The Minimum Core For Chemical Engineering: How Much Bathwater Can We Throw Out?

The field of chemical engineering is expanding. Chemical engineers are currently working in such fields as biological processing, biochemical engineering, materials science, environmental engineering, electronic materials, nanotechnology, food processing, and many others, as well as in the more traditional fields of chemical and petrochemical manufacturing and fuels processing. University chemical engineering departments are under pressure - from students as well as from employers - to provide curricula which allow new, young chemical engineers to work effectively in these fields. In addition, there is pressure - particularly from employers - to broaden students' skills and knowledge in "soft" areas - communications, economics, business and management practices, foreign languages, etc. At the same time, there is pressure - particularly from state governments - to avoid "credit-hour creep" and to graduate students in four years. One way to meet these demands is through a layered curriculum in which all chemical engineering students would learn the minimum basic material needed to qualify as chemical engineers and then would add layers of specialization and breadth. It is our contention that a core of about twelve semester hours of chemical engineering courses, together with appropriate chemistry, physics and mathematics, can provide the minimum basic material. There could then be ample room for students to complete their undergraduate education, including laboratory and design work, in a chemical engineering specialty area program which would incorporate applications of the basic core material and fundamental material for the specialty. This paper offers one version of a minimum core along with illustrations of how specialty areas would build on it.