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Chemical Process Engineering MSc

London, Bloomsbury

Modern society relies on the work of chemical, and in particular process, engineers. They play a major role in developing the technologies that make available most of the products we desire or depend on in everyday life and provide the expertise and technology to enhance our health and standard of living.

Process engineering is multidisciplinary and often involves close collaboration between engineers and scientists with different backgrounds. Our MSc programme is specifically designed to facilitate this collaboration, providing graduates from a variety of engineering and science disciplines with the advanced training necessary to enter the chemical and related process industries.

Building on the students’ first degrees, the programme allows developing the in-depth knowledge and transferable skills required for highly-skilled jobs in the process engineering sector. Relying on an integrated approach to chemical engineering that encourages the application of core principles to problems of current and future industrial relevance, the programme aims to form independent and self-directed engineers, aware of the context of their work and able to of have a positive impact in their future profession.

UK students International students
Study mode
Full-time
UK tuition fees (2022/23)
£16,500
Overseas tuition fees (2022/23)
£32,100
Duration
1 calendar year
Programme starts
September 2022
Applications accepted
All applicants: 18 Oct 2021 – 31 Mar 2022

Applications open

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Entry requirements

A minimum of an upper second-class Bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering or a cognate discipline (such as Mechanical or Environmental Engineering, Chemistry and Physics) from a UK university or an overseas qualification of an equivalent standard.

English language requirements

If your education has not been conducted in the English language, you will be expected to demonstrate evidence of an adequate level of English proficiency.

The English language level for this programme is: Standard

UCL Pre-Master's and Pre-sessional English courses are for international students who are aiming to study for a postgraduate degree at UCL. The courses will develop your academic English and academic skills required to succeed at postgraduate level. International Preparation Courses

Further information can be found on our English language requirements page.

ATAS statement

If you are intending to apply for a time-limited visa to complete your UCL studies (e.g., Student visa, Skilled worker visa, PBS dependant visa etc.) you may be required to obtain ATAS clearance. This will be confirmed to you if you obtain an offer of a place.

Equivalent qualifications

Country-specific information, including details of when UCL representatives are visiting your part of the world, can be obtained from the International Students website.

International applicants can find out the equivalent qualification for their country by selecting from the list below. Please note that the equivalency will correspond to the broad UK degree classification stated on this page (e.g. upper second-class). Where a specific overall percentage is required in the UK qualification, the international equivalency will be higher than that stated below. Please contact Graduate Admissions should you require further advice.

About this degree

Students will learn core chemical engineering principles and applications, as well as team-working and communication skills. They will learn how to 1) be creative and innovative in solving problems and designing processes, 2) use appropriate mathematical methods and scientific principles as tools for solving complex problems, 3) analyse and interpret data and, when necessary, design experiments to gain new data, and 4) retrieve, analyse and use information from a wide range of sources.

Who this course is for

The programme is suitable for graduates in disciplines such as chemical engineering, material science, chemistry and their allied fields. The multidisciplinary nature of the programme coupled with extensive industrial input and the emphasis on safety and environmental issues has attracted outstanding students from many countries across the globe.

Read about what it takes to study for a Master's at UCL

What this course will give you

UCL Chemical Engineering, situated in the heart of London, is one of the top-rated departments in the UK, being internationally renowned for its outstanding research.

The programme is the first of its kind in the UK and is accredited by the Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE) as meeting the IChemE's requirements for Further Learning to Master's Level. This recognition fulfils an important academic qualification for MSc graduates with suitable first degrees in eventually becoming Chartered Chemical Engineer or Incorporated Chemical Engineer (see further information on the IChemE website).

Read about what you'll get out of a graduate programme

The foundation of your career

Students gain in-depth knowledge of core chemical engineering subjects and of the advanced use of computers in process design, operation and management. They are trained in hazard identification, quantification and mitigation, as well as in risk management and loss prevention, and also learn how to design advanced energy systems, with emphasis on sustainability, energy efficiency and the use of renewable energy sources. Students learn how to make decisions under uncertain scenarios and with limited available data and receive training on how to plan, conduct and manage a complex research project.

Employability

Upon completion, our graduates can expect to play a major role in developing the technologies that make available most of the things that we use in everyday life and provide the expertise and technology to enhance our health and standard of living. These activities may involve the development of new materials, food processing, water treatment, pharmaceuticals, transport and energy resources as well as being at the frontline, addressing present environmental issues such as climate change.


Typical destinations of recent graduates include: Amec Process and Energy, British Petroleum, Royal Dutch Shell, National Grid, Health & Safety Executive. Career profiles of some of our recent MSc graduates are available on our website.

Accreditation

The programme offers two routes with different compulsory and optional modules. The routes are 1) Advanced Chemical Engineering Route, 2) Research Route. Route 1 is accredited by the IChemE.

Teaching and learning

The programme is delivered through a combination of lecture-based courses, individual and group activities, quizzes, assessed coursework and tutorial sessions. Research projects are provided to extend knowledge and understanding of the topics studied and to encourage critical thinking. Creativity and innovation is encouraged on the demonstration of sound judgement and assumptions. Assessment is mainly through examinations, quizzes, coursework and reports.

Modules

Full-time

The programme offers two routes with different compulsory and optional modules. The routes are:

  1. Advanced Chemical Engineering Route (accredited by the IChemE at F Standard)
  2. Research Route

The different routes have been designed to cater for students with different backgrounds and aspirations. Both routes include depth chemical engineering modules that cover core chemical engineering topics, breath chemical engineering modules related to more specific chemical engineering topics, as well as non-chemical engineering modules.

The research projects offer a balanced mix of theory and practice, helping to develop problem solving and decision making skills. The students work on real and open-ended problems, coordinating the knowledge acquired in taught modules to resolve complex, multi-dimensional problems.

The combination of taught modules and research projects is designed to form well-rounded graduates with a strong grasp of the technical fundamentals of chemical engineering and a broad understanding of the complexity and context of chemical process engineering problems.

Compulsory modules



Optional modules























Please note that the list of modules given here is indicative. This information is published a long time in advance of enrolment and module content and availability is subject to change.

Students undertake modules to the value of 180 credits. Upon successful completion of 180 credits, you will be awarded an MSc in Chemical Process Engineering.

Accessibility

Details of the accessibility of UCL buildings can be obtained from AccessAble accessable.co.uk. Further information can also be obtained from the UCL Student Support & Wellbeing team.

Visit us

All open days and events

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Online - Open day

Graduate Open Events: UCL Chemical Engineering Open Sessions

Join us and learn more about our MSc in Chemical Process Engineering and MSc in Global Management of Natural Resources. Our Programme and Admissions Tutors, Dr Luca Mazzei and Dr. Alexander Norori-McCormac alongside student helpers will be available to answer your questions about studying at UCL.

Online - Open day

Graduate Open Events: Postgraduate study in Engineering - from comms to machine learning systems

Join Dr Laura Toni, Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering (EEE), for a quick chat about the postgraduate offering within our department, from comms to machine learning systems. Followed by a Q&A session so fire away! Find out more about our postgrad programmes here: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/electronic-electrical-engineering/study.

Fees and funding

Fees for this course

UK students International students
Fee description Full-time
Tuition fees (2022/23) £16,500
Tuition fees (2022/23) £32,100

The tuition fees shown are for the year indicated above. Fees for subsequent years may increase or otherwise vary. Where the programme is offered on a flexible/modular basis, fees are charged pro-rata to the appropriate full-time Master's fee taken in an academic session. Further information on fee status, fee increases and the fee schedule can be viewed on the UCL Students website: ucl.ac.uk/students/fees.

Additional costs

All full time students are required to pay a fee deposit of £2,000 for this programme. All part-time students are required to pay a fee deposit of £1,000.

Students may be required to cover costs of printing of final project reports and/or posters, as well as for minor laboratory equipment such as a lab coat, safety glasses and a laboratory logbook.

Moreover, any additional costs associated with, for instance, travel to exam venues within London, will be met by the student.

For more information on additional costs for prospective students please go to our estimated cost of essential expenditure at Accommodation and living costs.

Funding your studies

For a comprehensive list of the funding opportunities available at UCL, including funding relevant to your nationality, please visit the Scholarships and Funding website.

See all the ways you can fund your studies
Scholarships relevant to this department are displayed below.

Brown Family Bursary

Deadline: 9 June (application via the Masters Funding Awards)
Value: £15,000 (1 year)
Criteria Based on both academic merit and financial need
Eligibility: UK

Next steps

Students are advised to apply as early as possible due to competition for places. Those applying for scholarship funding (particularly overseas applicants) should take note of application deadlines.

There is an application processing fee for this programme of £90 for online applications and £115 for paper applications. Further information can be found at Application fees.

When we assess your application we would like to learn:

  • why you want to study Chemical Process Engineering at graduate level
  • why you want to study Chemical Process Engineering at UCL
  • what particularly attracts you to this programme
  • how your academic, professional and personal background meets the demands of this programme
  • where you would like to go professionally with your degree

Together with essential academic requirements, the personal statement is your opportunity to illustrate whether your reasons for applying to this programme match what the programme will deliver.

Please note that you may submit applications for a maximum of two graduate programmes in any application cycle.

We recommend that you submit your application as soon as possible. The programme may remain open if places are still available after 31 March 2022 and will be closed as soon as it is full or by 30 June 2022.

Apply for this course

Got questions? Get in touch

Chemical Engineering Department
Chemical Engineering Department

pg-chemeng@ucl.ac.uk

UCL is regulated by the Office for Students.

This page was last updated 28 Sep 2021