SAN MARCOS ---- Students at Cal State San Marcos are now being offered a path to pursue a bachelor's degree in biochemistry in a program launched this semester, the university has announced.

Some 43 chemistry majors may now opt to be awarded the new bachelor of science degree. Five of them are expected to graduate this spring or summer. Some 70 students are enrolled as majors in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry in the College of Arts and Sciences.

Steve Welch, the chair of chemistry and biochemistry, said studies in biochemistry prepare students for graduate study and for jobs in the pharmaceutical and biotech industries.

Cal State San Marcos' plans for academic programs include kinesiology as early as fall 2004 and biotechnology and environmental sciences, both expected in fall 2005.

Students of biochemistry focus on the structure and function of the molecules that control the basic processes in living organisms. Kinesiology is the study of muscular movement.