DEPARTMENT OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING

DEPARTMENT OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING

Degree Programs

Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering
Master of Science in Chemical Engineering
Master of Engineering major in Chemical Engineering

Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering (BSChE)

The five-year program is designed to emphasize a more practice-oriented learning process. Laboratory practicals, industrial exposure and integrative projects make up about one-third of the program credits; the rest are academic courses designed to thoroughly prepare the students for the diverse challenges of the profession. The program has a PAASCU-Level III accreditation.

Master of Science in Chemical Engineering (MSChE)

The program is oriented towards a specialization in biochemical engineering. It is designed to develop in the students an integrated understanding of the physical, chemical and biological processes in the biosynthesis and transport of a product molecule. Upon graduation, students would have been skilled in developing and applying concepts that will lead to improvements or innovations in the upstream and downstream processing of commercially important compounds that are of biological origin. In the program, the student has the opportunity to develop a research thesis in one of the department’s three focus areas of research: bioconversions engineering, bioseparations engineering, and biological wastewater treatment engineering. The program is best taken full-time and would take a minimum of two years to complete.

Master of Engineering major in Chemical Engineering (MEngChE)

The program is the non-thesis version of the MSChE program; the thesis and industry internship requirements in the latter program are substituted with core and discipline related courses. This part-time program can be completed in only two years and a half if a student would enroll full-time during two summer terms; otherwise, the study will require a minimum of three years to complete.

Short Trainings and Programs

Review Program for Chemical Engineer Licensure Examination

The program services those graduates who are qualified to take the chemical engineering licensure examination given by the Philippine Professional Regulations Commission twice every year. It consists of lectures and refresher tests organized according to the three examination areas: Chemical and Physical Principles, Chemical Engineering Principles and General Engineering. A three-day mock examination caps the entire program. The pool of review instructors is composed of experienced faculty members coming from the chemical engineering department and the other USC departments of chemistry, physics, industrial engineering and civil engineering. The review sessions run from January to April and from June to October.

Workshop for Chemical Engineering Laboratory Instructors

The six-day workshop aims to: (a) provide adequate preparation for the non-USC instructors who intend to require their students to do off-campus experiments in the USC chemical engineering laboratories, (b) assist future instructors in designing and implementing practical laboratory experiments for the demonstration of some fundamental concepts and unit operations in chemical engineering, (c) facilitate the sharing of instructors’ experiences in the handling of ChE laboratory courses, and (d) facilitate the formulation of innovative ideas on how to optimize the learning of concepts and skills by a student in the laboratory.

BIO+ Training Series: Basic Laboratory Fermentation Training

The two-day training aims to address the needs of chemical engineers who wish to learn the basics or update their skills in operating a laboratory fermenter. The participants should preferably have a basic background on microbiology and biochemistry prior to the course.

The lecture part of the training introduces the participants to the basic aspects of fermentation processes: choice of appropriate microorganism and substrate in order to produce a particular fermentation product, nutritional requirements and growth conditions for favorable microbial reproduction, main modes of fermentation operation and the application of these modes in certain physiological or fermentation studies, and the important parts of a fermentation system.

The practical part of the training is done in the laboratory where the participants carry out the basic steps in doing a fermentation experiment including preparation of culture media, sterilization, fermenter operation, sampling, data gathering and data processing.

BIO+ Training Series: Fundamentals of Bioprocess Engineering

This four-day course primarily deals with the fundamental aspects of biochemical processes. The series of lectures and exercises focus on material and energy balances involving biological materials (e.g., microorganisms), design of bioreactors, and recovery/purification techniques of important biological products.

The laboratory hands-on activities include preparation of fermentation media and solutions, sterilization, sampling, operation of the bioreactor, cell immobilization, separation of product by ultrafiltration, analysis of samples using gas chromatography (GC), and analysis of data.

BIO+ Training Series: Fundamentals of Biological Wastewater Treatment

The two-day training addresses the training needs of those who are involved in the operation of wastewater treatment facilities (WWTF) and those allied to the practice of environmental engineering. The lecture part of the training focuses on the following topics: fundamental concepts in biological wastewater treatment, biological treatment process (applicability and limitations), troubleshooting in anaerobic and anaerobic treatment reactors, and WWTF monitoring parameters. An actual performance monitoring and evaluation of two laboratory-scale reactors (activated sludge and UASB) is built into the training program.