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Transitioning to Chemical Engineering from Other Majors

Transitioning to Chemical Engineering from other SEAS majors after the second year is feasible, but requires careful planning in order to meet pre- and co-requisite requirements. CHEM152 and 152L are required for ChE majors and are best taken as Science Elective I. If another course was taken, CHEM152/152L should be taken in the summer between the second and the third year.

Programs can be tailored to the individual needs of students to transition to ChE; three examples are given below. These examples assume that a student has earned 64 credit hours following a typical SEAS curriculum that does not include CHEM 152/152L. It is likely that all courses previously taken will be credited toward the ChE degree, though individual programs of study will need to take into account a student's background and academic record. Thus, we strongly encourage SEAS students who are considering transitioning to Chemical Engineering from other majors as third-year students to contact the ChE department as soon as possible in order to develop a suitable plan of study for approval by the ChE faculty.

Example Programs for Transitioning to CHE

Example 1 (a)

Summer between Semesters 4 and 5

CHEM 152/152L (Normally offered at UVa as CHE 142/142L) (b)

Semester 5
CHE 215 Material Energy Balances
3
CHE 316 Chemical Thermodynamics
3
CHE 321 Transport Processes I.
4
CHEM 351 Physical Chemistry
3
  HSS Elective
3
   
16
   
Semester 7
STS 401 Western Tech & Culture
3
CHE 438 Process Modeling & Control
3
CHE 491L Chem Eng Lab II
3
CHEM 371 Physical Chemistry Lab (e)
3
   
12

Semester 6
CHE 202 Thermodynamics (c)
3
CHE 216 Model & Sim in CHE
3
CHE 322 Transport Processes II
4
CHE 398L   Chem Eng Lab I
3
CHEM 212 Organic Chemistry (d)
3
CHEM 212L Organic Chemistry Lab (d)
1
   
17
Semester 8
STS 402 Engineer in Society
3
CHE 318 Chem. Reaction Eng
3
CHE 476 Chem Eng Design
3
  CHE Elective
3
  HSS Elective
3
   
15

 

Notes

  1. This example is quite demanding. However, it requires attending only one summer school session for CHEM 152/152L.
  2. CHEM 152/152L should be take preferably in the summer before the 5th semester. If this is impossible, it might be taken during the 4th year. For additional policy details on CHEM 152/152L, click here.
  3. CHE 202 could be taken in a summer session as MAE 210.
  4. CHEM 212/212L could be taken in a summer session as CHEM 241/242.
  5. CHEM 371 could be taken in the 5th semester in place of the HSS elective.
Example 2

Summer between Semesters 4 and 5

CHEM 152/152L (Normally offered at UVa as CHE 142/142L) (a); MAE 210 (b)

Semester 5
CHE 215 Material Energy Balances
3
CHE 316 Chemical Thermodynamics
3
CHE 321 Transport Processes I.
4
CHEM 361 Physical Chemistry
3
HSS Elective
3
   
16
   
Semester 7
STS 401 Western Tech & Culture
3
CHE 438 Process Modeling & Control
3
CHE 491L Chem Eng Lab II
3
CHEM 371 Physical Chemistry Lab (d)
3
   
12

Semester 6
CHE 216 Model & Sim in CHE
3
CHE 318 Chem. Reaction Eng
3
CHE 322 Transport Processes II
4
CHE 398L   Chem Eng Lab I
3
CHEM 212 Organic Chemistry (c)
3
CHEM 212L Organic Chemistry Lab (c)
1
   
17
Semester 8
STS 402 Engineer in Society
3
CHE 476 Chem Eng Design
3
  CHE Elective
3
  HSS Elective
3
   
12

Notes

  1. CHEM 152/152L should be take prefereably in the summer before the 5th semester. If this is impossible, it might be taken during the 4th year. For additional policy details on CHEM 152/152L, click here.
  2. MAE 210 is taken in lieu of CHE 202.
  3. CHEM 212/212L could be taken in a summer session as CHEM 241/242.
  4. CHEM 371 could be taken in the 5th semester in place of the HSS elective.

Example 3

Summer between Semesters 4 and 5

CHE 215, CHEM 152/152L, and CHE 202 equivalents at another university (a)

Semester 5
CHE 316 Chemical Thermodynamics
3
CHE 321 Transport Processes I.
4
CHEM 361 Physical Chemistry
3
CHEM 371
 Physical Chemistry Lab
3
HSS Elective
3
   
16
Semester 7
STS 401 Western Tech & Culture
3
CHE 438 Process Modeling & Control
3
CHE 491L Chem Eng Lab II
3
CHEM 371 Physical Chemistry Lab (b)
3
   
12

Semester 6
CHE 216 Model & Sim in CHE
3
CHE 322 Transport Processes II
4
CHE 398L   Chem Eng Lab I
3
CHEM 212 Organic Chemistry
3
CHEM 212L Organic Chemistry Lab
1
   
14
Semester 8
STS 402 Engineer in Society
3
CHE 318 Chem. Reaction Eng
3
CHE 476 Chem Eng Design
3
  CHE Elective
3
  HSS Elective
3
   
12

Notes

  1. Equivalents to CHE 215, CHEM 152/152L and CHE 202 are commonly offered in the summer at other universities such as Georgia Tech and U. Maryland (College Park)
  2. CHEM 371 could be taken in the 5th semester in place of the HSS elective.
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