What students report

85% recommend

Review sample

  • Freshman133%
  • Sophomore267%
Career prospectsSimilar

0.0/5 here

About typical for this major

Elsewhere 3.3Here 3.3
Enjoyment-0.2

0.0/5 here

Lower enjoyment here

Elsewhere 3.9Here 3.6
Difficulty+0.7

0.0/5 here

More difficult here

Elsewhere 3.1Here 3.8

What stands out

  • More demanding. Difficulty is 0.7 points higher than the same major at other schools.
  • Heavier workload. Workload is 0.6 points higher than the same major at other schools.

Student voice

Why students feel that way

Patterns tell us what is happening. Student accounts explain why.

Distinctive themes

No distinctive review themes have cleared the evidence threshold yet.

Representative perspectives

I personally really enjoy learning about chemistry. However, I picked biochemistry because there’s one less physics class to take than a chem major. Learning about the concepts is difficult but the application in a laboratory…

Difficulty & workload

Biochemistry is for students that actually like chemistry and enjoy the theoretical aspects of biology that then relate back to it all. I do not recommend for those that are looking for a broad major to open up their interests…

Difficulty & workload

Very tough, it is going to be a lot of studying, a lot of procrastinating, and a lot of regretting the procrastinating

Difficulty & workload

Compare schools

Similar majors at USC

Complete evidence

Student reviews

3 reviews

Tone
PositiveDifficulty & workload
Freshman Verified

I personally really enjoy learning about chemistry. However, I picked biochemistry because there’s one less physics class to take than a chem major. Learning about the concepts is difficult but the application in a laboratory setting could be more challenging. The workload is heavy and very challenging, but I enjoy this challenge. The good part is that there’s not too much math to do, besides the calc 1&2 requirement for biochemistry majors at USC. The faculty is supportive and professional, some are really good that teaching and are always happy to help. It might be hard to get internships/research opportunities because USC is such a big school, and therefore the competitive is intensive. Most biochemistry majors attend medical school or the MD/PhD program after their undergraduate career. But overall I would recommend this major only if you are very very very interested in both chemistry and biology and also the intensive amounts of labs to do.

Jul 2025
CriticalDifficulty & workload
Sophomore Verified

Biochemistry is for students that actually like chemistry and enjoy the theoretical aspects of biology that then relate back to it all. I do not recommend for those that are looking for a broad major to open up their interests because of how heavy the workload is. This senator u have to take calc 2, molecular biology, and organic chemistry all in the same sem.

Oct 2025
CriticalDifficulty & workload
Sophomore Verified

Very tough, it is going to be a lot of studying, a lot of procrastinating, and a lot of regretting the procrastinating

Oct 2025

Add context

Studied Biochemistry at USC?

Help future students understand the promise, demands, and tradeoffs of this program.

Write a review