Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
Major in Specialized Curriculum in Chemical Engineering
The chemical engineering curriculum is designed to prepare students for careers in the chemical, food, energy, pharmaceutical, semiconductor processing, personal care, fiber and materials industries where chemical processes are coupled with heat, mass, and momentum transfer. The curriculum is arranged in a flexible manner to permit students to use their elective hours and to substitute courses in order to arrange programs incorporating various specific areas of chemical engineering or interdisciplinary areas. For example, sequences can be set up in conjunction with the student's adviser to emphasize environmental engineering, bioengineering, food science, computer science, or one of many other options. It will be advantageous to the student to plan course sequences with an adviser as early in the student's academic career as possible.
The program emphasizes fundamentals required to develop models for the design, control, and operation of chemical processes. Students entering without adequate preparation in mathematics and chemistry may find it difficult to complete the chemical engineering curriculum in four years. A typical program, including all required courses and electives, is shown below. Individual students may vary the order in which the various courses are taken to suit their individual needs. However, care must be exercised in scheduling to ensure that necessary course prerequisites are met.
Students in the curriculum of chemical engineering must maintain a 2.5 general average, excluding military training in order to be accepted by the department as juniors and seniors.
For information regarding the cooperative education program and internships in the School of Chemical Sciences, see the Chemistry major in the Science and Letters curriculum.
E-mail: chemeng@uiuc.edu
Degree title: Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering
General education: All campus general education requirements must be satisfied.
Minimum hours required for graduation: 129 hours including 16 hours of approved general education courses. This must include at least six hours in Social or Behavioral Sciences and at least six hours in Literature and the Arts or Historical and Philosophical Perspectives. Students must satisfy the distribution requirements in Western and Non-Western Cultures.
Departmental distinction: A student is recommended for departmental distinction on the basis of grade point average and work presented in CHBE 499-Senior Thesis.
First Year
| Hours | First Semester |
|---|---|
| 3 | CHEM 2021–Accelerated Chemistry I |
| 1 | CHEM 203–Accelerated Chemistry Lab I |
| 5 | MATH 220–Calculus I |
| 4 | RHET 105 or 108–Composition I writing requirement |
| 3 | Elective2,3,4 |
| 16 | Total |
| Hours | Second Semester |
|---|---|
| 1 | CHBE 121–CHBE Profession |
| 3 | CHEM 204–Accelerated Chemistry II |
| 2 | CHEM 205–Accelerated Chemistry Lab II |
| 3 | CS 101–Intro to Computing, Eng & Sci |
| 3 | MATH 230–Calculus II |
| 4 | PHYS 211–Univ Physics, Mechanics |
| 16 | Total |
Second Year
| Hours | First Semester |
|---|---|
| 3 | CHBE 221–Principles of CHE |
| 4 | CHEM 236–Fundamental Organic Chem I |
| 2 | CHEM 237–Structure and Synthesis |
| 3 | MATH 242–Calculus of Several Variables5 |
| 4 | PHYS 212–Univ Physics, Elec & Mag |
| 16 | Total |
| Hours | Second Semester |
|---|---|
| 4 | CHBE 321–Thermodynamics |
| 3 | CHEM 4366–Fundamental Organic Chem II |
| 2 | MATH 2257–Introductory Matrix Theory |
| 3 | MATH 3858–Intro Differential Equations |
| 2 | PHYS 214–Univ Physics, Quantum Phys |
| 3 | Electives2,3,4 |
| 17 | Total |
Third Year
| Hours | First Semester |
|---|---|
| 4 | CHBE 421–Momentum and Heat Transfer |
| 2 | CHEM 315–Instrumental Chem Systems Lab |
| 2 | CHEM 420–Instrumental Characterization |
| 4 | CHEM 442–Physical Chemistry I |
| 3 | Electives2,3,4 |
| 15 | Total |
| Hours | Second Semester |
|---|---|
| 4 | CHBE 422–Mass Transfer Operations |
| 4 | CHEM 444–Physical Chemistry II |
| 3 | CHBE 424–Chemical Reaction Engineering |
| 6 | Electives2,3.4 |
| 17 | Total |
Fourth Year
| Hours | First Semester |
|---|---|
| 4 | CHBE 430–Unit Operations Laboratory |
| 4 | CHBE 440–Process Control and Dynamics |
| 9 | Electives2,3,4 |
| 17 | Total |
| Hours | Second Semester |
|---|---|
| 4 | CHBE 431–Process Design |
| 11 | Electives2,3,4 |
| 15 | Total |
1. Students who do not place into CHEM 202, or who do not satisfy the mathematics prerequisite for CHEM 202, may substitute the sequence CHEM 102, 103, 104, 105, 222, and 223 for CHEM 202, 203, 204, and 205.
2. All Campus General Education requirements must be satisfied, including those in approved course work in the Humanities/Arts, Social/Behavioral Sciences, and Cultural Studies, including the Western, Non-Western and/or U.S. Minorities components. The requirements for the Campus General Education categories Natural Sciences/Technology, Quantitative Reasoning I and II, and Composition I and II are fulfilled through required course work in the curriculum.
3. Three semesters of college credit in one foreign language is required. Three years of high school credit in one foreign language are equivalent to three semesters of college credit.
4. Students must take at least 18 hours of approved technical electives in areas of engineering science. Students may obtain a current list of courses that may be used to satisfy this requirement in Room 209 RAL. Distribution requirements for these 18 hours are:
a) At least 9 hours must be in 400-level courses and the remaining can be any level.
b) At least 6 hours must be in 400-level Chemical engineering courses.
c) At least 3 hours must be in 400-level chemical engineering courses other than CHBE 499.
5. MATH 243 (4 hours) may be substituted for MATH 242 (3 hours). The additional credit hour earned for MATH 243 will be counted as a technical elective hour.
6. MCB 450 may be substituted for CHEM 436.
7. MATH 415 (3 hours) may be substituted for MATH 225 (2 hours). The additional credit hour earned for MATH 415 will be counted as 400-level technical elective hour. Students electing to take MATH 415 in place of MATH 225 should be sure they meet the prerequisites for MATH 415.
8. MATH 441 may be substituted for MATH 385. MATH 386 (4 hours) may be substituted for MATH 385. The additional credit hour earned for MATH 386 will be counted as a technical elective hour.