Chemical Engineering BEng

Course overview

The Chemical Engineering BEng and MEng programmes follow a common curriculum for the first three years. A final decision between the different routes can be delayed until the end of the third year when you will have greater experience on which to base your choice. Applicants do not need to apply for more than one programme; all applicants to all programmes are treated equally. Suitably qualified BEng candidates can change to MEng at the end of year three.

In year three you will undertake a compulsory design project, carried out in small teams. Each team designs a complete process plant, including detailed unit design (of, for example, a reactor or a distillation or absorption column), environmental impact, safety and risk assessment, process control and costing.

If you choose the BEng degree, you will complete your studies at the end of the third year. Please note that you will need to complete a period of further training before being granted Chartered Engineer (CEng) status.

We are committed to, and encourage you to take, a formal industrial training (sandwich) year during your degree programme. This is usually during the year before your final study year, and provides invaluable experience.

This degree is part of the Integrated Engineering Programme (IEP), a teaching framework that engages students in specialist and interdisciplinary activities designed to create well-rounded graduates with a strong grasp of the fundamentals of their discipline and a broad understanding of the complexity and context of engineering problems. Students register for a core discipline, but also engage in activities that span departments so the development of fundamental technical knowledge takes place alongside specialist and interdisciplinary research-based projects and professional skills. This creates degrees encouraging professional development, with an emphasis on design and challenging students to apply knowledge to complex problems.

Optional Modules (Integrated Engineering Programme IEP)

Year 2: IEP Minor I*

*Students will choose the IEP Minor towards the end of Year 1 for Year two, the IEP Minor allows them to gain a grounding in another engineering, or relevant discipline or an interdisciplinary topic, by offering a coherent set of three modules (over Years 2 & 3) allowing an introduction to a field, as well as an opportunity to cover an interdisciplinary topic to reasonable depth. Find out more on the Integrated Engineering (IEP) web page.

Year 3: IEP Minor II and III

These modules (IEP Minor modules II and III) are automatically allocated by the IEP (based on their Year 2 Minor Selection).

This broad-based, multidisciplinary programme provides flexible training and an exciting opportunity to follow the widest possible range of careers, from design, construction and installation of processes, plants and equipment to manufacturing and marketing of products, and from research and development to administration and management of people and resources.

The English language level for this programme is: Level 1

The foundation of your career

You will have employment opportunities in many sectors such as energy, pharmaceuticals and biotechnology, oil and gas production, contract engineering and manufacturing. You will also be well prepared to consider further study at postgraduate or doctoral level at UCL or elsewhere.

There are excellent opportunities and career prospects for graduate chemical engineers, both within the UK and overseas. The rewards open to you are attractive - the average income of a chemical engineer, according to the IChemE, is consistently higher than that of graduates in other engineering disciplines.

Employability

Our core programme is designed to develop transferable management, business, professional and personal skills, and the diverse curriculum and training will equip you to be highly employable in the process industries as well as other economic sectors such as management consulting, banking, finance and accountancy.