Newcastle University

Chemical Engineering with Process Control MEng Honours
UCAS Code: H830 (4 Years)

• Course Overview
• Modules
• Entry Requirements
• Careers
• Finance

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.

This four-year MEng Honours degree enables you to study a broad curriculum for the first three years, before studying specialist topics in process control in your fourth year.

The manufacturing industry depends on process control technology to maintain a competitive edge. Control engineers apply engineering principles to design, build, and manage sophisticated computer-based instrumentation and control systems that help monitor production and all the chemical engineering processes involved in delivering the product you want.

As a result, control engineers need to understand the fundamental principles of chemical engineering as well as key aspects of mathematics, statistics, and information technology and process control methodologies.

This degree introduces you to the state-of the-art in industrial modern control theory. You will gain chemical engineering knowledge alongside the specialist maths and computer skills needed for careers in modern control engineering.

• In Stages 1, 2 and 3, you study a core curriculum, which provides you with a firm foundation in chemical engineering skills and knowledge. In your third year group plant design project you take on the role of process control engineer within your design team
• In Stage 4 you specialise in process control, providing you with specialist skills for your future career

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 industrially 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.

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.

In the third year you bring all this knowledge together to design a process plant in teams. Your role, as process control engineer within your team, will be designing a way of monitoring the plant’s performance.

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.

Industry-relevant teaching

Newcastle students graduate fully equipped with the skills they will need thanks to our strong links with industry experts. Newcastle offers:

• problem-based learning for the first three years based around relevant industrial case studies – excellent preparation for life as a professional engineer

• lectures delivered by practising industry experts covering issues surrounding safety management and environmental protection

• industry representation on our Board of Studies with direct input into our degrees

• industry links with over 100 chemical engineering companies, resulting in sponsorship and placement opportunities and plant visits

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

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.

Study abroad

In your final year you complete an individual design project and substantial research project, which you may carry out within the School or in industry. Alternatively, with the agreement of the Degree Programme Director, you may carry out your research project at one of our partner universities in Europe or worldwide. Locations include Australia and Singapore.