Major code BS7248*

Russ College of Engineering and Technology  
Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering  
171 Stocker Center
Ohio University
Athens, OH 45701
Phone: 740.593.1492
www.ohio.edu/engineering/chemical/

Darin Ridgway, contact person
ridgway@ohio.edu

Program Overview

The Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering offers a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree in Chemical Engineering which is accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET, https://www.abet.org, under the commission’s General Criteria and Program Criteria for Chemical, Biochemical, Biomolecular Engineering. The program’s educational objectives are to prepare students so that, within a few years of graduation, our chemical engineering graduates will:

1.   Use their combined academic and professional experience to make lasting contributions to the betterment of society and their profession.

2.   Further expand their knowledge and skills to increase their effectiveness and influence in a changing world.

3.   Progress in their careers, earning increased responsibility, leadership roles, and the respect of their colleagues.

Undergraduate study begins with foundation courses in chemistry, biology, physics, and mathematics.  Individual and team projects are introduced early and continue throughout the curriculum, providing professional development through teamwork, communication skills and the ability to solve problems beyond the textbook. Students progress from basic analysis of commercial chemical and biological processes to operating pilot-scale manufacturing equipment and designing a complete manufacturing process.

In addition to their core requirements, students select from a wide range of technical elective courses in engineering, science and mathematics, giving the degree a strong interdisciplinary flavor. The broad variety of technical electives allows students to experience a breadth of subjects or build a depth of knowledge in an engineering or science discipline of specific interest to them.

The department offers pathways to obtain a BS in Chemical Engineering in four years and an MS in either chemical or biomedical engineering in one additional year through an Accelerated Graduate Pathway (AGP). The AGP program allows approved upper-level Chemical Engineering undergraduates to complete up to 16 hours of graduate courses while an undergraduate and apply up to 9 of these hours to both their BS and MS degrees. Admission into the AGP requires a minimum 3.3 overall GPA, a minimum 3.3 cumulative GPA in all Russ College of Engineering and Technology courses, and completion of CHE 2010 , MATH 3400 , and ET 3200 . The courses which may be counted toward both the undergraduate and graduate degrees are the graduate version of any dual-listed course on the Approved Technical Elective list, as well as ChE 6100, ChE 6200, ChE 6300, and ChE 6400. ChE 5000 can be taken by AGP students for graduate credit, but it would not count toward the ChE BS degree.

*This program was previously BS7251 which awarded the Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering degree. Pending Board of Trustees approval (anticipated June 2024), the new program code will be BS7248 and will award the Bachelor of Science degree effective the 2024-25 catalog year.

Admissions Information

Freshman/First-Year Admission

To best prepare for the demands of the academic programs in Russ College, four years of college preparatory math, one year of chemistry, and one year of physics are necessary. Students ranked in the top 30 percent of their classes who score at least 24 on the ACT or comparable SAT are most likely to be successful in Russ College of Engineering and Technology.  

Change of Program Policy

Students who wish to transfer into an engineering or computer science program must have earned a C or better in a math course and a science course. The math course must be equivalent to MATH 1200  or higher. The science course must be equivalent to CHEM 1210  or higher, or PHYS 2051 /PHYS 2054  & PHYS 2055  or higher. Students enrolled at any Ohio University campus who wish to transfer into any program in the Russ College cannot do so if they would be on academic probation after transferring into that major. The probation rules for Russ College are stricter than those for the University as a whole. In order not to be on probation, a student must have a GPA of 2.0 or higher for all courses taken, for all courses taken in the Russ College, and for all courses taken in the intended major. Students must also have successfully completed all required courses in three attempts and have no required course they have attempted twice without success. For some courses, success means a grade of at least a C or C-.

External Transfer Admission

Transfer students who have earned fewer than 20 semester hours of credit at another accredited collegiate institution may be admitted directly to an engineering or computer science program, if they meet the general requirements for admission to Ohio University and have completed four years of college-prep math and one year each of chemistry and physics and have scored at least a 24 on the ACT or comparable SAT.

Transfer students who have earned more than 20 semester hours of credit at another accredited collegiate institution may be admitted directly to an engineering or computer science program, if they meet the general requirements for transfer students, including a GPA greater than 2.5.Students who wish to transfer into an engineering or computer science program must have earned a C or better in a math course and a science course. The math course must be equivalent to MATH 1200  or higher. The science course must be equivalent to CHEM 1210  or higher, or PHYS 2051 /PHYS 2054  & PHYS 2055  or higher.

Opportunities Upon Graduation

Students earning a B.S. in Chemical Engineering are prepared to enter a manufacturing job in areas such as, but not limited to bulk or specialty chemicals, pharmaceuticals, petroleum, alternative fuels, plastics or materials. Areas such as production, quality control, environmental protection, or process design are common. Others are involved with sales, marketing, or management. Still others are more devoted to fundamental or applied research, whether in industry, academia, national laboratories, or regulatory agencies.

Requirements