1. Carolina Core Requirements (34-46 Hours)

2. Other General Requirements (28 Hours)

3. Lower Division Engineering (14 Hours)

• ENCP 101 - Introduction to Engineering I Credits: 3

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4. Chemical Engineering Major (30 Hours)

5. Electives (22-25 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. Consult the department website or advising handbook for the most up to date list of approved concentration courses. Although these courses are designated as electives in the B.S.E. curriculum in chemical engineering, certain courses in the lists are designated as “required” with respect to fulfilling concentration requirements.  Also note that the lists may not include all of the prerequisites for some of the listed courses.

Concentration in Biomolecular Engineering

• Required: BIOL 302* and CHEM 550.
• Required:  one course from the following list:  BMEN 271, BMEN 391.
• Required:  two courses from the following list:  BIOL 303, BIOL 460, BIOL 505, BIOL 530, BIOL 665, BMEN 271, BMEN 342, BMEN 389, BMEN 391, BMEN 392, BMEN 499 (3 credit hours), BMEN 572, BMEN 589.  Multiple distinct 389/589 courses may be counted.

 *Advising note:  BIOL 101 and 102 are prerequisites for BIOL 302.

Concentration in Energy

• Required:  ECHE 573.
• Four courses from the following list:  ECHE 372, ECHE 389 (designated energy electives), ECHE 499 (approved energy-related research project, up to 3 credit hours), ECHE 571, ECHE 574, ELCT 363, ELCT 510, ELCT 563, EMCH 551, EMCH 552, EMCH 553, EMCH 576, ECHE 589 (designated energy electives), EMCH 592, EMCH 594.  Multiple distinct 389/589 courses may be counted.

Concentration in Interdisciplinary Engineering

• Required:  five courses from the following list: EMCH 200 (or ECIV 200 or ENCP 200), EMCH 220, EMCH 260, EMCH 310, MATH 526, STAT 509, CSCE 206 or ECHE 456, ELCT 220 or ELCT 221, ECHE 372 or EMCH 371, CHEM 621.

Concentration in Materials

• Required:  ECHE 372.
• Required:  One course from the following list: ECHE 389 (designated materials courses), ECHE 571, ECHE 572, ECHE 589 (designated materials courses).
• Three courses from the following list: CHEM 511, CHEM 633, CHEM 644, ELCT 363, (ELCT 563 or ELCT 581), EMCH 573, ECHE 389 (designated materials electives), ECHE 499 (approved materials-related research project, up to 3 credit hours), ECHE 571, ECHE 572, ECHE 589 (designated materials electives).  Multiple distinct 389/589 courses may be counted.

Concentration in Environmental Engineering

• Required:  ECIV 350, ECIV 362, ECIV 558
• One course from the following list: CHEM 623, CHEM 624
• One course from the following list: ENVR 231, ENVR 321, ENVR 322, ENVR 331

Concentration in Numerical Methods and Computing

• Required:  BMEN 211 or EMCH 201 or ENCP 201
• Four courses from the following list: CSCE 145, CSCE 146, MATH 374 or 574, MATH (500 level or higher), GEOL 575, EMCH 501, ECHE 589 (depending on topic coverage, multiple versions possible).

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

Program GPA

Program 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 Program GPA for the Chemical Engineering B.S.E. program: all Lower Division Engineering courses, all Chemical Engineering Major courses, and all Engineering Electives.