Why Choose Chemical Engineering?

The undergraduate major in Chemical Engineering provides students with a solid foundation in both chemistry and engineering with the necessary skills to work in a wide range of industries. The major also includes opportunities for students intending to continue their education in graduate school to conduct research. Chemical Engineering impacts society by developing innovative technologies in sustainability, product development, processing, and plant and operations safety.

The innovative curriculum at UC Merced provides a rich educational experience that exposes students to math, chemistry, and engineering fundamentals and includes hands-on unit operations laboratory skills. With an emphasis on problem-solving and design, the curriculum prepares students to tackle current real-world problems, and makes them highly employable.

For a glimpse of the exciting research and focus area expertise, meet our Chemical and Materials Engineering Faculty.

Undergraduate Degrees

• Chemical Engineering, B.S.
• Chemical Engineering, Computational Emphasis, B.S.
• Chemical Engineering, Materials Science and Engineering Emphasis, B.S.
• Chemical Engineering, Nanotechnology Emphasis, B.S.
• Chemical Engineering, Semiconductor Emphasis, B.S.

View Course Catalog ^{(navigate to "School of Engineering" and select program/catalog year)}

Where Can I work?

Chemical engineers are recruited in a variety of industries, including chemical production, environmental safety and management, bioengineering, agriculture, food processing, materials processing, automotive, energy, electronics, and consulting as well as advanced degree programs, including law school and medical school. Because of the variety of fields that are relevant to this profession, the undergraduate program covers a broad range of subjects, including membranes and mass transfer, materials, thermodynamics, fluids, heat transfer, processing and controls, and kinetics and reactor design.