The chemistry program at Caltech provides depth in the traditional areas of chemistry—organic and inorganic chemistry, chemical physics, theoretical chemistry, and chemical biology. Major initiatives are fostering broad collaborations in energy and environment, molecular medicine, and nanomaterials.

Started as applied chemistry by Arthur Amos Noyes, the department led the famous Project 37 of the American Petroleum Institute that provided much of the basic knowledge on thermodynamics and phase equilibria in hydrocarbon systems.

Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics has been established as an interdisciplinary program, at the interface of biology, chemistry, and physics, that seeks to understand the basic molecular mechanisms of life.