great generation of innovators and empower each other during our search for knowledge. The University of Minnesota has five strong campuses--Crookston, Duluth, Morris, Rochester, and the Twin Cities--supporting one strong state. The U of M System is one of the most comprehensive in the nation, with offerings to meet the interests of every student and the changing needs of our society. We're proud of our land-grant mission of world-class education, groundbreaking research, and community-engaged outreach, and we are unified in our drive to serve Minnesota. The University is dedicated to keeping you and your family healthy—physically, emotionally, financially, socially, and professionally. We believe in the concept of "total compensation": a complete package of rewards that includes not just wages but a full scope of benefits to make sure our faculty and staff remain happy, healthy, and engaged in their work.

Having been founded even before the United States, Rutgers University can teach its students a thing or two about history. Founded in 1766 as Queen's College, the university was the colonies' eighth institution of higher education. It offers undergraduate and graduate degrees from more than two dozen schools and colleges on three campuses (Camden, Newark, and New Brunswick/Piscataway, New Jersey). Rutgers has about 57,000 students and some 4,000 faculty members. The university's schools and colleges offer undergraduate majors in more than 100 fields, including business and law. Rutgers' name changed in 1825 to honor Revolutionary War hero and alumnus Colonel Henry Rutgers.

Founded in 1876 with a $7 million bequest from its namesake, The Johns Hopkins University established its reputation from the beginning by molding itself in the image of a European research institution. While renowned for its School of Medicine, the private university offers 50 majors and 40 minors spanning fields of study including arts and sciences, business, and international studies. 2010 fall enrollment was just about 7,000 students. Johns Hopkins, has about a half-dozen campuses in Maryland and Washington, DC, as well as international facilities in China and Italy. The student-teacher ratio is 12:1. The affiliated Johns Hopkins Health System provides health care from its three Baltimore-area hospitals.

Founded in 1853, the University of Florida (UF) is the state's oldest university and one of the largest in the country, with more than 50,000 students and 4,000 faculty members. UF is a major land-grant research university encompassing 2,000 acres in Gainesville, Florida. Its 16 colleges offer more than 100 undergraduate majors and about 200 graduate programs, including education, law, medicine, psychology, and philosophy. UF has a student-teacher ratio of 21:1. It is also a member of the Association of American Universities, a confederation of the top research universities in North America. A founding member of the Southeastern Conference, UF's athletic teams (the Florida Gators) are typically ranked nationally.

Mormons looking for an education don't have to look far -- they can go to Brigham Young University (BYU), where they can get schooling based on the values of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (also known as the Mormons). Through 10 colleges, the Mormon-owned university offers bachelor's degrees in some 190 academic programs, master's in nearly 65, doctorates in another 25, and a juris doctorate. Its enrollment includes about 33,000 students, with more than 97% identifying themselves as Mormon; the student-teacher ratio is 21:1. BYU was founded in 1875 by Brigham Young, who led some 3,500 church members fleeing religious persecution to found their own settlement in Salt Lake City.

The University of Kansas (KU) hawks an education to more than 30,000 students at its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, and three secondary campuses. The school (whose mascot is the Jayhawk) offers undergraduate and graduate programs through more than a dozen colleges and schools and maintains several research centers. It has a student-teacher ratio of about 20:1. KU operates the University of Kansas Medical Center as part of its school of medicine. Established in 1864, the university is overseen by Kansas' Board of Regents, along with cross-state rival Kansas State. Its KU Endowment Association, founded in 1891, is the oldest of its kind for a public university in the US.

One of 13 state universities in Ohio, the University of Toledo (UT) is the third-largest in the state with an enrollment of more than 20,000 students. UT offers more than 250 programs of study, including nearly 90 master's degree programs and more than 15 doctoral programs, through about ten colleges, including arts and sciences, business administration, education, engineering, health and human services, law, medicine, nursing, and pharmacy. The university also operates the University of Toledo Medical Center. UT was established in 1872 and became a member of the state university system in 1967.