General electives track
Chemical engineering involves the development and production of chemicals for applications of broad use to mankind. Chemical engineers work with and produce complex polymers and nanostructured materials, organic and inorganic compounds, semiconductor component materials, fuel cells, and a variety of specialty chemicals. Chemical engineers can be found in almost any engineering endeavor, as the role of chemistry and chemical physics rarely can be neglected in any science or engineering application.
A variety of core chemical engineering courses, such as transport phenomena, reaction science and engineering, and mass and energy balances, represent key foundational elements that apply to both the general electives and the life science focus/pre-med tracks.
Technical electives
General education requirements
Core curriculum
| Fall semester, freshman year | Credits |
| CHEM 101 General Chemistry | 3 |
| CHEZ/FRSZ 101L General Chemistry Laboratory I | 1 |
| CLSE 101 Introduction to Chemical and Life Science Engineering | 3 |
| CLSE 215 Introduction to Programming | 3 |
| MATH 200 Calculus with Analytic Geometry I | 4 |
| UNIV 111 Focused Inquiry I | 3 |
17 |
|
| Spring semester, freshman year | |
| CHEM 102 General Chemistry | 3 |
| CHEZ/FRSZ 102L General Chemistry Laboratory II | 1 |
| MATH 201 Calculus with Analytic Geometry II | 4 |
| PHYS 207 University Physics I | 5 |
| UNIV 112 Focused Inquiry II | 3 |
16 |
|
| Fall semester, sophomore year | |
| CHEM 301 Organic Chemistry | 3 |
| CHEZ 301L Organic Chemistry Laboratory I | 2 |
| CLSE 201 Material Balances | 3 |
| MATH 301 Differential Equations | 3 |
| PHYS 208 University Physics II | 5 |
16 |
|
| Spring semester, sophomore year | |
| BIOL 152 Introduction to Biological Science II* | 3 |
| CHEM 302 Organic Chemistry | 3 |
| CHEZ 302L Organic Chemistry Laboratory II | 3 |
| CLSE 202 Energy Balances and Engineering Thermodynamics | 3 |
| ECON 205 The Economics of Product Development and Markets | 3 |
| MATH 307 Multivariate Calculus | 4 |
18 |
|
| Fall semester, junior year | |
| CLSE 301 Transport Phenomena I | 3 |
| CLSE 305 Thermodynamics of Phase Equilibria and Chemical Reactions | 3 |
| CLSE 320 Instrumentation Laboratory | 2 |
| ENGL 200 Writing and Rhetoric Workshop II or other research and academic writing course | 3 |
| General education requirement – social science | 3 |
14 |
|
| Spring semester, junior year | |
| BIOZ 152L Introduction to Biological Sciences II Laboratory | 1 |
| CLSE 302 Transport Phenomena II | 3 |
| CLSE 312 Chemical Reaction Engineering | 3 |
| CLSE 409 Chemical Process Control | 3 |
| Engineering technical electives | 6 |
16 |
|
| Fall semester, senior year | |
| CLSE 440 Unit Operations Laboratory | 2 |
| ENGR 402 Senior Design Studio I | 1 |
| ENGZ 402L Senior Design Studio I Laboratory | 2 |
| ENGR 410 Review of Internship | 1 |
| STAT 541 Applied Statistics for Engineers and Scientists | 3 |
| PHIL 201 Critical Thinking About Moral Problems | 3 |
| Life science technical electives | 6 |
18 |
|
| Spring semester, senior year | |
| ENGR 403 Senior Design Studio II | 1 |
| ENGZ 403L Senior Design Studio II Laboratory | 2 |
| Engineering elective | 3 |
| General education requirement – natural/physical science | 3 |
| Technical elective | 6 |
15 |
|
| Total minimum requirement | 130 |
Technical electives: Three electives must be 300-level or higher engineering courses; the remaining technical electives may be chosen from 300-level or higher courses from engineering, math, sciences or business. Suggested courses are listed below. Two of the technical electives must be chosen from the list of life science technical electives. Note: Some life science technical electives have prerequisites not included in the required courses above for the chemical engineering track. Students are strongly encouraged to take ENGL 200 or another research and academic argument course during the fall semester of the junior year to prepare for writing assignments in upper-level engineering courses. All electives must be selected with the agreement of the student’s academic adviser.
Total credits: All chemical and life science engineering majors must complete a minimum of 130 credit hours in order to graduate. A grade of C or better is required in all School of Engineering courses. Also, students should refer to the D grade policy.
Technical electives
Some courses may have prerequisites.
Chemical engineering
CHEM 303 Physical Chemistry
CHEM 580 Mechanical Properties of Plastics and Polymers
EGRC/CHEM 306 Industrial Applications of Inorganic Chemistry
EGRC 325 Bioengineering
EGRC 350 Research in Chemical Engineering
EGRC 405 Process Synthesis
EGRC 428 Introduction to Polymer Science and Engineering
EGRC 549 Process Biotechnology
ENGR 305 Sensors and Measurements
ENGR 412 Advanced Engineering Mathematics
ENGR 430 Process Modeling and Simulation
ENGR 505 Characterization of Materials
EGRC 543 Advanced Reaction Engineering
Biosciences and biotechnology
BIOC 503-504 Biochemistry, Cell and Molecular Biology
BIOC 505, 506 Experimental Biochemistry
BIOL 151 Introduction to Biological Sciences I
BIOL/PHIS 206 Human Physiology
BIOL 218 Cell Biology
CHEM/MEDC 310 Medicinal Chemistry and Drug Design
CHEM 327 Biochemistry
CHEM/BIOC 403 Biochemistry
CHEM 404 Advanced Topics in Biochemistry
Biomedical engineering
EGRB 307 Biomedical Instrumentation
EGRB 310 Biomechanics
EGRB 406 Artificial Organs
EGRB 427 Biomaterials
Manufacturing
EGRM 425 Introduction to Manufacturing Systems
EGRM 426 Manufacturing Processes
Mathematics
MATH 310 Linear Algebra
MATH/OPER 327 Mathematical Modeling
MATH 437 Applied Partial Differential Equations
MATH 515 Numerical Analysis I
MATH 516 Numerical Analysis II
Polymer science and materials engineering
BIOC 602 Physical Properties of Macromolecules
CHEM 550 Introduction to Polymer Chemistry
CHEM 580 Mechanical Properties of Plastics and Polymers
CHEM 691 Topics in Chemistry
In addition, any ENGR 492 Special Topics course taught by faculty from the School of Engineering can be used as a technical elective by agreement with the student’s academic adviser, and with agreement from the department chair or assistant chair.
Core curriculum requirements
Chemical and life science engineering majors fulfill the Tier II core curriculum requirements via selection of courses in the topical areas as follows:
- Quantitative literacy: MATH 200
- Research and academic writing: ENGL 200 or another research and academic writing course
- Humanities/fine arts: PHIL 201
- Social/behavioral sciences: one course from approved Tier II list
- Natural/physical sciences: one course from approved Tier II list