1. Carolina Core Requirements (34-46 Hours)

2. Other General Requirements (28 Hours)

3. Lower Division Engineering (14 Hours)

• ECHE 101 - Introduction to Chemical Engineering or
• ENCP 101 - Introduction to Engineering I

•  

• ECHE 300 - Chemical Process Principles

•  

• ECHE 310 - Introductory Chemical Engineering Thermodynamics or
• ENCP 290 - Thermodynamic Fundamentals

•  

• ECHE 311 - Chemical Engineering Thermodynamics

•  

• ECHE 320 - Chemical Engineering Fluid Mechanics or
• ENCP 360 - Fluid Mechanics

4. Chemical Engineering Major (30 Hours)

• ECHE 321 - Heat-Flow Analysis
• ECHE 322 - Mass Transfer
• ECHE 430 - Chemical Engineering Kinetics
• ECHE 440 - Separation Process Design
• ECHE 460 - Chemical Engineering Laboratory I
• ECHE 461 - Chemical Engineering Laboratory II
• ECHE 465 - Chemical-Process Analysis and Design I
• ECHE 466 - Chemical-Process Analysis and Design II
• ECHE 550 - Chemical-Process Dynamics and Control
• ECHE 567 - Process Safety, Health, and Loss Prevention

5. Electives (25 Hours)

Optional Concentrations

Students may pursue any of the following concentrations by choosing specified engineering, technical, and chemistry elective courses to fulfill degree requirements:

• Concentration in Biomolecular Engineering
• Concentration in Energy
• Concentration in Interdisciplinary Engineering
• Concentration in Materials
• Concentration in Environmental Engineering
• Concentration in Numerical Methods and Computing

To fulfill the requirements for any concentration, a student must complete five courses (15 credit hours) in one area and which must be approved by the student’s advisor and by the department. Consult the department website or advising handbook for a list of approved concentration courses and for the Chemical Engineering Concentration approval form.

B.S.E. with Distinction

The B.S.E. with Distinction is available to students majoring in chemical engineering who wish to participate in significant research and/or design activities in chemical engineering with a faculty mentor.

A minimum GPA of 3.50 in major courses, 3.50 in all engineering courses, and 3.50 overall at the time the student applies to enter the departmental undergraduate research track.

The student should apply to enter the departmental undergraduate research track and choose the members of the thesis committee as early as possible but in all cases at least one year before submitting and defending the thesis. The thesis committee will consist of a thesis advisor, who must be a tenure-track faculty member in chemical engineering, and two other tenure-track or research faculty members in chemical engineering or in any other department.

By the end of the semester in which the student is admitted into the research track, a short description of the research must be agreed upon by the thesis committee and the student, and filed in the college office. Projects involving research and/or design are acceptable. The design projects or research projects for ECHE 465 , 466 , 567  , or other courses are not acceptable as the thesis. The student must also choose three credit hours of engineering or technical elective courses related to the thesis topic. The course(s) must be approved by the thesis committee and completed by the student at least one semester before the thesis is submitted and defended.

Before submitting and defending the thesis, the student must have completed three credit hours of ECHE 499 - Special Problems  under the thesis advisor, preferably one credit hour per semester. During the semester in which the thesis is submitted and defended the student must also complete three credit hours of ECHE 497 - Thesis Preparation , one credit hour under each of the three members of the thesis committee. At least two months before submitting and defending the thesis, the student must present a progress report to the thesis committee orally and in writing.

By the end of his/her last semester, the student must have presented the research at a national meeting of a professional society (such as AIChE, ACS, ECS, etc.), at Discovery Day at USC, or at a comparable venue. The student must also submit a written thesis describing the research and defend it orally before the thesis committee. The defense must be announced at least one week in advance and be open to the general public.

Students who successfully fulfill all of these requirements with a GPA of at least 3.50 in the three hours of ECHE 497, 3.50 in all major courses, 3.50 in all engineering courses, and 3.50 overall, will be awarded their degree with “Distinction in Chemical Engineering” upon graduation.

Academic Standards

Minimum Course Grades

The Chemical Engineering B.S.E. program requires that a grade of “C” or better be earned in each of the following courses: ECHE 101  or ENCP 101 , ENGL 101 , ENGL 102 , MATH 141 , MATH 142 , CHEM 111 , CHEM 111L , PHYS 211 , and PHYS 211L .

Progression Requirements

Progression requirement policies are described in the College of Engineering and Computing  section of this bulletin. For the purpose of these policies, Lower Division Courses for the Chemical Engineering B.S.E. program consist of: ENGL 101 , ENGL 102 , MATH 141 , MATH 142 , MATH 241 , CHEM 111 , CHEM 111L , CHEM 112 , CHEM 112L , PHYS 211 , PHYS 211L , PHYS 212 , PHYS 212L , and all Lower Division Engineering courses.  Upper Division Courses for the Chemical Engineering B.S.E. program consist of all ECHE courses numbered 321 and above.

Major GPA

Major GPA requirement policies are described in the College of Engineering and Computing  section of this bulletin. For the purpose of these policies, the following courses are used to  determine the Major GPA for the Chemical Engineering B.S.E. program: all Lower Division Engineering courses, all Chemical Engineering Major courses, and all Engineering Electives.