Chemical Engineering BEng Honours
UCAS Code: H810
(3 Years)
Chemical engineers are responsible for the chemical and biochemical transformations behind thousands of everyday products, in a wide variety of industries, from the manufacture of medicines to freeze-drying food. We'll teach you the theory and practical application of chemical engineering, including how to use industrial apparatus in our very own pilot plant.
Our three-year Chemical Engineering BEng Honours degree is the broadest ranging of our degrees and will equip you with knowledge and skills across the full spectrum of chemical engineering topics, allowing you to keep your career options open.
Professional accreditation
This degree is accredited by the Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE), providing industry-wide recognition of the quality of your qualification.
You will also have the opportunity to take modules that are professionally accredited by the Institute of Measurement and Control and the Energy Institute.
See the MEng or BEng section below for more information about professional accreditation and the difference between studying to BEng and MEng level.
Quality and ranking
At Newcastle you will join a School of Chemical Engineering and Advanced Materials with a long-standing reputation for teaching quality and student support.
The quality of the chemical engineering degrees at Newcastle University is recognised with a top ten ranking amongst UK universities teaching chemical engineering in The Guardian University Guide 2014 and The Complete University Guide 2014.
Chemical Engineering at Newcastle also ranks in the top 150 universities in the world in the QS World University Rankings by Subject.
Teaching and assessment
Teaching is a combination of lectures, tutorials, seminars, computer practice sessions and an extensive hands-on laboratory practical component. You will also spend time working on industry-relevant case studies and design projects in small groups.
Assessment is by class tests, laboratory reports, multi-choice questions, project reports, oral presentations, closed book examinations, and interviews. Teaching and assessment methods may vary from module to module; more information can be found in our individual module listings.
Visit our Teaching and Learning pages to read about the outstanding learning experience available to you at Newcastle University.
Flexible degree structure
All of our Chemical Engineering degrees (except our Chemical Engineering with Industry degree) cover the same study programme for the first three years.
Through case study-led teaching, we introduce you to core engineering, maths and science principles underpinning the design of a chemical engineering process plant, from controlling chemical reaction rates to using specialist computer software to solve chemical and process engineering problems.
We teach you how to perform, measure, analyse and manipulate chemical reactions. We introduce you to basic types of mass, heat and momentum transfer, as well as the design criteria for heat exchangers and other plant equipment used in process plants.
Consultants from industry deliver classes on current industrial practice as well as issues surrounding safety management and environmental protection.
In the third year you bring all this knowledge together to design a process plant in teams. This tests your knowledge of process selection, conceptual design, equipment design, process safety and sustainability, and economic analysis.
This shared curriculum provides you with a broad foundation of chemical engineering knowledge. It also gives you the flexibility to transfer between our Chemical Engineering MEng degrees (except Chemical Engineering with Industry) up to the end of Stage 3, should your ideas change as your skills develop and you gain more experience of different aspects of chemical engineering.
Transfer to or from our Chemical Engineering with Industry degree is possible up to the end of Stage 2, before the accredited industrial placement begins in Stage 3.
Please note: transfer from the BEng degree to one of our MEng degrees is subject to you achieving the appropriate academic standard.
Work placement
All students have the chance to gain valuable workplace skills to make you stand out in the graduate market place. We have strong links with over 100 companies, including P&G, MSD and ExxonMobil. The School and the University Careers Service will help you to find potential employers and guide you through the application process.
- All chemical engineering students can undertake a paid industry placement after second year (BEng students) or third year (MEng students). This year does not count towards your final degree mark and extends your degree to four years for a BEng and five years for an MEng.
- Undertake an assessed year in industry through our accredited Chemical Engineering with Industry degree, making it possible for you to gain industrial experience without extending the length of your degree. You will work within a team of professional engineers and scientists to apply your knowledge to an industrial problem defined by your host company. Your technical skills will be assessed through an industrial design project. You also complete selected chemical engineering topics by distance learning.
School of Chemical Engineering and Advanced Materials
As a chemical engineering student at Newcastle, you will join the School of Chemical Engineering and Advanced Materials. Our state-of-the-art labs and facilities have benefitted from considerable investment in the last few years, which includes:
- a recently upgraded pilot plant laboratory
- modern bench-top experimental equipment
- an interactive video teaching system
- high specification fume cupboards for handling volatile chemicals
- two dedicated computing suites, running specialised industry-standard computer software
Visit the School of Chemical Engineering and Advanced Materials' website, where you can:
- find out more about studying chemical engineering at Newcastle
- take a virtual tour of our facilities
- watch a video featuring some of our current students
+ MEng or BEng?
We offer chemical engineering degrees at two levels:
- Bachelor of Engineering (BEng) – three years
- Master of Engineering (MEng) – four years, allowing you to gain a greater depth and breadth of knowledge in chemical engineering
All of our chemical engineering degrees are professionally accredited by the Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE).
Both the BEng and MEng provide a pathway to becoming a Chartered Chemical Engineer. This is one of the most recognisable international engineering qualifications.
Our Master of Engineering (MEng) degrees are considered a more direct route to becoming a Chartered Engineer (CEng) as they completely satisfy the academic requirements to achieve this professional qualification. This means you will not have to undertake any further study on the route to chartered status.
Our three-year BEng degree can also lead to Chartered Engineer status later in your career, though you will need to undertake a further period of study, for example an accredited or approved Master’s degree, or appropriate further learning to Master’s level.
A BEng is also suitable for international students who don’t need British Chartered Engineer status.
Find out more about the benefits of becoming a Chartered Engineer on the Engineering Council’s website. Find out how to obtain Chartership through IChemE on IChemE's Get Chartered website.
+ Defence Technical Undergraduate Scheme (DTUS)
+ Singapore study option (international students)
+ Related Courses
Other degrees in Chemical Engineering at Newcastle:
- Chemical Engineering MEng Honours (H813)
- Chemical Engineering BEng Honours (H810)
- Chemical Engineering with Bioprocess Engineering MEng Honours (H831)
- Chemical Engineering with Industry MEng Honours (H815)
- Chemical Engineering with Process Control MEng Honours (H830)
- Chemical Engineering with Sustainable Engineering MEng Honours (HH82)
You may also be interested in:
- Automation and Control BEng Honours (H660)
- Automation and Control with Industrial Project MEng Honours (H661)
- Chemical Engineering with Foundation Year BEng Honours (H814)
- Chemical Engineering with Foundation Year MEng Honours (H816)
- Chemistry MChem Honours (F103)
- Chemistry BSc Honours (F100)
- Chemistry (with Industrial Training Year) MChem Honours (F106)
- Chemistry (with Industrial Training Year) BSc Honours (F102)
- Chemistry with Medicinal Chemistry MChem Honours (F123)
- Chemistry with Medicinal Chemistry BSc Honours (F151)
- Chemistry with Medicinal Chemistry (with Industrial Training Year) BSc Honours (F122)
- Chemistry with Medicinal Chemistry (with Industrial Training Year) MChem Honours (F124)
- Chemistry with Study Abroad MChem Honours (F107)
- Civil and Structural Engineering BEng Honours (H210)
- Civil and Structural Engineering MEng Honours (H242)
- Civil and Surveying Engineering BEng Honours (H202)
- Civil and Surveying Engineering MEng Honours (H292)
- Civil Engineering MEng Honours (H290)
- Civil Engineering BEng Honours (H200)
- Civil Engineering with Foundation Year BEng Honours (H201)
- Civil Engineering with Foundation Year MEng Honours (H291)
- Digital Electronics BEng Honours (H990)
- Digital Electronics with Industrial Project MEng Honours (H991)
- Electrical and Electronic Engineering BEng Honours (H607)
- Electrical and Electronic Engineering with Foundation Year MEng Honours (H606)
- Electrical and Electronic Engineering with Foundation Year BEng Honours (H604)
- Electrical and Electronic Engineering with Industrial Project MEng Honours (H605)
- Electrical Power Engineering BEng Honours (H623)
- Electrical Power Engineering with Industrial Project MEng Honours (H622)
- Electronic Communications BEng Honours (H640)
- Electronic Communications with Industrial Project MEng Honours (H621)
- Electronics and Computer Engineering BEng Honours (H652)
- Electronics and Computer Engineering with Industrial Project MEng Honours (H654)
- Engineering with Foundation Year MEng Honours (H103)
- Engineering with Foundation Year BEng Honours (H101)
- Marine Technology with Foundation Year BEng Honours (J615)
- Marine Technology with Foundation Year MEng Honours (J616)
- Marine Technology with Marine Engineering BEng Honours (H504)
- Marine Technology with Marine Engineering MEng Honours (H501)
- Marine Technology with Naval Architecture MEng Honours (H503)
- Marine Technology with Naval Architecture BEng Honours (H502)
- Marine Technology with Offshore Engineering BEng Honours (H355)
- Marine Technology with Offshore Engineering MEng Honours (H356)
- Marine Technology with Small Craft Technology BEng Honours (H520)
- Marine Technology with Small Craft Technology MEng Honours (H524)
- Mechanical and Low Carbon Transport Engineering MEng Honours (H390)
- Mechanical Design and Manufacturing Engineering BEng Honours (HH73)
- Mechanical Design and Manufacturing Engineering MEng Honours (HH37)
- Mechanical Engineering BEng Honours (H300)
- Mechanical Engineering MEng Honours (H301)
- Mechanical Engineering with Foundation Year BEng Honours (H304)
- Mechanical Engineering with Foundation Year MEng Honours (H305)
- Mechanical Engineering with Mechatronics MEng Honours (H3H6)
- Mechanical Engineering with Microsystems MEng Honours (H3H9)
- Microelectronic Engineering BEng Honours (H611)
- Microelectronic Engineering with Industrial Project MEng Honours (H612)
Find out more:
- Visit us
- Request a prospectus
- Take a virtual tour
- Watch a video about Newcastle University
- Enquire online
- Telephone (Student Services): +44 (0) 191 208 3333
- Apply
Student profiles:
Newcastle University has allowed me to have a balance between work and play. The academic side of university is challenging and interesting. There are many societies and clubs to get involved in. All the students that go here are nice and friendly.
My course is challenging but rewarding as well. Each of my classes builds on one another which can make it difficult at times, but this forces me to understand and examine each one of my subjects and how it relates to an overall perspective.
