Program Overview

Introduction to the Chemical Engineering Program

The University of Cape Town offers a 4-year undergraduate BSc degree in Chemical Engineering. This program is designed to provide students with a comprehensive education in chemical engineering, including fundamental theory, practical skills, and specializations in various areas.

Curriculum

The curriculum for the Chemical Engineering program consists of:

• Chemical Engineering Core courses
• Science fundamentals and specialization courses
• Chemical Engineering Specialization courses
• Electives

Chemical Engineering Core Courses

The core chemical engineering courses are structured into a coherent sequence, with project work incorporated throughout the program to build crucial engineering skills. Each course is divided into blocks, focused on a particular piece of theory, and includes:

• 45-minute lecture periods followed by tutorials of the same duration
• Laboratory practicals to reinforce theory through hands-on experience
• Regular theory assessment in the form of mastery or basic concept tests and class tests
• Complementary strand topics, such as computing, health and safety, environment, society and economics, drawing, heuristics, communication, and professional development
• Project work, assessed through individual and group submissions in a range of formats
• Examinations at the end of each semester for overall performance assessment
• Final course assessment that integrates all course work
• Optional vacation "bootcamp" and supplementary examination for students who have not met the required mastery of the theory

Chemical Engineering Specialisations

Students are required to take a minimum of 32 credits of Chemical Engineering specialization courses, with a minimum of 16 credits at the fourth-year level. These courses apply the Chemical Engineering principles and fundamentals learned in the first three years of the degree to more advanced topics, including:

• Minerals processing
• Bioprocess engineering
• Catalytic processing
• Process modelling
• Renewable energy
• Environmental process engineering Alternatively, students may take any EBE course at or above the third-year level, including Masters level, for which they meet the course entry requirements and have not already covered that content in another course.

Science Courses

The core Science fundamentals for the degree comprise:

• First and second year Engineering Mathematics
• First year Chemistry
• First year semester course in Physics (focusing on mechanics)
• First year semester course in Statistics From the second year, students choose to specialize in one of three science topics, totaling 42 credits with a minimum of 24 credits at the second year level:
• Chemical Sciences
• Geological Sciences
• Biological Sciences Students may apply for other combinations of Science courses to be accredited in this category, provided they total 42 credits with a minimum of 24 credits at the 2nd year level.

Other Elective Courses

Students are required to take a few other electives, including:

• A humanities elective, which involves courses that broaden their capacity to cope with complex social questions
• A free elective, which is any course at UCT for which they meet the prerequisites and have not already covered that content in another course
• A language elective (for students who began their degree in 2024 or prior), which can be any language course at UCT that provides exposure to a language other than English that they do not already speak at this level.