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 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 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 fully 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.
SOPHOMORE YEAR
| First Semester |
(Th-Pr)
|
Cr
|
|
Second Semester |
(Th-Pr)
|
Cr
|
| CHEM 227 Organic Chemistry I |
(3-0) |
3 |
|
CHEM 228 Organic Chemistry II |
(3-0) |
3 |
| CHEM 237 Organic Chemistry Lab. |
(0-3) |
1 |
|
CHEM 238 Organic Chemistry Lab. |
(0-3) |
1 |
| CHEN 204 Elem. Chemical Engineering |
(2-3) |
3 |
|
CHEN 205 Chemical Engineering Thermodynamics I |
(3-0) |
3 |
| ENGR 211 Conserv. Prin. of Engr. Mech. |
(2-2) |
3 |
|
MATH 308 Differential Equations |
(3-0) |
3 |
| MATH 251 Engineering Mathematics III |
(3-0) |
3 |
|
Electives |
|
6 |
| Elective |
|
3 |
|
|
|
16 |
| |
|
16 |
|
|
|
|
JUNIOR YEAR
| CHEM 316 Quantitative Analysis |
(2-0)
|
2
|
|
CHEM 322 Physical Chemistry for Engineers |
(3-0)
|
3
|
| CHEM 318 Quantitative Analysis Lab. |
(0-3) |
1 |
|
CHEM 325 Physical Chemistry Lab. I |
(0-3) |
1 |
| CHEN 304 Chemical Engineering Fluid Operations |
(3-0) |
3 |
|
CHEN 323 Chemical Engineering Heat Transfer Operations |
(3-0) |
3 |
| CHEN 320 Chemical Engineering Analysis. |
(3-0) |
3 |
|
CHEN 354 Chem. Engineering Thermo. II |
(3-0) |
3 |
| ENGR 213 Prin. of Materials Engr. |
(2-2) |
3 |
|
ENGL 210 Scientific and Tech. Writing or ENGL 301 Technical
Writing |
(3-0) |
3 |
| Elective |
|
3 |
|
ENGR 215 Prin. of Electrical Engr. |
(2-2) |
3 |
| Elective |
|
3 |
|
|
|
16 |
| |
|
18 |
|
|
|
|
SENIOR YEAR
| CHEM 326 Physical Chemistry Lab. II |
(0-3)
|
1
|
|
CHEN 426 Chemical Engineering Plant Design |
(1-6)
|
3
|
| CHEN 414 Chemical Engineering Lab. I |
(0-3) |
1 |
|
CHEN 433 Chemical Engr. Lab. II |
(0-3) |
1 |
| CHEN 424 Chemical Engineering Mass Transfer Operations |
(3-0) |
3 |
|
CHEN 464 Chemical Engineering Kinetics |
(3-0) |
3 |
| CHEN 425 Chemical Engineering Plant Economics |
(2-0) |
2 |
|
CHEN specialty electives |
|
6 |
| CHEN 455 Process Safety Engr. |
(3-0) |
3 |
|
Elective |
|
3 |
| CHEN 461 Proc. Control and Instr. |
(3-3) |
4 |
|
|
|
16 |
| CHEN 481 Seminar |
(0-2) |
1 |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
15 |
|
|
|
|
Scholastic Performance Requirements for
Chemical Engineering Undergraduates
The Texas A&M
University Student Rules stipulate that a student
must achieve a minimum grade point ratio (GPR) of 2.0 both
overall, as well as in those courses in the major, in order
to graduate from the University. The University also classifies
students with less than 30 credit hours as freshmen (U1),
30 to 60 hours as sophomores (U2), 60 to 94 hours as juniors
(U3), and 95 hours or more as seniors (U4). The Department
of Chemical Engineering imposes additional requirements
for students to be accepted into, and progress through,
the Chemical Engineering curriculum, based upon classification
with regard to the courses which have been completed in
the Chemical Engineering curriculum, as follows.
Freshmen
All students who are classified as lower level (CHEL) are
considered to be freshmen with regard to the Chemical Engineering
curriculum, regardless of the total number of credit hours
that they have earned. Students will not be permitted to
enroll in any Chemical Engineering course until they have
been admitted to upper- level (CHEN) status. Automatic admission
to upper-level status will be granted to students who complete
the Common Body of Knowledge (CBK) courses in the freshman
year of the curriculum (e.g., all of the required first year
English, chemistry, physics, math and engineering courses),
with no grade below a C and a minimum cumulative GPR of 3.0
in these courses, as well as an overall GPR of 3.0 or higher.
Additional admissions to upper level may be made for students
with a GPR below 3.0 in the CBK courses, up to a maximum
of 160 students per year. The departmental advisor for freshmen
is Dr. D. T. Hanson.
Sophomores
Students who have been admitted to upper-level (CHEN) status,
but who have not completed all 200-level CHEN courses, are
classified as Chemical Engineering sophomores regardless
of the total number of credit hours they have earned. All
students are required to complete both CHEN 204 and CHEN
205, each with a grade of C or better, and earn an overall
GPR of 2.5 or higher, before being allowed to enroll in junior
CHEN (300-level) courses. Neither CHEN 204 nor CHEN 205 can
be repeated more than once. The departmental advisor for
sophomores is Dr. Lale Yurttas.
Juniors
Students who have successfully completed all 200-level
CHEN courses, but have not completed all of the 300-level
CHEN courses in the Chemical Engineering curriculum, are
classified as Chemical Engineering juniors regardless of
the total number of credit hours they have earned. Students
must complete each 300-level CHEN course in the Chemical
Engineering curriculum with a grade of C or better, and have
a cumulative average GPR of 2.0 or better for all CHEN courses,
before being permitted to enroll in 400-level CHEN courses.
The departmental advisor for juniors is Dr. Lale Yurttas.
Seniors
Students who have successfully completed all required 300-level
CHEN courses are classified as Chemical Engineering seniors.
All students must complete each of the 400-level required
prerequisite CHEN courses with a grade of C or better, and
have a cumulative average GPR of 2.0 for all CHEN courses,
as well as an overall GPR of 2.0, in order to qualify for
graduation with a B.S. degree in Chemical Engineering. The
departmental advisor for seniors is Dr. Lale Yurttas. Graduating
seniors in their final semester should see Dr. Yurttas for
their final degree checks.
