Dwight Look College of Engineering
Curriculum in Chemical Engineering
Chemical engineering is a broad field of engineering and thus requires a diverse preparation in science and engineering. Distinguishing chemical engineering from other engineering disciplines is its use of chemical and biochemical reactions to produce products and materials for society. Traditionally, chemical engineers have provided leadership in the petrochemical, refining, chemical, polymer, and food processing industries. Because of strengths in the foundation sciences of mathematics, chemistry, physics and biology, as well as in engineering, this leadership role has now extended to the biochemical, biomedical, high-tech materials, semi-conductor and microelectronics, nanotechnology, environmental quality, safety, and a host of other areas. Chemical engineers have consistently commanded starting salaries among the highest of all college graduates because of the combined breadth and depth of their education.
The mission of the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering at Texas A&M is to educate and prepare students for leadership roles in industry, government, and academia; to attract top students to chemical engineering; to define and develop new directions in chemical engineering fundamentals and practices, and in chemical engineering education and curricula; to be a valuable resource and service base to the State, the Nation and to industry; and to provide leadership in solving problems of social and economic importance.
Objectives of the chemical engineering program are that 1) our graduates demonstrate the foundation and depth for successful chemical engineering careers in industry, academia or government, 2) our graduates demonstrate the foundation and breadth to obtain, apply and transfer knowledge across disciplines and into emerging areas of chemical engineering and related fields, 3) our graduates demonstrate effective communications, leadership and teaming skills, and 4) our graduates demonstrate that they have a sense of responsibility, are ethical in the conduct of their profession, and have an appreciation for the impact of their profession on society.
The chemical engineering curriculum provides a balanced education in virtually all aspects of chemical engineering principles and practice and includes education in economics, humanities and communication. Chemical engineering courses emphasize fundamentals and methods that are applicable to the analysis, development, design and operation of a wide variety of chemical engineering systems and processes, thereby providing the necessary background for entry into the wide array of activities described above. At the same time, specific example applications provide the student with insight into the ability of chemical engineers to work in such a variety of areas. The sequence of courses converges in the senior year into a comprehensive capstone design course that includes elements of economics, safety and environmental issues. The course provides an experience much like that of an industry design project. It is this philosophy of fundamentals, applications and design that has enabled our chemical engineering graduates to adapt readily to a dynamic and rapidly changing world and to solve problems they have not previously experienced.
To supplement course work, well-equipped laboratories provide our students with experiences in operating and analyzing a variety of unit operations and process control equipment and in the use of the modern computational tools and software used in chemical engineering.
Admission to upper-level status in chemical engineering is a prerequisite for enrolling in the chemical engineering course sequence. Specific academic performance requirements must also be met for advancement from sophomore to junior and junior to senior level in the chemical engineering course sequence (the undergraduate advisor should be consulted for specific requirements).
The two required Chemical Engineering specialty courses in the senior year provide the student an opportunity to acquire in-depth knowledge in one or more specialized areas of chemical engineering practice. These courses extend and apply the fundamentals developed in the basic courses. The courses are to be taken from a prescribed list, which includes such topics as biotechnology, materials engineering, microelectronics processing, polymer engineering, math models, etc. Other courses may also be acceptable, with special approval. This requirement may be met by taking a variety of courses in different areas, or a sequence of courses with emphasis in a specific area. Students interested in this option should consult with an advisor.
The department is accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology and the American Institute of Chemical Engineers and compares favorably with the best in the nation.