Chemical Engineering (with placement year)

Chemical Engineering is a highly versatile and interdisciplinary subject. It applies the principles of chemistry, physics, mathematics, biology, and economics to transform energy and materials into useful and affordable products. It covers the research, design and operation of new and existing processes to minimise environmental impacts, ensure compliance with legal and ethical standards, and maximise profits and benefits to society.

Chemical engineers take leading roles in many different sectors, including energy, water, pharmaceuticals, consumer products, and even finance. They use their sought-after technical know-how and ingenuity to develop solutions to many of the world’s most pressing challenges, such as climate change and the large-scale production of new vaccines.

Our Chemical Engineering degree is designed with this in mind. You will learn specialist scientific and engineering skills and how to apply them to real-world problems, so you'll graduate ready to begin an exciting and successful career.

You'll learn from academics who conduct world-leading research to drive the sustainable revolution in areas such as low-carbon technologies, next-generation healthcare and advanced manufacturing. Our research directly informs our teaching and project work, ensuring that course content stays up to date and relevant to what the industry needs.

Our bench and pilot-scale laboratories, VR simulation, computer classes and project work will allow you to gain valuable hands-on experience as well as develop key teamwork and IT skills.

You will also undertake a final-year design project which brings together the theory and techniques you have learnt during your degree. This includes initial technology selection and flowsheet development, detailed design of individual unit operation, process optimisation, safety and operability analysis and full economic and environmental evaluation.

We offer a variety of optional modules in your final year, on topics ranging from healthcare engineering to business systems, allowing you to tailor your studies to fit your interests. There are also opportunities to boost your employability through a year-long professional placement, studying abroad, or learning a language.

What is the difference between MEng and BEng?

The BEng degree and the first three years of the MEng degree are identical, with a good mix of theory, application and practical content from day one. The additional year of the MEng programme allows students to study a wider range of technical subjects with additional depth, as well as undertaking the Professional Development Project (PDP), which can be undertaken in industry, abroad or at Loughborough.

Whilst both the MEng and BEng are accredited by the Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE), only the MEng degree fully meets all educational requirements for Chartered Engineer status. Students studying on the BEng course may have opportunity to change to the MEng course if their performance in the first and second year is sufficiently strong.

Course Modules

For a full list of areas studied, see the 'What You'll Study' section of the course page on our website.

Our course offers a good balance between knowledge and application-based assessments.

Overall, around 50% of assessments are exam-based, but the proportion reduces slightly from the first to final year. The other half of our assessments are in the form of coursework, both individually and in groups, such as reports, oral presentations, posters or software files. These are excellent opportunities to develop essential communication and teamwork skills and receive detailed verbal or written feedback.

Professionally accredited courses provide industry-wide recognition of the quality of your qualification.

• Chemical Engineers, Institution of