Chemical engineering combines principles of chemistry, physics, biology, and mathematics to design processes that economically and sustainably meet human needs for energy, food, healthcare, and technology. Chemical engineers are not only leaders in traditional chemical, oil and gas, and brewing industries, but they are also at the forefront of advancements in pharmaceutical discovery and production, renewable energy, biotechnology, and environmental protection. The Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering (CBE) curriculum includes basic coursework in math, physics, and chemistry, as well as advanced courses related to the design of industrial processes including fluid dynamics, thermodynamics, heat and mass transfer, computer methods, reactor design, and automatic process control. All students participate in an internship through the core curriculum. Students can readily tailor the major to their specific interests through choice of appropriate electives; synergistic focus areas include pre-medicine, biotechnology, materials science, energy, and environmental studies.
Tulane's Chemical Engineering program is accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET (https://www.abet.org/).
Core Chemical Engineering Courses
Undergraduate Curriculum:
The coursework necessary to graduate with a B.S. degree in Chemical Engineering can be grouped in the following categories:
- The engineering courses, including the core chemical engineering courses* and the engineering, technical, and advanced specialization electives
- The basic science and mathematics sequence, which also satisfies the university’s scientific inquiry requirements
- The university’s cultural knowledge (humanities, fine arts, and social science) elective courses, TIDES, public service, and the writing requirement
*A minimum grade of C- must be earned in each CENG required core course in order to receive credit for the Bachelor’s degree.
Undergraduate Core Requirements:
The following courses are required by the university to obtain a degree:
- Writing (ENGL 1010, 4 credits)
- Scientific Inquiry (9-12 credits): Satisfied by the basic mathematics and science sequence comprising MATH 1220, 2210, 2240; PHYS 1310, 1320; and CHEM 1070/1170, 1080/1180
- Cultural Knowledge (18 credits): Satisfied by at least 6 credit hours of Humanities/Fine Arts and at least 6 credit hours of Social Science
- Public Service (2-3 credits)
- TIDES
- Capstone Experience (9 credits): Satisfied by CENG 4310 and 4750
- Two Advanced Specialization Electives, Two Advanced Technical electives, and Two Advanced Engineering Electives are selected in consultation with a faculty member in Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, who is listed as your advisor, or by emailing the Chair of the Undergraduate Committee, Dr. Katie Russell, at krussel1@tulane.edu. Note that at least one of the Technical Electives must be at the 3000-level or above. The same applies to the Engineering Electives.
Certain modifications to the freshmen program may be made by:
- Achievement of advanced standing through Advanced Placement Tests offered by the CEEB
- Use of advanced placement tests in mathematics and chemistry offered on campus during Orientation Week
- Submission of transcripts from other universities for equivalent courses taken prior to entering Tulane
New majors are assigned an individual faculty advisor based on their expected graduation year, and they should consult with him or her regularly for class and career planning. Faculty members can be reached by email or in person to set up meeting times.
Class of 2022 – Dr. Albert, Dr. Ashbaugh
Class of 2023 – Dr. Montemore, Dr. Shantz
Class of 2024 – Dr. Godbey, Dr. Papadopoulos
Class of 2025 – Dr. Russell, Dr. Sandoval
Special advising for transfer students, Tulane/Xavier 3-2 program, study abroad – Dr. Papadopoulos
| Year 1 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Fall | Credit Hours | |
| CHEM 1070 | General Chemistry I | 3 |
| CHEM 1075 | General Chemistry Lab I | 1 |
| PHYS 1310 | General Physics I | 4 |
| PHYS 1311 | General Physics I Lab | 0 |
| MATH 1210 | Calculus I | 4 |
| TIDES | 1 | |
| ENGL 1010 | Writing | 4 |
| Credit Hours | 17 | |
| Spring | ||
| CHEM 1080 | General Chemistry II | 3 |
| CHEM 1085 | General Chemistry Lab II | 1 |
| PHYS 1320 | General Physics II | 4 |
| PHYS 1321 | General Physics II Lab | 0 |
| MATH 1220 | Calculus II | 4 |
| Cultural Knowledge 1 | 3 | |
| CENG 1890 | Service Learning | 0-1 |
| Credit Hours | 15-16 | |
| Year 2 | ||
| Fall | ||
| CENG 2110 | Matl & Energy Balances | 3 |
| CENG 2500 | Intro To Biotechnology | 3 |
| CHEM 2410 | Organic Chemistry I | 3 |
| CHEM 2415 | Organic Chemistry Lab I | 1 |
| MATH 2210 | Calculus III | 4 |
| Cultural Knowledge 2 | 3 | |
| If, because of advanced placement, a student does not need to take one of the above courses, he/she should be enrolling in CENG 2120 - Thermodynamics I | ||
| Credit Hours | 17 | |
| Spring | ||
| CENG 2120 | Thermodynamics I | 3 |
| CENG 2320 | Transport Phenomena I | 3 |
| CHEM 2420 | Organic Chemistry II | 3 |
| CHEM 2425 | Organic Chemistry Lab II | 1 |
| MATH 2240 | Intro To Applied Math | 4 |
| Cultural Knowledge 3 | 3 | |
| Credit Hours | 17 | |
| Year 3 | ||
| Fall | ||
| CENG 3110 | Thermodynamics II | 3 |
| CENG 3230 | Numr Meth For Chem Eng | 3 |
| CENG 3390 | Transport Phenomena II | 3 |
| Cultural Knowledge 4 | 3 | |
| Advanced Specialization Elective 1 ** | 3 or 4 | |
| Credit Hours | 15-16 | |
| Spring | ||
| CENG 3240 | Unit Operations Lab | 4 |
| CENG 3340 | Separation Processes | 3 |
| CENG 4150 | Reactor Design | 3 |
| CENG 3890 | Service Learning (Tier 2 Service Learning*) *Students should select 1 Tier 2 service learning course | 0 |
| Engineering Elective | 3 or 4 | |
| Advanced Specialization Elective 2 ** | 3 or 4 | |
| Credit Hours | 16-18 | |
| Year 4 | ||
| Fall | ||
| CENG 4310 | Chemical Process Design | 3 |
| CENG 4750 | Practice School **Practice School is ONLY offered in the FALL of senior year. | 6 |
| CENG 4891 | Service Learning (Tier 2 Service Learning*) *Students should select 1 Tier 2 service learning course | 1 |
| Technical Elective ** | 3 | |
| Credit Hours | 13 | |
| Spring | ||
| CENG 4500 | Chemical Process Control | 3 |
| Advanced Engineering Elective ** | 3 | |
| Advanced Technical Elective 1 | 3 | |
| Cultural Knowledge 5 | 3 | |
| Cultural Knowledge 6 | 3 | |
| Credit Hours | 15 | |
| Total Credit Hours | 125-129 | |
- **
CENG Elective Requirements
In general, a Technical Elective is a course offered by the School of Science and Engineering. An Engineering Elective is any non-required CENG course, a course offered by one of the engineering departments (BMEN, ENGP), or a course offered by Computer Science (COSC and CMPS). Advanced Specialization Electives are typically selected from the following list:
• Any 3000-level or above CENG, BMEN, CHEM, CMPS, COSC, ENGP, MATH, MPEN, or PHYS
• CELL 3030: Molecular Biology
• CELL 3750: Cell Biology (pre-req: CELL 3030)
• EENS 4250: Isotopes in the Environment
• EENS 4360: Environmental Geochemistry (pre-req: EENS 2110)
• ENRG 4100: Energy Markets, Economics, and Policy
• ENRG 4110: Energy Financial Modeling
• ENRG 4200: Energy Fundamentals and Trading
• SPHU 3160: Biostatistics in Public Health (pre-req: SPHU 1010 and 1020)
• SPHU 4160: Intro to Statistical Packages (pre-req: SPHU 3160)
• SPHU 4400: Practical Bioinformatics
• SPHU 4410: Data & Information Management in Public Health (pre-req: SPHU 1010 and 1020)
Any Substitutions must follow the Petition for Degree Plan Modification process.
Technical electives, Engineering electives, and Advanced Specialization electives must each satisfy a minimum of 6 credit hours, and at least 3 credit hours of Technical and Engineering electives must be at the 3000-level or above. For all electives, the courses must be of at least the same technical rigor as the first freshman-level course we require from that department (i.e., General Chemistry for CHEM courses, General Physics for PHYS courses, Calculus I for MATH courses. CELL 1010 is the benchmark for CELL courses). Additionally, courses containing significant overlap with core curriculum are excluded (list found here). Students are encouraged to inquire with their CBE Advisor or the Undergraduate Committee Chair if they are unsure about a potential elective. Note that a maximum of 3-credit hours can be satisfied from Professional Development Courses. Courses for non-science majors will not fulfill the elective requirements.
**Students may take courses from a biochemistry series offered by either Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering (CENG 4450 and 4460) or Chemistry (CHEM 3830 and 3840) to satisfy one or both courses of the Advanced Specialization Elective requirement. Once a biochemistry course has been taken and a grade of D- or better has been granted, the parallel course from the other department cannot be taken to satisfy any elective requirement for the Chemical Engineering degree. As an example, a student who withdraws from CHEM 3830 can take CENG 4450 to satisfy the first Advanced Specialization requirement. If the student then goes on to earn credit for both CENG 4460 and CHEM 3840, one of the courses can be used for elective credit but the other ‘biochemistry II’ course will not be counted as an elective, technical or otherwise.