The University of Santo Tomas was the first institution of higher learning in the Philippines to teach chemistry in its science courses. In 1924, the Faculty of Science offered specialized chemistry courses in General and Analytical Chemistry at the then College of Liberal Arts. A four-year B.S. in Chemistry program was introduced in 1931 to respond to the country’s need for more technical experts for which a government recognition was obtained in June 1934 and in July 1961, a B.S. in Industrial Technology was offered. A short-lived three-year course for chemical technicians was introduced in 1974, and then the five-year curriculum in the mid 1970’s was re-organized and condensed to a four-year program. It is also a university-wide service department for various chemistry related general education courses. 

The Department now boasts of having a strong faculty force made up of experts in various fields including two Academicians of the National Academy of Science and Technology a substantial number of modern chemical instruments. With this, the Chemistry Department has been the first unit in the University to be recognized by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) as a Center of Excellence (COE) in 1997. This recognition remains in force. The BS Chemistry program has been certified by the ASEAN Universities Network Quality Assurance (AUN-QA) in 2017.