The Bachelor’s in Chemical Engineering degree program is designed to give graduates a broad background in chemical engineering processes and to prepare them to become practicing engineers. Graduates are prepared for positions in operations, development, design, construction, and management of chemical plants, environmental processes, life sciences, and materials processing. These industries convert raw materials, such as ethylene and other organic feedstocks, via chemical and physical changes to produce economically desirable products such as plastics, detergents, paints, and adhesives. Students with this background are also prepared for graduate school in engineering and science as well as for any professional school.
Practical work on process and product design and synthesis is incorporated into all chemical engineering classes. One element is group design projects that require sophomores and juniors to use their knowledge as it is gained. Another element is the individual design project that require seniors to synthesize their knowledge of chemical engineering, correct any deficiencies in their knowledge of chemical engineering, and which also provide faculty a method of assessing the success of the sophomore and junior years. The third element is a group project in which seniors work under the direction of a student chief engineer on a year-long comprehensive design. In conjunction with these projects, there are required written and oral presentations and required computer applications integrated throughout the curriculum. Completion of these projects also trains students to work in groups of different sizes and gives them experience in self-directed learning. Additionally, in the senior year, elements of professional practice, ethics, and safety are introduced in the classroom.
The chemical engineering curriculum also contains a significant laboratory component aimed at reinforcing the knowledge gained in the classroom. In addition to basic chemistry and physics laboratories, the chemical engineering laboratories involve laboratory experiments and demonstrations in the junior year, followed by a two-semester laboratory sequence in the senior year in which the principles of experimental design, laboratory and safety procedures, data analysis, and report writing are stressed.
The chemical engineering program is accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission (EAC) of ABET, http://www.abet.org.
