Isaac Asimov observed “Science can amuse and fascinate us all, but it is engineering that changes the world!” In the past chemical engineering has quietly (or sometimes noisily!) served the material and energy needs of society. But in the 21st century, in the face of global challenges of climate change and fossil fuel depletion, the need is for chemical engineers to change the world by changing the ways in which we meet our needs for food, water, energy and materials. In particular, we need to do this in more joined up ways that produce the right products more cleverly and effectively, understanding the full environmental implications of processing choices, and exploiting interactions for efficiency to give minimum impact and maximum benefit.

• Our Chemical Engineering BEng(Hons) course, accredited by the Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE) provides in-depth coverage of modern, industry-relevant chemical engineering material from the fundamentals through to process design.
• Chemical engineering can be viewed as the most applied of the applied sciences, and with opportunities to make a difference in the world.
• Chemical engineers transform the visions of chemists and biochemists into industrial-scale reality, to make the benefits of new products and processes available to the world.
• Our course is strong on chemistry in the context of chemical engineering, on systems thinking and on practical skills, as well as an emphasis on nurturing transferable and employability skills.
• We offer you the opportunity to gain strong, in-depth and industry-relevant chemical engineering knowledge to help you play a valuable and rewarding role in this industry and beyond.

Our teaching staff are educated to doctoral level in their respective subject areas and have expertise in specialist areas of chemical engineering, as well as recognised higher education teaching qualifications and awards for excellent teaching. You'll have the opportunity to gain hands-on experience using scientific instrumentation in our modern chemical sciences labs and pilot-scale rigs in our dedicated chemical engineering labs. In the third year of your course, you'll also have the chance to benefit from a work placement to see your subject in action and gain relevant real-world experience to enhance your future employment prospects. So if you’re looking for a career in oil, fine chemicals, materials, food, pharmaceutical and many other industries, this could be just the course for you.

Placements

In the third year of this course, you’ll get the chance to step out of the classroom and into the real world on an optional placement year working for an organisation related to your areas of interest. This is when you’ll really be able to see your knowledge in action, pick up invaluable skills for your future career and boost your employability to help you hit the ground running after graduation.

You could stay to do your placement in the UK or experience a new culture and work abroad for one year. Where could this year take you?

Previous students in the Chemistry and Chemical Engineering subject area have undertaken placements with companies including but not exclusive to: BASF, British Glass, ExxonMobil, GlaxoSmithKline, Thornton & Ross Ltd, Total Lubricants and Solvay.

Your Career

The chemical industry is an important industrial sector employing many chemical and process engineers, and chemical engineers are unique in being able to design chemical processes. But chemical engineers can do much more, and chemical engineering graduates find employment in many other sectors that value the numerate and joined-up thinking that characterises the chemical engineer and gives them their power.

As a graduate of this course, you may consider a career in a wide range of areas, including chemical manufacturing, environmental consultancy, nuclear engineering, scale-up and plant design, process plant trouble shooting, oil and gas, water, energy, food, research and development, patent law and teaching.

Previous graduates from our courses in the subject area of Chemical Engineering have gone on to work in roles such as Commissioning Engineer at Caloric Anlagenbau GmbH,  Development Technician at Aquaspersions Ltd, Process Hazards Engineering Graduate at Syngenta, Production Graduate at Syngenta, and Technical Chemical Engineering Graduate at National Nuclear Laboratory.**