A curriculum with breadth and depth
Building on the foundation of the Clarkson Common Experience, the chemical engineering curriculum gives students a solid background of the knowledge and skills necessary to practice chemical engineering in traditional and emerging fields or pursue a higher degree.
The chemical engineering curriculum includes a number of mathematics and science courses in addition to required chemical engineering classes and technical electives. The freshman year courses serve to provide a solid background in mathematics and the basic sciences and are common to all freshmen engineering students. Students begin their study of the discipline in the sophomore year. Recently, the Department revised the undergraduate curriculum for the classes of 2013 and later. Therefore, the discussion of the curriculum given below is separated into two parts.
Classes of 2011 and 2012
In the sophomore year, students take courses in mass and energy balances and two thermodynamics courses. Students are introduced to transfer processes in the junior year, with courses in fluid mechanics, mass transfer and heat transfer. Juniors also take their first chemical engineering lab course and can take their process control course as well. In the senior year, students complete their chemical engineering science courses with a course in chemical reactor analysis. The chemical engineering fundamentals learned throughout the curriculum are applied in the senior year with two design courses and the second chemical engineering lab course.
In addition to the 33 credits in required chemical engineering courses, students must take two engineering science electives and two technical electives. The technical electives can be any science, engineering or math courses. Students also take three undesignated electives, which can be satisfied with any course. This curriculum provides students with a solid grounding in chemical engineering principles and gives them some flexibility to pursue minors or concentrations or sample a broad range of different elective courses. Many students choose to add concentrations in biomolecular engineering, environmental engineering, or materials engineering to their chemical engineering major. For details, please consult the catalog pages at Professional concentrations in Engineering. It also is possible to pursue minors in chemistry, physics, mathematics, or a variety of other fields. For details please consult the catalog pages at Degree Programs.
The chemical engineering curriculum can easily be adapted to fit into a transfer student schedule, given in the Handbook.
Classes of 2013 and after
In the new curriculum, sophomores are introduced to chemical engineering through three courses that include molecular properties and processes, material balances, thermodynamics, and energy balances. In the junior year, students take courses in transfer process fundamentals and design of transfer process equipment. Also, students take chemical reactor analysis and are introduced to the chemical engineering laboratory through a one-credit course in the spring semester. Seniors take a two-credit chemical enginering laboratory course, and round off their background in chemical engineering basics by taking courses in process economics and conceptual design and process dynamics and control.
In addition to the 30 credits in required chemical engineering courses, students must take two engineering science electives, one elective in mathematics, and two engineering electives. Also, they are required to take a technical elective, which can be any science, engineering or mathematics course. Students also take two undesignated electives, which can be satisfied with any course. This curriculum provides students with a solid grounding in chemical engineering principles and gives them some flexibility to pursue minors or concentrations or sample a broad range of different elective courses. Many students choose to add concentrations in biomolecular engineering, environmental engineering, or materials engineering to their chemical engineering major. Requirements for these concentrations can be found in the catalog, and sample curricula are given in the Handbook. Several students also pursue other minors, such as in Biomedical or Rehabilitation Engineering or Sustainable Energy Systems Engineering, or perhaps in Physics, Chemistry, or Mathematics. Sample curricula for minors in Biomedical or Rehabilitation Engineering and Sustainable Energy Systems Engineering can be found in the Handbook, and other minor programs are listed in Degree Programs in the University Catalog.
Other Requirements Applicable to All Classes
In order to graduate, a student must have a minimum of 120 credit hours and a cumulative total grade point average of at least 2.000. Any student may take up to 19 credit hours per semester. Beyond this, the student's advisor must approve and must inform the Student Administrative Services in writing. An additional tuition fee will be charged per credit hour over 19 credit hours a semester.
Course descriptions can be found on the Student Administrative Services (SAS) website.
