Chemical and Life Science Engineering, Bachelor of Science (B.S.) with a concentration in chemical engineering

Special requirements

Students must receive a grade of C in all engineering courses in order to graduate. Minimum grades of C in CLSE 115,  CLSE 201 and CLSE 202 are required before students may take additional CLSE courses. After passing CLSE 202 with a minimum grade of C, students are allowed to continue with one D grade in any CLSE course. They must retake that course in order to graduate, but may continue taking other CLSE courses. Students are not allowed to continue with two grades of D in CLSE courses and must successfully retake at least one of those courses with a minimum grade of C to take additional 300- and 400-level CLSE courses.

Degree requirements for Chemical and Life Science Engineering, Bachelor of Science (B.S.) with a concentration in chemical engineering

The minimum number of credit hours required for this degree is 126.

Technical electives

Technical electives are satisfied by completing courses that meet all of the following criteria:

1. 300 level or greater
2. Offered in BIOC, BIOL, BIOZ, BNFO, BUSN, CHEM, CHEZ, ENVS, ENVZ, FRSC, FRSZ, INNO, LFSC, MATH, MEDC, MGMT, OPER, PHIS, or STAT
3. Three or more credit hours
4. Not otherwise required for the major by the effective Bulletin

Other courses may be used to satisfy the technical elective requirements with prior written approval from the department chair.

Engineering electives

Engineering electives are satisfied by completing courses that meet all of the following criteria:

1. 300-level or greater
2. Offered in the College of Engineering (CLSE, CMSC, EGMN, EGRB, EGRC, EGRE, EGRM, EGRN or ENGR)
3. Offered for three or more credit hours
4. Not otherwise required for the major by the effective Bulletin

Note: A minimum of four credits of ENGR 497 must be completed to use the course to satisfy an engineering elective requirement. Other courses may be used to satisfy the engineering elective requirements with prior written approval from the department chair.

What follows is a sample plan that meets the prescribed requirements within a four-year course of study at VCU. Please contact your adviser before beginning course work toward a degree.

Freshman year
Fall semester		Hours
CHEM 101	General Chemistry I (satisfies general education BOK for natural sciences and AOI for scientific and logical reasoning)	3
CHEZ 101	General Chemistry Laboratory I	1
CLSE 101	Introduction to Engineering	3
MATH 200	Calculus with Analytic Geometry I (satisfies general education quantitative foundations)	4
UNIV 111 Play course video for Focused Inquiry I	Focused Inquiry I (satisfies general education UNIV foundations)	3
	Term Hours:	14
Spring semester
CHEM 102 & CHEZ 102	General Chemistry II and General Chemistry Laboratory II	4
CLSE 115	Introduction to Programming for Chemical and Life Science Engineering	4
ENGR 395	Professional Development	1
MATH 201	Calculus with Analytic Geometry II	4
UNIV 112 Play course video for Focused Inquiry II	Focused Inquiry II (satisfies general education UNIV foundations)	3
	Term Hours:	16
Sophomore year
Fall semester
CHEM 301 & CHEZ 301	Organic Chemistry and Organic Chemistry Laboratory I	5
CLSE 201	Chemical Engineering Fundamentals I: Material Balances	4
MATH 301	Differential Equations	3
PHYS 207	University Physics I (satisfies general education BOK for natural sciences and AOI for scientific and logical reasoning)	5
	Term Hours:	17
Spring semester
CHEM 302 & CHEZ 302	Organic Chemistry and Organic Chemistry Laboratory II	5
CLSE 202	Chemical Engineering Fundamentals II: Energy Balances and Engineering Thermodynamics	4
MATH 307	Multivariate Calculus	4
PHYS 208	University Physics II	5
	Term Hours:	18
Summer semester
ENGR 396 or ENGR 398	Internship Experience or Cooperative Education Experience	0
	Term Hours:	0
Junior year
Fall semester
BIOL 151	Introduction to Biological Sciences I	3
CLSE 301	Transport Phenomena I	3
CLSE 305	Thermodynamics of Phase Equilibria and Chemical Reactions	3
UNIV 200	Advanced Focused Inquiry: Literacies, Research and Communication (satisfies general education UNIV foundations)	3
Engineering elective (300+ level)		3
	Term Hours:	15
Spring semester
CLSE 302	Transport Phenomena II	4
CLSE 312	Chemical Reaction Engineering	3
CLSE 320	Instrumentation Laboratory	3
ECON 205	The Economics of Product Development and Markets (satisfies general education BOK for social/behavioral sciences and AOI for global perspectives)	3
STAT 441	Applied Statistics for Engineers and Scientists	3
	Term Hours:	16
Senior year
Fall semester
CLSE 402	Senior Design Studio I (Laboratory/Project Time)	2
CLSE 409	Process Control in Chemical and Life Science Engineering	3
CLSE 440	Unit Operations Laboratory	3
ENGR 402	Senior Design Studio (Seminar)	1
ENGR 496 or ENGR 498	Internship Review or Review of Cooperative Education Experience	0
PHIL 201	Introduction to Ethics (satisfies general education BOK for humanities/fine arts and AOI for diversities in the human experience)	3
Technical elective (300+ level science, math, business or management course)		3
	Term Hours:	15
Spring semester
CLSE 403	Senior Design Studio II (Laboratory/Project Time)	2
ENGR 403	Senior Design Studio (Seminar)	1
General education course		3
Technical electives (300+ level science, math, business or management course)		6
Engineering elective (300+ level)		3
	Term Hours:	15
	Total Hours:	126

The minimum number of credit hours required for this degree is 126.

Accelerated B.S. and M.S.

The accelerated B.S. and M.S. program allows qualified students to earn both the B.S. in Chemical and Life Science Engineering and the M.S. in Engineering with a concentration in chemical and life science engineering in a minimum of five years by completing approved graduate courses during the senior year of their undergraduate program. Students in the program may count up to six hours of graduate courses toward both the B.S. and M.S. degrees. Thus, the two degrees may be earned with a minimum of 150 credits rather than the 156 credits necessary if the two degrees are pursued separately.

Students holding these degrees will have a head start for pursuing careers in industry or continuing in an academic setting.  The M.S. degree provides formal research experience and can lead to expanded job opportunities, greater potential for job advancement and higher starting salaries.

Entrance to the accelerated program

Interested undergraduate students should consult with their adviser as early as possible to receive specific information about the accelerated program, determine academic eligibility and submit (no later than two semesters prior to graduating with a baccalaureate degree, that is, before the end of the spring semester of their junior year) an Accelerated Program Declaration Form to be approved by the graduate program director. Limited spaces may be available in the accelerated program. Academically qualified students may not receive approval if capacity has been reached.

Minimum qualifications for entrance to this accelerated program completion of 99 undergraduate credit hours including CLSE 301, CLSE 302, CLSE 305, CLSE 312 and CLSE 320; a minimum overall GPA of 3.0; and a GPA of 3.2 in chemical and life science engineering (CLSE) course work. Students who are interested in the accelerated program should consult with the graduate program director before they have completed 99 credits. Successful applicants will enter the program in the fall semester of their senior year. 

Once enrolled in the accelerated program, students must meet the standards of performance applicable to graduate students as described in the “Satisfactory academic progress” section of the Graduate Bulletin, including maintaining a 3.0 GPA. Guidance to students admitted to the accelerated program is provided by both the CLSE undergraduate program director and the CLSE graduate program director.

Admission to the graduate program

Entrance to the accelerated program enables the student to take the approved shared courses that will apply to the undergraduate and graduate degrees. However, entry into an accelerated program via an approved Accelerated Program Declaration Form does not constitute application or admission into the graduate program. Admission to the graduate program requires a separate step that occurs through a formal application to the master’s program, which is submitted through Graduate Admissions no later than a semester prior to graduation with the baccalaureate degree, that is, before the end of the fall semester of the senior year. In order to continue pursuing the master’s degree after the baccalaureate degree is conferred, accelerated students must follow the admission to graduate study requirements outlined in the VCU Bulletin. One reference letter from a chemical and life science engineering faculty member must accompany the application. The GRE is waived for admission to the program. 

Degree requirements

The Bachelor of Science in Chemical and Life Science Engineering degree will be awarded upon completion of a minimum of 126 credits and the satisfactory completion of all undergraduate degree requirements as stated in the Undergraduate Bulletin.

A maximum of six graduate credits may be taken prior to completion of the baccalaureate degree. These graduate credits will apply as required major electives or open elective credits (engineering electives) for the undergraduate degree. These courses are shared credits with the graduate program, meaning that they will be applied to both undergraduate and graduate degree requirements.

Examples of graduate chemical and life science engineering courses that may be taken as an undergraduate, once a student is admitted to the program, are:

Recommended course sequence/plan of study

What follows is the recommended plan of graduate study for students interested in the accelerated program beginning in the fall of the senior year.