Department of Chemical Engineering | UCT BSc degree in Chemical Engineering

Department of Chemical Engineering | UCT BSc degree in Chemical Engineering

Our undergraduate programme promotes student learning and development, with staff providing a caring and supportive environment.


The four-year undergraduate degree prepares graduates for careers in the chemical, metallurgical, and process industries, and is fully accredited by the Engineering Council of South Africa.
The programme focuses on developing technical expertise, problem-solving, teamwork and communication skills. Practical, hands-on learning is a thread that runs through all four years of the undergraduate programme.
Under the guidance of an academic, students work on practical assignments where questions are open ended and probing, requiring the need for observation and reasoning to develop a working understanding of the underlying phenomena.
Our open-door policy combines with personalised academic counselling, the ASPECT programme for educationally disadvantaged students and an ongoing process of curriculum review. In line with the Department’s philosophy of engagement, 60 experienced postgraduate students assist as tutors in the undergraduate programme.
Admission to the undergraduate programme is based on a ‘points’ system calculated on your matric exam results and National Benchmark Test (NBT) results. A minimum requirement of 80% for mathematics and 70% for physical sciences is applicable to all applicants.
There is an extended degree through the Academic Support Programme (ASPECT). This is an extended five-year degree programme which provides extra support in the first year, where a lighter load of courses is taken. Entry into this programme is possible after the first set of evaluations half way the first semester and after the mid-year exams.
Click here for more information about undergraduate applications with the Faculty of Engineering & the Built Environment

Curriculum

Commencing with the 2014 intake, the Department has launched a new undergraduate curriculum that retains the 4 year bachelors’ structure and its accreditation through ECSA and the Washington Accord, with significant improvements informed by cutting edge international developments in engineering education.  The two key drivers for this curriculum reform project have been to improve the quality of student learning in the programme, and to increase the contemporary relevance of the offering.  The overall credit rating is unchanged (both contact and study hours are the same) but there has been a substantial reorganisation and refocusing of the degree, allowing for a programme that develops graduates who are prepared for the challenges of 21st century chemical engineering. In its expanded elective offering the new curriculum also offers students greater choice in crafting a combination of courses that best suits their interests and allows for either deeper specialisation and/or great breadth.
Chemical Engineering Courses
Core courses
In the core chemical engineering courses students are taught fundamental theory, structured into a coherent sequence.   Project work is incorporated throughout the programme to allow for the building of crucial engineering skills in the areas of environment and economics, safety and health, communication drawing and computing.
In each of the first three years of the programme there is one full year chemical engineering course (CHE1005W, CHE2005W and CHE3005W), with the following features:

  • Each semester is divided into a number of blocks, and in each block all the class sessions are centred on a particular piece of theory
  • Classes are structured into 45 minute lecture periods followed by mini-tutorials of the same duration
  • Regular assessment comes in the form of one mastery test, one competency test and one class test per block.
  • Running alongside the theory in each block is project work. This is assessed largely through group submissions in a range of formats involving both written and oral communication.  A programme of practical work also runs through the semester.
  • Students who have not mastered the theory work at the required level after the first semester will be required to attend a winter vacation ‘boot camp’ under the guidance of a postgraduate student.
  • Final course assessment integrates all course work and final examination results and results in an overall assessment of performance.  Students who have not met the required level will be given the opportunity to attend a summer vacation ‘boot camp’ and thereafter will write supplementary examination.

The fourth year comprises two closely linked first semester courses taught in blocks, followed by the design and research project courses in the second semester.
Chemical Engineering Electives
Elective courses in advanced engineering (minimum of 32 credits), including a suite of courses linked to research specialities in chemical engineering, are taken from the third year onwards. The structure and overview can be downloaded from the menu on the right
Science Courses
The core Science in the programme comprises

  • 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 need to elect one of these (to comprise a total of 42 credits with a minimum of 24 credits at the second-year level):

  • Chemical Sciences
  • Mineralogical Sciences
  • Biological Sciences

Humanities and Other Courses
Students are required to choose electives in the following categories:

  • Humanities selection elective (minimum 18 credits), limited to certain fields (see ‘Humanities and other courses’)
  • Language elective (minimum 18 credits)
  • Free elective (minimum of 16 credits)