Strong Foundation

The Chemical Engineering Program builds a strong foundation for the professional development of its students. With a bachelor’s degree, graduates are well equipped for a wide variety of positions as practicing chemical engineers or for graduate studies in engineering and science. To achieve these broad objectives, the program provides the knowledge, skills and resources for lifelong learning and professional development.


Educational Objectives

To achieve its mission, the chemical engineering program provides the knowledge, skills and resources for continued learning and professional development over a lifetime. The program emphasizes its historic, nationally-recognized strength in processing and manufacturing and draws on the scholarly accomplishments of its faculty to integrate traditional chemical engineering topics with specialized studies in the contemporary fields of bioengineering, nano-materials engineering and nuclear engineering. The goals of the program are to produce graduates that will:

  • pursue rewarding professional careers by skillfully leveraging chemical engineering principles
  • effectively bridge engineering and non-engineering fields through a commitment to lifelong professional development
  • engage in service activities highlighting the societal benefits of engineering principles

Student Outcomes

The faculty members of the department are committed to providing a stimulating earning environment that encourages active learning and high quality student performance. A set of Student Outcomes have been developed based on the Educational Objectives to achieve this result. The chemical engineering program, including the options in Bioengineering, Nanomaterials, and Nuclear, integrates the knowledge and skills acquired in a rigorous set of courses, the extracurricular experiences, and the faculty scholarship needed to enable the graduates of the program to achieve the following outcomes:

  1. an ability to identify, formulate, and solve complex engineering problems by applying principles of engineering, science, and mathematics.
  2. an ability to apply engineering design to produce solutions that meet specified needs with consideration of public health, safety, and welfare, as well as global, cultural, social, environmental, and economic factors.
  3. an ability to communicate effectively with a range of audiences.
  4. an ability to recognize ethical and professional responsibilities in engineering situations and make informed judgments, which must consider the impact of engineering solutions in global, economic, environmental, and societal contexts.
  5. an ability to function effectively on a team whose members together provide leadership, create a collaborative and inclusive environment, establish goals, plan tasks, and meet objectives.
  6. an ability to develop and conduct appropriate experimentation, analyze and interpret data, and use engineering judgment to draw conclusions.
  7. an ability to acquire and apply new knowledge as needed, using appropriate learning strategies.

An Undergraduate Focus with a Complementary Graduate Program

An important focus of the department is undergraduate education. The majority of our graduates stay in the New England area. The graduate program builds upon the strengths of the department faculty and complements the undergraduate program. The faculty have close ties primarily with local and regional industry through consulting, research, advising graduate students from regional companies, and participation in local, as well as national professional society meetings.

The department obtains input from its advisory board to continually assess the relevancy of the curriculum to the needs of industry. The quality of the program is of constant importance and interaction with industry helps to maintain and improve it. More importantly, department courses are taught only by faculty. Graduate students are used only as laboratory and grading assistants.