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At UMass Amherst, undergraduate students learn how to build analytical, experimental, and innovation skills necessary for a successful career in the chemical engineering profession. We offer a B.S. degree in Chemical Engineering and, within the four-year degree program, an optional concentration in Biochemical Engineering. We are currently developing exciting initiatives in the fields of energy and materials. Our students take courses from Chemical Engineering faculty from their very first semester, becoming part of a close-knit group of scholars. Going beyond the traditional educational environment, our students hone their skills in model computer classrooms, innovative student-driven laboratory experiences, and faculty-supervised research. |
For further information and advice, please contact Professor Forbes, Honors Faculty Coordinator
Ramla Gabriel
Student Advisor
In order to be formally enrolled in the major, you must declare your major by filling out a Change of Major Form. You will need to complete the first line of the form with your student information and fill out the second line with your Primary Plan (Chemical Engineering) and your subplan, if you have one (Biochemical Engineering for example.) These forms are available on the wall outside 158f Goessmann, and must be handed to the Office of Student Affairs, Marston 126. Your request to become a Chemical Engineering major will not be processed until you have passed the following courses or their equivalents: Math 131 and 132, Chem 111 and 112, Physics 151 and 153, and Engin 110 (or 111, 112, or 113.)
All college of engineering students may take up to 19 credits before they need permission for a credit overload. If you and your faculty advisor agree that it makes sense for you to take over 19 credits, then you should visit the Office of Student Affairs to fill out the paperwork to request an overload.
You must take at least four techincal electives (pdf) to satisfy the requirements of a major in chemical engineering. At least two of these must be in engineering, but as many as all four can be engineering courses. Please see the reverse side of your curriculum flowchart for more specific information on this requirement.
Sorry, Bio 101 is not a technical elective because technical electives have to be at the 200 level or above.
The Chem Eng Department will accept neither Bio 106 (Human Biology) nor MicroBio 160 (Biology of Cancer & Aids) in place of Bio 100 in our degree plan. These courses are designed for non-science majors and do not adequately cover the content of Bio 100, which we feel is important for ChE majors.
One. Unless you are in the departmental honors program, in which case you will need to take both ChE 499Y and ChE 499T during your senior year and these will both count towards your Engineering technical electives.
You will need to have completed and passed all required freshmen year courses with an average of at least 2.5 before you can be admitted to the major. Prior to this, you should be listed as a pre-engin student with a subplan of chemical engineering.
If you earned a grade of C- or below, then you can replace the grade in your GPA by taking the class again. However the original grade will still appear on your transcript. You may replace up to five courses during your academic career.
The grade requirement for the ChE major is that you maintain an average in all your required courses for the major, of at least 2.0. If you still have an average for all the combined courses in your major that is equal to or higher than this then you will not be required to retake that course unless you failed it. You must pass all courses required for the major. However, the most important thing is that you have learned the material well enough to apply it and a very low grade may reflect some real difficulty with that material. All the chemical engineering courses build on each other. In subsequent classes it will be expected that you know the material well, from prerequisite courses, and you will need this knowledge yet again in the future, whether you are working in industry or doing graduate research. For this reason, you might consider retaking the course and, if possible, replacing your initial grade.
Sorry, these courses are not equivalent and the faculty has agreed that all ChE majors must take Bio 100. You will need to take Bio 100 before you graduate. Exceptions have been made for transfer students who come in with credit toward a higher level biology course for which they would likely had to have taken Bio 100 if they had taken the course at UMass. AP credit for BIO 102, however, does count as a valid substitute for Bio 100 .
Cheryl Brooks is the Director of Career and Student Development for the entire College of Engineering. She regularly updates an online job board and e-recruiting website where both co-op and full time employment opportunities are posted. All of these links and more, including contact information for getting advice and guidance on developing an effective resume and interviewing successfully, are available on the website for the College of Engineering Career and Student Development Center.
* Students in their second semester freshman year who meet the requirements may apply. * Applications are available online or in the Office of Student Affairs in 126 Marston Hall. * Submit completed applications to Kathleen Rubin, Assistant Dean, Office of Student Affairs, 126 Marston Hall. For more information, contact one of the faculty advisors listed at the bottom of the EMM page.
You will need to complete an Undergraduate Student Contract for Independent Studies. Among other things, this contract requires the approval and signature of the cooperating faculty member (with whom you are doing the research) and the approval and signature of the Director of the Undergraduate Program.
Ramla Gabriel, the Chief Undergraduate Advisor for Chemical Engineering, is the best "place" to start. Even if she doesn't know the answer, she can send you in the right direction. :-) You could also go to your official faculty advisor (see SPIRE to find out who this is) or Prof. Ford, the Director of the Undergraduate Program.
You can find out who your faculty advisor is by logging onto SPIRE. There is a box on the lower righthand side of the main page that states who your advisor is. If you do not have a faculty advisor within the department of chemical engineering (ChE), please let Ramla know so we can change this as soon as possible. If you do not have a ChE advisor, you should sign up for an advising appointment with Professor Ford, the director of the undergraduate program. He has drop-in advising hours Tuesdays and Wednesdays 4-5pm.
Biochem 285 is not necessarily an easy course; in fact, some students find it quite challenging, and it should not be taken lightly just because it is a 200-level course.
No. You will not be admitted to Biochem 285 without having completed the prerequisite Bio 100 course.
Not normally. The concentration is set up to fit into the requirements of the major without the need to take any extra courses. The requirements of the Biochemical Engineering Concentration include taking the following three classes...
Biochem 285 - Cellular and Molecular Biology (You could, for example, count this as a non-engin tech elective)
Chem 490 - Biochemistry (And you could count this as your advanced chemistry elective)
ChE 592 - Introduction to Biochemical Engineering (and this could be an engin tech elective in the fall of senior year)
...and you must also take six credits of advanced coursework or research in special topics in Bioengineering. These courses must be engineering courses.
Here are the courses that have already been approved for the biochemeng concentration:
ChE 590A - Biotechnology Processing Engineering Laboratory (You can take this instead of ChE 402, spring senior)
ChE 597B - Soft Materials and Biomaterials
ChE 597C - Introduction to Biomolecular Engineering
ChE 597D - Nanostructured Biomaterials
ChE 296, 396, and 496 - Independent Study in Bioengineering
(any of those last four could count as your last engineering technical elective.)