Chemical Engineering BEng (Hons)

Overview

The 2019 NSS results placed Chemical Engineering at Heriot-Watt as 1st in Scotland, based on the average response across all questions submitted by students.

Our BEng in Chemical Engineering provides students with both the theory and practical application expected by industry. We have strong links with professional communities, allowing us to enhance the career prospects of our graduates.

Programme structure

Our course gives you a sound understanding of both the chemical and process engineering fundamentals that you need to become a professional chartered engineer. In addition to a grounding in science, maths and engineering, our students acquire practical abilities that are highly sought after by industry.

The BEng course is a four-year degree which shares the same first three years with the MEng programme. You choose which route to follow at the end of your 3rd year, giving you flexibility to decide which degree best suits your career ambitions.

Final year students undertake a commercial tender exercise, working in multi-disciplinary groups to take on the role of a design house pitching for business to our industrial advisory board.

Accreditation

The BEng (Hons) Chemical Engineering is accredited by the Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE) on behalf of the Engineering Council. All students are provided with a student membership of the IChemE, which is paid for by the department.

Teaching and Learning

The overall approach in the course to teaching and learning is a student-centred one, which is designed to encourage students to take increasing responsibility for their own learning and development as the course progresses. The main focus is on active learning through experimentation and design.

The requisite competencies related to Subject Mastery are acquired and developed through lectures, tutorials, group work, case studies, design projects and research projects (Stages Three to Four). The practical component of each course reinforces the development of subject-specific skills through a combination of projects, laboratory work, computer-based design packages and applications and industrial visits.

Assessment

The assessment policy for the course incorporates a range of assessment types. Formative tests may be scheduled during courses to provide feedback on performance and to inform further development. Continuous assessment during modules and summative assessment at the conclusion of modules both contribute to the overall assessment and are used to measure achievement in specified learning outcomes formally.