Free electives begin to appear in the chemical engineering curriculum in the junior year. These electives give students the opportunity to explore different areas of interest. Some students choose to devote their free electives to the pursuit of an additional major or a minor.
If you are interested in exploring different areas of interest for chemical engineering careers, we have identified some thematic areas that are highly relevant to chemical engineers and gathered lists of suitable courses for each area. These courses might not be offered every semester, and new ones may appear. You may choose to explore some thematic area in depth, or you may choose to sample a few areas. You should check the prerequisites for any courses they consider as electives.
Please note that a 600-level course is considered an advanced undergraduate/beginning graduate course, so all chemical engineering juniors or seniors would be well qualified to take 06-6xx courses. 700-level courses are considered Ph.D. level and are designed to be taken by first-year Ph.D. students. Seniors who get mostly A's in their chemical engineering core courses are well-qualified to take 06-7xx courses. When considering 600 or 700-level courses in other majors, you should consider whether your background is a good match, based on the course description.
If you are interested in gaining a deeper knowledge of the fundamentals of chemical engineering and are a senior with mostly A's in your chemical engineering core courses, you should consider the following courses as electives:
advanced chemical engineering fundamentals part 1
Course
Description
06-702
Advanced Reaction Kinetics
06-705
Advanced Chemical Engineering Thermodynamics
06-707
Advanced Transport Phenomena
06-713
Mathematical Techniques in Chemical Engineering
06-720
Advanced Process Systems Engineering*
06-722
Bioprocess Design
*Advanced Process Systems Engineering is typically offered in spring semester—appropriate for students who have completed 06-421 Chemical Process Systems Design in fall semester.
If you are interested in the use of computational tools to solve chemical engineering problems and are a senior with mostly A's or B's in your chemical engineering core courses, you should consider the following courses as electives:
advanced chemical engineering fundamentals part 2
Course
Description
06-623
Mathematical Modeling of Chemical Engineering Processes
06-625
Chemical and Reactive Systems
06-663
Analysis and Modeling of Transport Phenomena
Note: The course 06-606 Computational Methods for Large-Scale Process Design and Analysis is not recommended if it is taught in the fall semester (as it normally is), since students in this class are expected to have already completed an undergraduate Process Systems Design course such as 06-421.
Note: These courses may not be substituted for any of the required core courses for the BS in chemical engineering.
Sustainability and environmental aspects
Chemical engineers develop catalysts and processes to improve yields in the production of fuels, and they develop new battery systems, fuel cells, and biofuels to help build the renewable energy economy.
Chemical engineers apply their knowledge of transport and reaction processes to model the fate and transport of pollutants in aquatic, soil, and atmospheric systems.
Please note that there is a College of Engineering-designated minor in environmental & sustainability studies. Courses listed for that minor would certainly be appropriate.
Chemical Engineering
Sustainability and environmental aspects - Chemical Engineering
Course
Description
06-644 / 24-642
Electrochemical and Decarbonization Technologies
06-664
Special Topics: Design and Optimization of Sustainable Processes
06-686
Special Topics: Polymers for a sustainable Future
Chemistry
Sustainability and environmental aspects - Chemistry
Course
Description
09-225
Climate Change: Chemistry, Physics and Planetary Science
09-227
The Culture of Color: Dyes, Chemistry, and Sustainability
09-291
Environmental Systems on a Changing Planet
09-529
Introduction to Sustainable Energy Science
09-510
Chemistry and Sustainability
Civil and Environmental Engineering
Sustainability and environmental aspects - Civil and Environmental Engineering
Course
Description
12-351
Environmental Engineering
12-352
Environmental Engineering Lab
12-353
Environmental Biology and Ecology
12-612
Intro to Sustainable Engineering
12-651
Air Quality Engineering
12-657
Water Resource Systems Engineering
12-712
Sustainable Engineering Principles
12-702
Fundamentals of Water Quality Engineering
12-714
Environmental Life Cycle Assessment
12-724
Biological Wastewater Treatment
12-725
Fate, Transport and Physicochemical Processes of Organic Contaminants in Aquatic Systems
12-726
Mathematical Modeling of Environmental Quality Systems
12-749
Climate Change Adaptation
Engineering and Public Policy
Sustainability and environmental aspects - Engineering and Public Policy
Course
Description
19-429
Climate Change Science and Solutions
19-440
Combustion and Air Pollution Control
19-617
Infrastructure Management
19-627
Special Topics: Energy Innovation and Entrepreneurship
19-664
Special Topics: Advancing Low Carbon Transition in Industry
19-668
Electric Vehicles: Technology, Economics, Environment, and Policy
19-717
Sustainable Engineering Principles
19-726
Mathematical Modeling of Environmental Systems
19-751
Air Quality Engineering
Mechanical Engineering/Chemistry
Sustainability and environmental aspects - Mechanical Engineering/Chemistry
Course
Description
24-291 / 09-291
Environmental Systems on a Changing Planet (9 units + a 3 unit co-requisite with the same course name)
24-213
Special Topics: Citizen Science: Sensors, Makers, and the Environment
24-292
Renewable Energy Engineering
24-424
Energy and the Environment
24-425
Combustion and Air Pollution Control
Materials Science and Engineering
Sustainability and environmental aspects - Materials Science and Engineering
Course
Description
27-406
Sustainable Materials
Energy and batteries: energy storage and electrochemical systems
Chemical engineers contribute to the design and manufacture of batteries and other energy storage systems. In addition to energy storage and conversion systems, chemical engineers design and operate electrical reaction systems for chemical manufacturing or devices such as chemical sensors. Students may also consult the Scott Institute for Energy Innovation website for a list of energy-related courses.
Chemical Engineering
Energy and batteries - Chemical Engineering
Course
Description
06-625
Chemical and Reactive Systems
06-644 / 24-642
Electrochemical and Decarbonization Technologies
06-714
Surfaces and Adsorption
Chemistry
Energy and batteries - Chemistry
Course
Description
09-529
Introduction to Sustainable Energy Science
09-534
Chemical Approaches to Energy Conversion and Storage
Computer Science
Energy and batteries - Computer Science
Course
Description
17-340
Green Computing
Electrical and Computer Engineering
Energy and batteries - Electrical and Computer Engineering
Course
Description
18-372
Fundamental Electrical Power Systems
Engineering and Public Policy
Energy and batteries - Engineering and Public Policy
Course
Description
19-427
Special Topics: Energy Innovation and Entrepreneurship
19-644
Special Topics: Advancing Low Carbon Transition in Industry
19-668
Electric Vehicles: Technology, Economics, Environment, and Policy
Mechanical Engineering
Energy and batteries - Mechanical Engineering
Course
Description
24-292
Renewable Energy Engineering
24-424
Energy and the Environment
24-628
Energy Transport and Conversion at the Nanoscale
24-629
Direct Solar and Thermal Energy Conversion
24-643
Energy Storage Materials and Systems
24-722
Energy System Modeling
Materials Science and Engineering
Energy and batteries - Materials Science and Engineering
Course
Description
27-432
Electronic and Thermal Properties of Metals, Semiconductors and Related Devices
27-542
Thin Film Technologies
27-729
Solid State Devices for Energy Conversion
27-700
Energy Storage Materials and Systems
Physics
Energy and batteries - Physics
Course
Description
33-226
Physics of Energy
Complex fluids and soft materials
Chemical engineers in the consumer products, pharmaceuticals, foods, coatings, industrial fluids, and agrochemicals industries use their knowledge of chemical and physical transformations to formulate and manufacture nearly all the liquid products that people use in their everyday and professional lives.
Complex fluids and soft materials - Chemical Engineering
Course
Description
06-607
Physical Chemistry of Colloids and Surfaces
06-609 / 09-509
Physical Chemistry of Macromolecules
06-610
Rheology and Structure of Complex Fluids
06-612
Formulation Engineering
06-663
Analysis and Modeling of Transport Phenomena
06-686
Special Topics: Polymers for a Sustainable Future
Chemistry
Complex fluids and soft materials - Chemical Engineering
Course
Description
09-108
The Illusion and Magic of Food (6 units)
09-209
Kitchen Chemistry Sessions (3 units)
09-110
The Design and Making of Skin and Hair Products (3 units)
09-114
Basics of Food Science (3 units)
09-224
Supramolecular Chemistry (3 units)
09-502
Organic Chemistry of Polymers
09-507
Nanoparticles
09-509 / 06-609
Physical Chemistry of Macromolecules (9 units)
09-712
Physical Chemistry of Macromolecules (12 units)
09-760
The Molecular Basis of Polymer Mechanics
Materials Science and Engineering
Complex fluids and soft materials - Materials Science and Engineering
Course
Description
27-477
Introduction to Polymer Science and Engineering
27-505
Exploration of Everyday Materials
27-518
Special Topics: Soft Materials
27-565
Nanostructured Materials
27-570
Polymeric Biomaterials
27-591
Mechanical Behavior of Materials
27-704
Principles of Surface Engineering and Industrial Coatings (6 units)
Biochemical, Bioprocess, and Pharmaceutical Engineering
The pharmaceutical industry recruits chemical engineers who can use their knowledge of chemical reaction engineering and separation processes to produce pure and effective pharmaceutical agents and drug delivery systems.
The biopharmaceutical industry attracts chemical engineers who can apply this expertise to biomanufacturing systems based on microbiology and biochemistry.
