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About the Program

Chemical engineering is a broad field encompassing everything from design to large-scale manufacturing of a wide variety of products through chemical and biochemical processes. These products include pharmaceuticals, pulp and paper, petrochemicals, fine chemicals, specialty chemicals, microelectronic devices, polymers and products used in food processing and in biotechnology. Our alumni are employed in diverse fields including traditional and alternative/renewable energy, manufacturing, health care, biotechnology and business services.

Our chemical engineering curriculum builds upon the fundamentals of biology, chemistry, mathematics and physics. Undergraduate students complete a program of study that includes rigorous instruction in fluid mechanics, heat and mass transport, thermodynamics, reaction kinetics and chemical process dynamics and control.

Effective Fall 2017, we updated our ABET accredited degree in chemical engineering. This revision modernizes our curriculum, offers increased flexibility in elective options, and provides optional specialty tracks in process engineering and biological engineering for those who want to focus their degree. In addition, our curriculum also includes elements that clearly set us apart from other programs; for example, taught in a new and unique student-centered environment, Studio Biology introduces active learning to the instruction of biology at the freshman level. This unique course minimizes lecture time and maximizes student involvement in the learning process with the design and performance of experiments exploring biological systems.

Our emphasis on active learning is also demonstrated within the Unit Operations Laboratory sequence taken in the summer as a six-week intensive “field session”. Here, the fundamentals of heat, mass, and momentum transport and applied thermodynamics are reviewed in a practical, applications-oriented, hands-on setting. Field session greatly hones students’ teamwork, leadership, critical thinking and oral and written technical communications skills.

This curriculum is delivered within facilities that are among the best in the nation. Our modern in-house computer network supports over 70 workstations with specialized software for modeling chemical engineering systems. Our honors undergraduate research program provides our undergraduates with the opportunity to work with graduate students, postdocs and faculty on cutting-edge chemical and biochemical engineering research. Undergraduate chemical engineering students in this program at Mines have presented at national conferences and have won national competitions and awards based on research conducted while pursuing their baccalaureate degree. Mines also has a very active American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) student chapter. The student leadership organize “Lunch and Learn” events with industry leaders, host social events throughout the year, organize a rotational dinner for members and recruiters before our Fall Career Fair, and participate in the Chem-E-Car Competition at the national AIChE meeting.