Co-op Required
Salary and Career Info
Chemical Engineering BS
A chemical engineering BS prepares you to advance nano-scale composites, semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, plastics, fibers, metals, and ceramics and develop alternative energy systems, biomedical materials and therapies, and more.
Program skills
Students obtain skills in analyzing traditional chemical engineering unit operations and systems as well as understanding underlying principles and measurement techniques associated with the core of a chemical engineering process. They design chemical engineering processes within specified constraints that involve one or more process units, assembly and disassembly of components and they identify, formulate, and solve engineering problems and validate their solutions with self-consistency checks and well-designed experiments. Students use the techniques, skills, and modern engineering tools necessary for engineering practice: MATLAB, EXCEL, CHEMCAD, and LABVIEW. Students become skilled and hands-on at the lab, bench, and larger scales, and will be able to utilize commonly encountered equipment ranging from tri-clover fittings to Brookfield viscometers.
Program facilities equipment
Chemical Engineering Unit Operations Lab:
Chemical engineering students integrate chemistry training with expertise in fluid flow and heat transfer to enable the scale-up of test-tube chemistry to full-scale processes that meet society’s needs. The Unit Operations Lab provides students with hands-on training with processes and equipment they will encounter in industry. This lab is the home to two 6 hours per week courses in the chemical engineering curriculum and consists of a series of small pieces of equipment/measurement devices that are modules to serve small groups of students. Here, students work with pumps, valves, pressure sensors, flow meters, temperature sensors, heat exchangers, viscometers, spectrometers, and other key components of industrial processes. Ultimately, students become proficient at assembling delivery systems as well as equipment essential to the scale-up of chemical systems. Chemical Engineering Processes Lab (Fall, 4th-year students), students work with major process equipment and integrate their knowledge from fundamental and applied chemical engineering courses to gain an in-depth comprehension of reaction and separation processes. These processes include distillation, absorption, adsorption, continuous and batch reactors, and ultrafiltration.
Program job titles
Chemical Engineer; Semiconductor Engineer; Environmental Engineer; Chemical Process Engineer; Manufacturing Engineer; Quality Engineer; Systems Engineer
Program significant points
- 32.3% of chemical engineering students are women
- Before a student’s first co-op, students are fully capable of assembling delivery systems, taking apart and re-assembling pumps, and know how to use Brookfield Viscometers. They also have training in the basics of rheology.
Select program hiring partners
GlobalFoundries; Global Tungsten & Powders; Anheuser-Busch; Xerion Advanced Battery Corporation; Thermo Fisher Scientific; The Chemours Company; TE Connectivity; Sionic Energy; Sherwin-Williams Company; PPG; Pfaudler; OLEDWorks; Mosaic Microsystems; Equipment & Controls, Inc; Entegris; Constellation Brands Inc; Cellec Technologies; Carestream Health Inc.; Balchem Human Nutrition & Health; AVANGRID (BGC, CNG, CMP, NYSEG, RG&E, UI, SCG, NYSEG); Ascend Elements; Annapolis Micro Systems
100%
Outcome Rates for Chemical Engineering BS
Total percentage of graduates who have entered the workforce, enrolled in full-time graduate study, or are pursuing alternative plans (military service, volunteering, etc.).
93.10%
Knowledge Rate
Total percentage of graduates for whom RIT has verifiable data, compared to national average knowledge rate of 41% per NACE.
| Outcome | % of Students |
|---|---|
| Employed | 96.15% |
| Full-time Graduate Study | 3.85% |
| Alternative Plans | 0% |
Accreditation
The BS program in chemical engineering is accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET. Visit the college's accreditation page for information on enrollment and graduation data, program educational objectives, and student outcomes.
Experiential Learning
Cooperative Education
What’s different about an RIT education? It’s the career experience you gain by completing cooperative education and internships with top companies in every single industry. You’ll earn more than a degree. You’ll gain real-world career experience that sets you apart. It’s exposure–early and often–to a variety of professional work environments, career paths, and industries.
Co-ops and internships take your knowledge and turn it into know-how. Your engineering co-ops will provide hands-on experience that enables you to apply your engineering knowledge in professional settings while you make valuable connections between classwork and real-world applications.
Students in the chemical engineering degree are required to complete four blocks (48 weeks) of cooperative education. This work experience, coupled with the professional networks created by our students and alumni, often translates into job opportunities after graduation. Additionally, for those students who develop an interest in research and demonstrate aptitude in the classroom, a limited number of co-op opportunities are possible in which students will work alongside professors as they conduct research in the chemical engineering field.