The BSE Chemical Engineering program is accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET, https://www.abet.org, under the General Criteria and the Chemical, Biochemical, Biomolecular and Similarly Named Engineering Programs Criteria.

Learning Outcomes

1. Ability to identify, formulate, and solve complex engineering problems by applying principles of engineering, science, and mathematics.
2. Ability to apply engineering design to produce solutions that meet specified needs with consideration of public health, safety, and welfare, as well as global, cultural, social, environmental, and economic factors.
3. Ability to communicate effectively with a range of audiences.
4. Ability to recognize ethical and professional responsibilities in engineering situations and make informed judgments, which must consider the impact of engineering solutions in global, economic, environmental, and societal contexts.
5. Ability to function effectively on a team whose members together provide leadership, create a collaborative and inclusive environment, establish goals, plan tasks, and meet objectives
6. Ability to develop and conduct appropriate experimentation, analyze and interpret data, and use engineering judgment to draw conclusions.
7. Ability to acquire and apply new knowledge as needed, using appropriate learning strategies.

Academic Standards

Program GPA

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

Admissions

Entrance Requirements

Admission requirements and processes for freshman, transfer students, and former students seeking readmission are managed by the Office of Undergraduate Admissions.

Transfer applicants from regionally accredited colleges and universities must have a minimum cumulative 2.75 GPA on a 4.00 scale to enter the Molinaroli College of Engineering and Computing. Current University of South Carolina students, and former students seeking readmission, must have an institutional GPA of 2.50 or better on at least 15 hours earned at USC.

Degree Requirements (131-139 hours)

See College of Engineering and Computing for progression requirements and special academic opportunities.

Program of Study

Founding Documents Requirement

All undergraduate students must take a 3-credit course or its equivalent with a passing grade in the subject areas of History, Political Science, or African American Studies that covers the founding documents including the United State Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, the Emancipation Proclamation and one or more documents that are foundational to the African American Freedom struggle, and a minimum of five essays from the Federalist papers.  This course may count as a requirement in any part of the program of study including the Carolina Core, the major, minor or cognate, or as a general elective.  Courses that meet this requirement are listed here.

Requirements (131-139 hours)

¹

Must be passed with a grade of C or higher.

²

Carolina Core Stand Alone or Overlay Eligible Requirements — Overlay-approved courses offer students the option of meeting two Carolina Core components in a single course. A maximum of two overlays is allowed. The total Carolina Core credit hours must add up to a minimum of 31 hours. Some programs may have a higher number of minimum Carolina Core hours due to specified requirements.

³

BIOL 101 and BIOL 102 are prerequisites for BIOL 302.

⁴

Multiple distinct 389/589 courses may be counted.

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 is required 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, ECHE 466, ECHE 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 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, 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.

Major Map

A major map is a layout of required courses in a given program of study, including critical courses and suggested course sequences to ensure a clear path to graduation.

Major maps are only a suggested or recommended sequence of courses required in a program of study. Please contact your academic advisor for assistance in the application of specific coursework to a program of study and course selection and planning for upcoming semesters.

Chemical Engineering, B.S.E.

¹

Regardless of individual course grades, students must maintain a minimum 2.00 cumulative GPA. 

²

Some colleges require a minimum GPA for major courses.

³

Students who place into MATH 115 will be required to successfully complete it before taking MATH 141. 

⁴

Computer Programming Elective (3-4 hours): CSCE 145, 106. 

⁵

A list of acceptable Professional Development Elective courses is maintained in the department office and in the Bulletin. The list includes: ECHE 202 & ECHE 203. 

⁶

Chemistry Lab Electives (2 hours): CHEM 321L (or 322L), 331L (or 333L), 332L (or 334L), 541L, 542L, 550L, 621L. 

⁷

The Carolina Core provides the common core of knowledge, skill and academic experience for all Carolina undergraduate students.  

⁸

Career Elective: The list includes Engineering Electives, Chemistry Electives, Chemistry Lab Electives and all Technical Electives courses, and other courses listed in the bulletin. 

⁹

Chemistry Electives (3 hours): CHEM 321 OR 322, 511, 533, 541, 542, 545, 550, 555, 556, 621, 622, 623, 624, 633, 643, 644, 655. 

¹⁰

Engineering Electives (6 hours): ENCP 200 (or ECIV 200 or EMCH 200), 201 (or EMCH 201), 210 (or ECIV 210 or EMCH 310), 260 (or ECIV 220 or EMCH 260), 330 (or EMCH 330), 440, 460, 481, 540; BMEN 212, 240, 263, 271, 290, 300 and above, except 301 and 303; CSCE 211, 212, 240, 274, 313, 317, 520, 567, 582, 587; ECHE 202 (or 203), 372, 389, 497, 499, 520, 521, 571, 572, 573, 574, 575, 589; ECIV 300 and above, except 360; ELCT 220, 221, 222, 300 and above; EMCH 300 and above, except 354 and 360. 

¹¹

Technical Electives (12 hours): Includes all courses listed as Engineering Electives, Chemistry Electives, & Chemistry Lab Electives as well as ENCP 102 (or EMCH 111), 530, 533, 535, 536;  MATH 300, 374, MATH 500 and above; STAT 500 and above except 541 and 591; BIOL 101, 101L, 102, 102L, 120, 120L, 200 and above; ENVR 231, 321, 331; GEOL 300 and above; MSCI 300 and above; PHYS 300 and above; CSCE 145 (unless completed as the Computer Programming Elective), 146, 210, 215, 350; ACCT 222; FINA 333; MGMT 371; MGSC 290; MKTG 350. 

¹²

Students in the College of Engineering & Computing are required to demonstrate proficiency in one foreign language equivalent to the 121 course by 1) a score of two or better on the foreign language placement test; or 2) completion of the 109 & 110 courses in FREN, GERM, LATN, or SPAN or completion of the 121 course in another foreign language. Students who do not place out of the GFL requirement may need to take additional hours to meet this requirement. 

Program Notes:

• All undergraduate students must take a 3-credit course or its equivalent with a passing grade that covers the founding documents. This course may fulfill any requirement in the program of study. Courses that meet this requirement are listed in the academic bulletin.
• A student cannot repeat courses from the College of Engineering and Computing in which they earned a grade of C or better.  In addition, a student cannot repeat any course from the College a second time.  No more than four courses from the College of Engineering and Computing may be repeated in order to satisfy the requirements for any degree from the College, regardless of satisfactory work.  For this purpose, withdrawal from a course with a grade of W is not regarded as enrollment in that course.  A student that does not satisfactorily complete a degree-required College course within two attempts must change major or transfer out of the College of Engineering and Computing.
• 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.  More details are available on the Bulletin.
• A concentration in Biomolecular Engineering, Energy, Interdisciplinary Engineering, Materials, Environmental Engineering, or Numerical Methods & Computing is available to students majoring in chemical engineering.  More details are available in the Bulletin.
• The last 25% of a student’s degree must be completed in residence at the University, and at least half of the hours in the student’s major courses and in the student’s minor courses (if applicable) must be taken at the University.
• Disclaimer: Prerequisites on courses are subject to change. Please refer to Bulletin.