The Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering (BSChE) degree program is designed to provide students with comprehensive training in chemical engineering fundamentals. This degree program is accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET under the General Criteria and the Chemical Engineering Program Criteria. The BSChE degree requires the satisfactory completion of a minimum of 126 units as indicated in the BSChE Requirements table below. Of the courses listed in the BSChE Requirements, only the humanities and social sciences courses may be taken as Pass/No Pass with the exception of College writing which must be taken for a letter grade.

The program of study consists of 25 units of physical and biological sciences (i.e., biology, chemistry and physics); 24 units of mathematics and engineering computing; 41 units of core chemical engineering courses; 18 units of humanities and social sciences; and 18 units of chemical engineering electives. The chemical engineering electives permit students to tailor their studies toward specific goals such as obtaining more depth in a chemical engineering subdiscipline (e.g., materials) or increasing breadth by choosing courses from different subdisciplines. At least one chemical engineering elective course must be chosen from a set of advanced lab course options, and at least 9 of the 18 units must be taken in EECE. The rest may be taken in other engineering departments or in the natural or physical sciences. Students, in collaboration with their advisors, design a course of study (subject to certain requirements) for the chemical engineering electives. Consult the EECE department website for more details, including a list of approved courses.

BSChE Requirements

Total Units Required: 126

Physical Sciences Units
General Chemistry (CHEM 1701 or CHEM 1601, CHEM 1702 or CHEM 1602) (CHEM 1701 and CHEM 1702 recommended) 6
General Chemistry Laboratory (CHEM 1751, CHEM 1752) 4
General Physics (PHYSICS 1740 or PHYSICS 1760, PHYSICS 1742 or PHYSICS 1762) 6 or 8
Physics Laboratory (PHYSICS 1741, PHYSICS 1743) 2
Organic Chemistry I (CHEM 2561) 4
Unit Subtotal 22
Biological Science Units
Biology in EECE (EECE 3550) or Principles of Biology I (BIOL 2960) 3 or 4
Unit Subtotal 3 or 4
Mathematics & Computing Units
Calculus II, III (MATH 1520, MATH 2130) 6
Differential Equations (MATH 2500) 3
Engineering Mathematics A, B (ENGR 3180, ENGR 3190) 6
Introduction to Engineering Computing (ENGR 1201) 3
Engineering Statistics with Probability (ENGR 3280) or Probability and Statistics for Engineering (ESE 3260) (ENGR 3280 recommended) 3
Computational Modeling in Energy, Environmental and Chemical Engineering (EECE 2020) 3
Unit Subtotal 24
Chemical Engineering Core Units
Introduction to Energy, Environmental and Chemical Engineering (EECE 1000) (first-year students only; transfer students should take EECE 1010) 3
Process Analysis and Thermodynamics (EECE 2000) 4
Thermodynamics II in EECE (EECE 2510) 3
Transport Phenomena I: Basics and Fluid Mechanics (EECE 3000) 3
Transport Phenomena II: Energy and Mass Transfer (EECE 3510) 4
Materials Science (EECE 3520) 3
Chemical Reaction Engineering (EECE 3530) 3
Mass Transfer Operations (EECE 3540) 3
Industrial Process Safety (EECE 4070) 3
Chemical Process Dynamics and Control (EECE 4510) 3
Unit Operations Laboratory (EECE 4520) 4
Process Design, Economics and Simulation (EECE 4000) 2
ChE Capstone (EECE 4975) 3
Unit Subtotal 41
Other Units
Chemical Engineering electives (including one advanced lab course; 9 of 18 units must be in EECE) 18
Humanities and social sciences electives 15
College Writing 3
Unit Subtotal 36

Program Educational Objective

The Program Educational Objective for the BSChE degree program is that, within a few years of graduation, graduates will do the following:

  1. Thrive in their professional practice or graduate education, leveraging their knowledge and skills to address complex challenges in chemical engineering or their chosen field.
  2. Foster a lifelong commitment to learning, growth, and professional development, seeking opportunities to advance their expertise and contribute to their chemical engineering practice or chosen field.
  3. Be dedicated to positively advancing society by promoting equity, diversity, sustainability, and ethical practices in their professional endeavors.

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