The BE Process and Chemical degree provides students with a strong chemical engineering core, with specialist elective streams in Energy and Environmental or Pharmaceutical and Biopharmaceutical. The degree also provides you with the necessary technical and interpersonal skills to work in any process industry. There is a continuing emphasis on the development of soft skills such as team working and presentation skills throughout the course.
A six-month work placement between year 3 and year 4 provides undergraduates with valuable experience and insight into the work of a chemical process engineer, and helps provide you with the necessary skills and attributes to make a successful transition to a professional career following graduation.
Our graduates are highly employable in the pharmaceutical, food and other process industries, in design and manufacture of process equipment and processes, and with engineering consultancy companies.
Year 1
Year 1 is common across Engineering, and provides an opportunity for transfer to the other engineering courses at UCC at the end of Year 1.
Modules Include:
- Mathematics
- Physics and Chemistry
Plus engineering foundations in:
- Computation
- Materials
- Process and Chemical Engineering
- Communication and Ethics.
Optional modules are offered in: Electrical and Electronic Systems, Energy Engineering and Energy Policy, and Engineering Structures.
Year 2
Year 2 continues to cover foundation sciences in mathematics and chemistry, and introduces engineering sciences relevant to chemical engineering, such as:
- Fluid Mechanics
- Thermodynamics
- Heat Transfer
- Structural Mechanics
- Mass Transfer
- Chemical Reaction Engineering
- Plant Design and Commissioning.
Years 3 and 4
Years 3 and 4 deal with more specialised topics and industrial practice.
Modules include:
- Unit Operations (with emphasis on those of interest to pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical
processing)
- Bioprocessing
- Particulate Systems Engineering.
And industry practice topics such as:
- Quality Systems
- Validation
- Environmental Protection and Safety.
There are three important capstone modules, a six-month work placement in industry between years 3 and 4, an individual research project in Year 4 and a group design project of a manufacturing facility, also in year 4.
See the College Calendar for more detailed information on the Programme and the Book of Modules for a more detailed description of Programme Modules.
