Lead the development of sustainable processes and products.

Many everyday items involve chemical engineering during some stage of their production – electronic devices, food and beverage, petrol, paper, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, to name just a few. As a chemical engineer, you’ll invent, develop and design processes that convert raw materials into useful products with minimal environmental impact.

As populations grow and resources and energy reserves decline, the demand for chemical engineers increases. Whether you focus on developing future energy solutions, controlling pollution or protecting our environment, your future as a chemical engineer is bright.

Duration

4 years

Intakes

February, July and October

Course Structure

Level One

The common first year lays a foundation in the basic sciences of mathematics, physics and chemistry and introduces the disciplines available to you for further study. You’ll learn to apply your developing math and science knowledge to real-life problems and begin to understand the interaction between engineering and society.

Level Two

In level two units, you’ll gain necessary background in the sciences and engineering fundamentals, covering topics such as mass transfer, heat transfer, and thermodynamics. When you proceed to higher levels, you’ll be exposed to core topics in chemical engineering such as separation processes, reaction engineering, and more.

Levels Three and Four

Practical work forms an essential part of many units and management studies are introduced at higher levels to provide you with adequate knowledge to manage projects. You’ll be given the opportunity to integrate a period of industrial experience or time at an overseas university with your studies.

Career Paths

As a chemical engineer, you can work in a range of industries including the biotechnology, chemical, energy, environmental, food, mineral, nanotechnology, oil, paper, petrochemical and pharmaceutical industries.

In these industries you’d most likely work in one of the following roles:

• Process engineer: Working with a team of people in operations, maintenance and business strategy, you’ll solve production problems, develop new products, reduce energy usage and the carbon footprint, increase plant safety and efficiency, and oversee plant upgrades and expansions.
• Design engineer: You’ll design new plants for clients, as well as extensions to existing plants. You might design a distillation column today, be sizing a heat exchanger tomorrow, work on safety and environmental protections, or work out how to control each unit of the plant to ensure smooth and reliable operation.
• Research and development engineer: You’ll work in a laboratory or a company, and develop new ways to do chemical engineering. You might develop new products or you might work on new catalysts to increase reaction efficiency.

Entry Requirements