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
Undergraduate
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
ChE’s Zhu "Clark" Chen Receives James M. Douglas Early Career Faculty Development Award
The purpose of the Douglas Fund is to provide an Early Career Faculty Development Award annually to an untenured faculty member in the ChE department.
CoE Selects Arwade, Beltramo, and Srimathveeravalli for Its Outstanding Faculty Awards
Three gifted faculty members receive the Outstanding Senior Faculty Award and Barbara H. and Joseph I. Goldstein Outstanding Junior Faculty Award.
Ashish Kulkarni Selected for Edward S. Price Chemical Engineering Faculty Fellowship
The fellowship is based on a generous endowment established by UMass alumnus Edward S. Price ‘90.
Chemical Engineering
Chemical engineering students at UMass Amherst work diligently to develop new vaccines, discover alternative fuels, and create innovative materials.