Undergraduate program

Chemical Engineering is a broad discipline that combines chemistry, mathematics, physics and biology with unique principles and process systems engineering to develop new products and manufacturing processes.

At Carnegie Mellon, the chemical engineering curriculum brings together a deep understanding of molecular properties and process design to develop energy-efficient and sustainable manufacturing processes. Our students graduate with the ability to solve complex problems that can improve existing chemical products and lead to the creation of new ones.

Industry- and research-relevant curriculum

Our students develop deep problem-solving skills through challenging, open-ended problems, and computing is integrated throughout the curriculum, equipping graduates with the tools needed to solve some of the world's most complex issues. Experimentation with computerized data acquisition and control in the Robert J. Rothfus Lab provides hands-on experience that readies students to join the workforce. CMU also offers unique undergraduate research opportunities, allowing students to team up with faculty and graduate students on ground-breaking experiments and studies. Our integrated master's and bachelor's degree program enables undergraduate students to earn a master's degree in one additional year on campus.

Student experiences with a global reach

Interested in studying abroad? CMU's Chemical Engineering department has relationships with top-tier academic institutions across the globe, including RWTH Aachen and Dortmund University in Germany, Imperial College London, Universidad Nacional del Litoral in Argentina, and Yonsei University in Korea. These established exchange programs allow students to take chemical engineering courses abroad and see the broad reach chemical engineers have worldwide.

The Student Travel Fund supports Chemical Engineering sophomores, juniors, and seniors who are actively participating in a professional conference.

Through the department's Practical Internship for Senior Chemical Engineering Students (PISCES) program, students have the chance to take advantage of a year-long industrial internship.

Endless opportunities

Chemical Engineering offers challenging and well-compensated careers across many fields and industries, including manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, healthcare, design and construction, pulp and paper, petrochemicals, food processing, specialty chemicals, microelectronics, electronic and advanced materials, polymers, business services, biotechnology, and environmental health and safety industries, among others. Our students go on to attend some of the top graduate schools in the country and work at leading companies across many industries, including:

logos from companies that hire a lot of ChemE graduates
graphic showing salary range $65,000 - $105,000 and median salary $83,318

* Based on survey results from program graduates

The interactive dashboard from the Career and Professional Development Center has more information about post-graduation destinations and salaries.

Our alums help students connect their classes to career paths. These recent graduates working at Merck shared their experiences with first-year students:

Carnegie Mellon University

CMU College of Engineering #7 Best Undergraduate Engineering Programs, US News and World Report

Located in the heart of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon is a private, global research university, that stands among the world's most renowned educational institutions.

With cutting-edge brain science, path-breaking performances, innovative start-ups, driverless cars, big data, big ambitions, Nobel and Turing prizes, hands-on learning, and a whole lot of robots, CMU doesn't imagine the future, we create it.

One of the nation&'s premier programs, CMU's College of Engineering ranks 7th on U.S. News and World Report's list of best undergraduate programs.

Enrollment and graduation statistics

View undergraduate enrollment and graduation data for the Department of Chemical Engineering.