Chemical Engineering
Chemical engineers apply the principles of chemistry and engineering to produce useful commodities, ranging from fuels to polymers. Chemical engineers are increasingly concerned with chemical and engineering processes related to the environment and food production. They work in areas as diverse as integrated circuits and integrated waste management. Preparation for a career in chemical engineering requires an understanding of both engineering and chemical principles to develop proficiency in conceiving, designing, and operating new processes. The chemical engineering curriculum has been planned to provide a sound knowledge of engineering and chemical sciences so that you may achieve competence in treating current and future technical problems.
- Chemical Engineering Change of Major
In order to be eligible to change to the Chemical Engineering major, all students must meet the following requirements*:
1. Complete the following courses with a C- or higher and a 2.0 cumulative GPA:
- MAT 21A
- MAT 21B
- MAT 21C
- PHY 9A
- CHE 2A
2. Have an overall UC GPA of 2.0
3. Have a GPA of 2.0 or better in all other completed MAT, PHY, BIS, and CHE courses required for your intended major, and have received a C- or better in each of these courses
4. Be a registered student and have completed at least one quarter (minimum of 12 units) at UC Davis
5. Have completed no more than 135 cumulative units (excluding AP/IB/A-Level units)
- students who have completed more than 135 units will be considered on a petition basis only
6. Be in good academic standing and meet minimum progress requirements
7. Have received a letter grade for all courses that satisfy Engineering degree requirements (no P/NP allowed)
8. Have no grade lower than a C- in any completed engineering course required for your intended major(s) taken at UC Davis
9. Have at least a 2.0 UC GPA in all completed engineering courses.
- Engineering courses are any courses taught by ENG, ECS, MAE, EEC, EAE, EBS, BIM, ECH, ECM, ECI, EMS, EME
Transfers: must meet transfer admissions requirements in addition to the requirements listed above.
Biochemical Engineering
Biochemical engineers are in high demand in the rapidly growing biotechnology/pharmaceutical, biofuels and biorefinery industries. As the biotechnology industry expands and matures, there is increasing need for engineers who can move products from the research stage to the pilot scale and ultimately to large scale manufacturing. As they fill this need, engineers must understand the production, purification, and regulatory issues surrounding biopharmaceutical manufacturing. Biochemical engineers are also critical for the development and commercialization of sustainable and economic processes to produce liquid transportation fuels from biomass, algae and waste streams from other manufacturing processes. Future “biorefineries” will include coproduction of a wide range of chemical feedstocks, oils, and polymers thereby contributing to the economic viability of larger volume, lower valued compounds such as biofuels.
Biochemical engineers—with their strong foundations in chemistry, biological sciences, and chemical process engineering—are in a unique position to tackle these problems. Biochemical engineers apply the principles of cell and molecular biology, biochemistry, and engineering to develop, design, scale-up, optimize, and operate processes that use living cells, organisms, or biological molecules for the production and purification of products (such as monoclonal antibodies, vaccines, therapeutic proteins, antibiotics, industrial enzymes, ethanol and more complex biofuels); for health and/or environmental monitoring (such as diagnostic kits, microarrays, biosensors); or for environmental improvement (such as bioremediation). An understanding of biological processes is also becoming increasingly important in the industries that traditionally employ chemical engineers, such as the materials, chemicals, food, energy, fuels, and semiconductor processing industries.
- Biochemical Engineering Change of Major
- In order to be eligible to change to the Biochemical Engineering major, all students must meet the following requirements:
1. Complete the following courses with a C- or higher and a 2.0 cumulative GPA:
- MAT 21A
- MAT 21B
- MAT 21C
- PHY 9A
- CHE 2A
2. Have an overall UC GPA of 2.0
3. Have a GPA of 2.0 or better in all other completed MAT, PHY, and CHE courses required for your intended major, and have received a C- or better in each of these courses
4. Be a registered student and have completed at least one quarter (minimum of 12 units) at UC Davis
5. Have completed no more than 135 cumulative units (excluding AP/IB/A-Level units)
- students who have completed more than 135 units will be considered on a petition basis only
6. Be in good academic standing and meet minimum progress requirements
7. Have received a letter grade for all courses that satisfy Engineering degree requirements (no P/NP allowed)
8. Have no grade lower than a C- in any completed engineering course required for your intended major(s) taken at UC Davis
9. Have at least a 2.0 UC GPA in all completed engineering courses.
- Engineering courses are any courses taught by ENG, ECS, MAE, EEC, EAE, EBS, BIM, ECH, ECM, ECI, EMS, EME
Transfers: must meet transfer admissions requirements in addition to the requirements listed above.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Can I change to the Chemical or Biochemical Engineering major as a transfer student without a 3.2 GPA?
- No. All transfer students must meet the minimum GPA requirements in order to change to Chemical or Biochemical Engineering. No exceptions.
- Can I take the requirements to change my major or add a double major as P/NP?
- No, College of Engineering does not allow P/NP grading for any major courses.
- Can I take prerequisite requirements at another institution?
- Yes, you can take prerequisite requirements at California Community Colleges. Please use assist.org to make sure your courses are transferrable back to UC Davis. You must obtain approval from your college dean's office if you want to take courses simultaneously at a community college while you are taking courses at UCD during the fall, winter, and/or spring quarters. Keep in mind, a simultaneous enrollment petition may be denied by the college for students trying to take courses towards another major. You do not need permission for summer quarter.
We do not recommend taking lower division courses at Community College as you will not be as well prepared for the upper division courses. - How long does it take to change majors or add a double major?
- Starting from a blank slate, 3-4 quarters on average.
- If a course has pass one restrictions for Chemical and Biochemical majors only, can I enroll during pass two?
- Yes. If a course has pass one restrictions for Chemical and Biochemical majors only, then you will have to wait until pass two to register for the course. The department will not issue PTAs during pass one even if there are open seats.
- What do I do if I took MAT 16/17/19 courses instead of MAT 21AB?
- Refer to the MAT department Transfer Flow Chart for information on how to change into the MAT 21 series.
-If you completed MAT 16ABC with a C- or better, we will substitute those three courses for MAT 21AB
-If you completed MAT 17AB with a B or better, we will substitute those two courses for MAT 21AB
-If you earned a C in MAT 17A and 17B, you will also have to take 17C to substitute for MAT 21AB
-If you completed MAT 19AB with a B or better, we will substitute those two courses for MAT 21AB
-If you earned a C in MAT 19A and 19B, you will also have to take 19C to substitute for MAT 21AB - Can I meet with an advisor if I'm interested in changing to Chemical or Biochemical Engineering?
- Yes! Please connect with the Chemical Engineering department, Peer Advisor to discuss the major and any questions you may have about the process.
- What is the recommended order for my major courses?
- When planning out what order to take your courses in, you need to be mindful of the prerequisites for each course. Some courses have multiple quarters of prerequisites that you have to follow. The best way to identify course prerequisites is to use the major checklists or UCD Catalog. The order you take your classes in can look different than other students in the same major.
Tips for creating an academic plan:
1. Start with courses that are prerequisites to other major courses (for example, MAT 21 series to be eligible for PHY 9 series)
2. If you aren't eligible to take a course that is a prerequisite to something you'll need later, then look for courses that don't have prerequisites
3. Fill in your schedule with GE, minor, or other non-major electives to give yourself a balanced schedule
You can also review our sample schedules for an idea on how to order your courses, but remember there are many variations of schedules that you can create. - May I enroll in an ECH course even though I have not completed the prerequisite?
- No. It is essential that you’ve completed the stated prerequisite for a given ECH course before attempting the course. Departments have the authority to restrict enrollment to students who have completed the prerequisites. If you haven’t satisfied the prerequisite, you will be dropped from the class. Re-adding a class after you have been dropped may be reported to Student Judicial Affairs.