Chemical Engineering

By Neda Mostafavi

Published: 13 August 2004

What do you come out with? BEng or MEng.

Why do it? Because you enjoy chemistry and maths and you don't want to study chemistry on its own. You want to apply the subject. You know that chemical engineers are extremely employable and earn more than any other kind of engineer - Â£25,000 starting salary, if you're lucky, Â£17,000, if you're unlucky. Cindy Crawford even studied Chemical Engineering before she became the sexy pin up we know her for.

What's it about? The exploitation of chemistry on to a large scale, embracing almost anything you care to think of - from plastic bowls to toothpaste, yoghurt and tomato juice. You'll find a chemical engineer will have had a hand in their manufacture. "It's modern day alchemy," says Professor Jonathan Seville, the head of Birmingham's department. Take drugs: the chemists put the initial ingredients together. Then the chemical engineers put those ingredients into tablets and organise their manufacture on a large scale. "It's about building a manufacturing process that works and that's safe and has a minimum adverse effect on the environment," says Professor Stan Kolaczkowski of Bath University. Maths also plays a big role in Chemical Engineering in calculating the economics of the processes.

How long is a degree? Three years for a BEng, four for a MEng. Add a year if you do a stint in industry. The MEng is becoming the premier degree. At Heriot-Watt four years for a BEng and five four an MEng. The MEng can also be combined with pharmaceutical chemistry, energy resources, environmental management and even brewing and distilling for those who want to embrace their Scottish roots. There is also an industrial training sandwich option which adds another year to either the BEng or MEng course. Newcastle offers either a three year BEng or four year MEng with specialities in bioprocessing, sustainable engineering, intensified processing, process control or combined with a European language. UMIST offers the traditional BEng and MEng as well as one of few Chemical Engineering with Industrial Experience MEng courses which still only takes four years, even though the third year is spent in industry.

What are the students like? Similar to medics. They work hard and play hard. Very maths/science orientated. Around three-quarters are men, which is fewer than in other engineering disciplines. At Birmingham they're ethnically diverse - so are the staff - and one-quarter are from overseas.

How is it packaged? At Loughborough and Umist 75 per cent of the degree is examined, 25 per cent is assessed. At Birmingham it's 60:40, with the biggest contribution to assessment being a design project. At Bath it's 55:45. At Heriot-Watt 30 per cent is coursework and 70 per cent exam, with a design project in the final year. Newcastle has a modular system consisting of 12 modules of which the exam counts for 75 per cent and continuous assessment for the remaining 25 per cent.

How cool is it? Not that cool, though it should be - given the big bucks you can earn so quickly. Chemists, biochemists or biologists need to stay on for a PhD to get a good job in industry, whereas chemical engineers don't. Plus, you do things which are at the frontiers of knowledge. At Birmingham, students are increasingly involved with the life sciences, doing projects on cultivating human tissue and so on. These messages have not got out to schools. Applications to study the subject were 10 per cent down this year and 10 per cent down last year. Courses are seen as hard and the good news about job prospects has not got out.

What A-levels do you need? At Bath and Newcastle you need maths, chemistry and one other subject. They will take you without chemistry if you have biology and are interested in biochemical engineering. You need maths and two other sciences at Loughborough and Birmingham. But in future all departments are expected to take applicants with A levels in humanities and arts too because of reform of the sixth-form curriculum. Maths and chemistry at Heriot-Watt, but physics is highly recommended. Maths, physics and chemistry are most common at UMIST, but they really only require maths and another science plus any other A level.

What grades? BBB at Bath, BBB-CCC at Loughborough and Surrey, ABB-BBB at Birmingham. CCD in A levels or BBBB in highers for first year entry at Heriot-Watt, and BBC or AAAB for second year entry. CCC for BEng or BBB for an MEng at Newcastle. BBB (or 300 UCAS points) at UMIST with a B in maths.

Will it keep you off the dole? Yes. You can get jobs with no problem with chemical engineering contractors, building plants here or overseas (eg Bechtel and Foster Wheeler). London is still the European capital for the design and building of chemical plants. The traditional oil industry is still popular, you could work for BP or Shell. Or you can work in the food or pharmaceutical industries or for a giant like Unilever or Proctor and Gamble, or for a chemical or process industry. Or you can work for a bank or consulting firm which does business with chemical engineering companies. Some graduates go into almost unrelated areas such as the financial sector since the problem solving skills the degree gives you can be applied far and wide.

Will you be interviewed? Yes, you will be at Loughborough, Birmingham, Bath, Surrey and Newcastle (they also hold an open day at the same time). Yes at Heriot-Watt, but more for the student to find out if the course suits them.

What do students say? Ranna Patel, who studied at Bath. "You can do anything with this degree - engineering, finance, accountancy or scientific research in the life sciences."

Where's best for teaching? Cambridge scored 23 out of 24; Imperial, Loughborough and UMIST scored 22. Queen's Belfast, Birmingham, Newcastle, Nottingham and Sheffield got 21. Swansea was rated excellent.

Where's best for research? Imperial College, Birmingham and UCL got a tip-top 5*;, Cambridge, UMIST and Newcastle got a 5; Bath, Loughborough, Sheffield, Surrey, Edinburgh, Heriot-Watt, Queen's Belfast got a 4.

Where's the cutting edge? Tissue engineering and catalytic combustion at Bath; Birmingham has set up a new research group in formulation engineering and is big on food and the way it tastes and feels. It is trying to understand what the molecules are doing in your mouth i.e. why certain biscuits are so mouth-wateringly delicious. Biomanufacturing, molecular modelling and nanotechnology also are all increasingly popular areas of interest in the field. UMIST is working towards reducing the impact of chemical processes on the environment and in the area of biotechnology and the pharmaceutical industry. At Newcastle, it's fuel cell research (producing energy from methanol), and process intensification research (reducing the size of equipment).

Who are the stars? Professor Jonathan Seville, for positron emission imaging of processes, and Professor Peter Fryer who electrocutes strawberries to make them last longer, both at Birmingham. Professor Barry Crittenden is an expert on hydrocarbon fouling and Professor Malcolm Greaves is an expert in enhanced oil recovery, both at Bath. Others are Professor Richard Wakeman (filtration) at Loughborough and Professor Ugur Tuzun (particle technology) at Surrey. Professor Keith Scott at Newcastle is an authority in electro-chemical engineering and Professor Ian Metcalfe at UMIST for fuel cell research. Professor Paul Sharratt, also at Umist, improves processes (smart chemical engineering) and works with the issue of sustainable development.

Added value: Surrey is proud of the professional skills which all students get. For example: they learn how to communicate, work in teams, solve problems and become leaders. Bath's department is expanding - more students, more staff.