Curriculum and Requirements

Discover what it's like to be a chemical engineer at UB. See what types of courses you might take and what classes are required to earn your degree.

Overview of Curriculum

Exploring our curriculum flowsheet is the best way to get an overview of the program, decide which courses to take each semester, and review the prerequisites for any given course.

Explore the Chemical Engineering BS Flowsheet
  • In your first two years you will take a lot of math, physics and chemistry, and an introductory computing course
  • In your sophomore year your schedule will already include three Chemical Engineering courses: CE 212 (Fundamental Principles of CE), CE 304 (CE Thermodynamics) and CE 220 (CE Biotechnology Principles)
  • Your junior year will build upon your core knowledge in chemical engineering science, including transport phenomena, reaction engineering, process control, materials, and CE-specific applied math and computing
  • Your senior year completes your education with separations, and exciting capstone design courses in which you pull together all your knowledge and make decisions to design different products as well as part of a chemical plant. Your senior year also includes two electives drawn from a rich spectrum of choices.
  • Each semester in your junior and senior years you take lab courses that are synchronized with what you are learning in the classroom. Your education is rounded out with liberal arts in your general education courses. 

Degree Requirements

All academic requirements are outlined in the Undergraduate Catalog, including course and elective listings. Note: The edition of the catalog that contains students’ university and major requirements is determined by their academic year of entry or reentry and academic year of acceptance to the major.

Students can also check our curriculum flowsheet to see the order in which required courses can be taken.

General Education Courses

In addition to the required courses and technical electives, students must complete the UB Curriculum, which comprises general education courses that build a liberal background tailored to your interests. The main element of choice here is the courses you take for your Global and Thematic pathways. For guidance, check out the good and clear advice posted by SEAS.