After receiving his Ph.D., Herman T. Briscoe was appointed assistant professor of chemistry at Indiana University, working his way to professor of chemistry in 1928. Throughout his career, Briscoe authored or coauthored 23 publications on conductivity, physical properties, and the reactions of organic and inorganic molecules, supervised the graduate studies of 25 students, and published several general chemistry textbooks.
In 1938, President of Indiana University Herman B. Wells appointed Briscoe as the secretary of the newly established self-survey committee, which sought the feedback of faculty and proposed administrative changes accordingly. In the same year, Briscoe was appointed Chairman of the Department of Chemistry of Indiana University following the recommendation of retiring Chairman Robert E. Lyons. Herman Briscoe would continue on to become Indiana University's first Dean of Faculties in 1939 and Vice President of Indiana University in 1940. Briscoe gave up his appointment as Chairman of the Department of Chemistry in order to focus on his administrative roles as Vice President and Dean of Faculties, in which he served until his retirement in 1959.