Chemical Engineering
Solve the world’s challenges in biotech, pharmaceuticals, alternative energies, and beyond.
The field of chemical engineering transforms conceptual laboratory discoveries into new products and processes.
This program prepares students for the future of the field through studies in biochemical engineering and advanced materials. Chemical engineering students at UMass Amherst develop new vaccines, discover alternative fuels, create new materials, and influence future innovation.
A bachelor of science (BS) degree in chemical engineering provides a broad background in chemistry, physics, mathematics, and their applications. Students can tailor the curriculum to individual interests: biochemical engineering, materials science and engineering, and engineering management. Chemical engineering also serves as a strong foundation for future graduate work in areas ranging from biotechnology and pharmacology to advanced materials, energy, and sustainability.
Explore our programs
Career placement 6 months out, for graduates who reported
Enrollment
Research Expenditures
Research Areas
From bioengineering for health care to renewable energy, UMass Amherst chemical engineering faculty and students are making discoveries every day.
Benefits list
Invent, develop, and design
Prepare for a career in chemical engineering and allied professions, or for further study at graduate and professional schools. At UMass, students acquire the broad education necessary to understand the impact of chemical engineering systems in a global and societal context.
Distinguished scholars and technical leaders
Our faculty are technological innovators in the fields of fluid mechanics and transport phenomena, scientific computing, bioengineering, materials science, nanotechnology, and sustainable energy.
A wide range of voices and perspectives
We are committed in policy, principle, and practice to creating and maintaining an inclusive environment that provides both the atmosphere and opportunity for all people to thrive.
Alumni spotlight
In the spotlight
Zeynep Alptekin ’23 has long been interested in issues of sustainability and soon found a fitting challenge to explore: developing permanent magnet alternatives that are less environmentally harsh to mine than existing options.
Careers
You'll be prepared to enter a career in chemical engineering and allied professions or to go on to further study at graduate and professional schools.
Learn more about our career development program- Thermo Fisher Scientific
- AbbVie
- MIT
- MilliporeSigma
- Amgen
- Bristol Myers Squibb
- U.S. Department of Energy
Featured faculty
Dimitrios Maroudas
Affiliated Faculty, Materials Science & Engineering
Adjunct Professor, Chemistry
Renewable Energy, Materials Science and Nanotechnology, Molecular, Multi-scale, and System-level Modeling
Sarah Perry
Adjunct, Polymer Science and Engineering
Undergraduate Program Director Chemical Engineering
Using biomimetic self-assembly, molecular design, and microfluidics to address real-world challenges in materials, medicine, and the environment.
Shelly Peyton
Designing and adapting biomaterials to understand how breast cancer spreads, and how traumatic brain injury occurs and repairs.
Matthew Langer
Director of Alumni Affairs, Chemical Engineering
Provides ChE undergraduate student & program support, coordinates course management along with alumni relations
Marie Wallace
Provides ChE graduate student admin support and responsible for HR appointments for both graduate students and postdocs.
In the news
In the Fight Against Breast Cancer, UMass Amherst Researchers Identify Malignancy Hibernation as the Next Battleground
Chemical engineers at the university find less than 1% of studies examine the phenomenon.
Researchers at UMass Amherst and Texas A&M Collaborate to Develop New Antibacterial Polymers That Kill “Superbugs”
The researchers have developed a new family of “cationic polymers” that kill “superbug” bacteria like MRSA and E. coli without inducing antibiotic resistance.
National Academy of Engineering (NAE) Inducts ChE Alumna Cristina Urdaneta Thomas
NAE cited her "innovation, commercialization, and leadership in using polymeric materials for energy savings and traffic safety and to ensure worker wellbeing."
Chemical Engineering
Chemical engineering students at UMass Amherst work diligently to develop new vaccines, discover alternative fuels, and create innovative materials.