ChemE

Chemical Engineering

Website Faculty

Course 10

MIT’s Department of Chemical Engineering(ChemE/Course 10) takes the chemical principles governing the world around us and applies it to solve real and pressing problems in society.

Technical Skills

  • Process design and simulation
  • Reaction engineering
  • Control and data fluency
  • Hands-on laboratory experience

Common Careers

  • Clean energy and sustainability
  • Pharma and Biotech
  • Tech, Data & AI-driven engineering
  • Manufacturing and operations leadership
  • Consulting and Entrepreneurship
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About

In Course 10 at MIT, we equip our students with the fundamental knowledge and practical skill needed to address problems as big as climate change and as small as a single molecule. Intimately linked with the fundamental subjects of chemistry, biology, mathematics, and physics — and in close collaboration with fellow engineering disciplines like materials science, computer science, and mechanical, electrical, and civil and environmental engineering — chemical engineering offers unparalleled opportunities to do great things.

Today’s chemical engineers are spearheading new developments in sustainability, energy, medicine, biotechnology, microelectronics, advanced materials, consumer products, and manufacturing. A new generation of chemical engineering-trained entrepreneurs are forming innovative new businesses, focused on addressing today’s global issues, from carbon capture, to sustainable alternatives to petroleum products, to reversing hearing loss.

People with undergraduate and graduate chemical engineering degrees go on to work in industry, academia, consulting, law, medicine, finance, and other fields. For more information, the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) offers an online database that lists the companies that are the most prolific hirers of its members. The Chemical Engineers in Action site shows the variety of things that chemical engineers can do.

Faculty Spotlights

All ChemE Faculty

Connor W. Coley

Associate Professor

MIT News
  • Chair

    Class of 1957 Career Development Professor

  • Department

    Chemical Engineering

  • Lab

    Coley Research Group

  • Research area

    Autonomous discovery, machine learning, laboratory automation, chemical synthesis, molecular design, drug discovery

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Kate E. Galloway

Associate Professor

MIT News
  • Department

    Chemical Engineering

  • Lab

    The Galloway Lab

  • Research area

    Synthetic Biology, Molecular Systems Biology, Stem Cells, Cellular Reprogramming, 3D Genome Organization & Structure, Single-cell Analytics, Genetic Control Systems, Oncogenesis & Metastasis

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Sungho Shin

Assistant Professor

Read More
  • Chair

    Texaco-Mangelsdorf Career Development Professor

  • Department

    Chemical Engineering

  • Lab

    Shin Group

  • Research area

    Mathematical optimization; control theory; machine learning; high-performance computing; process systems engineering; energy systems

Why Choose ChemE?

Chemical engineering is the major for students who want to make a real impact on the world – not someday, but starting now. As a chemical engineer, you learn how to take ideas from the lab and turn them into technologies that change lives at scale. You’ll gain a deep foundation in chemistry, physics, biology, and mathematics, and then learn to use that knowledge to design processes that produce medicines, clean energy, advanced materials, and everyday products that billions of people rely on. You’ll master thermodynamics and transport phenomena – the principles that explain how the universe moves heat, fluids, and energy – and apply them to build systems that are safer, more efficient, and more sustainable.

Today’s students learn computational tools, data science, and even generative AI to simulate and optimize complex systems before they are built. This means you graduate equipped to help decarbonize our planet, accelerate the development of new therapies, create smarter manufacturing, and push forward innovations in semiconductors, batteries, and biotechnology.

What truly sets chemical engineering apart is the flexibility and reach of the degree. Our graduates become leaders in industry, research, policy, entrepreneurship, and beyond. They make a difference in the world’s most critical sectors and have the freedom to change directions as new challenges emerge. If you’re excited by big problems and want a toolkit powerful enough to solve them, chemical engineering is the place for you. It’s where your curiosity becomes innovation, and where your innovation becomes impact.

Chemical Engineering First Year Orientation

ChemE Stories

AeroAstro Degrees

Undergraduate
  • Course 10 Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering
  • Course 10-B Bachelor of Science in Chemical-Biological Engineering
  • Course 10-ENG Bachelor of Science in Engineering
  • Course 10-C Bachelor of Science
Graduate
  • Doctor of Philosophy (PhD/ScD)
  • Doctor of Philosophy in Chemical Engineering Practice (PhDCEP)
  • Master of Science in Chemical Engineering Practice (MSCEP)
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Ask a ChemE Engineer

MIT introduced the first chemical engineering degree in the U.S. in 1888, and continues to apply cutting edge research to address the world’s challenges in health, energy, and other areas.

Class Highlights

  • 10.00 Molecule Makers
  • 10.000 Engineering Molecular Marvels: Careers and ChemE at MIT
  • 10.A01 Hands-on Making in Chemical Engineering
  • 10.10 Introduction to Chemical Engineering
  • 10.490 Integrated Chemical Engineering

Student Groups

Resources

ChemE prepares students and researchers to address global challenges while driving innovative and sustainable solutions for the future.

  1. Research
  2. Undergraduate study
  3. Graduate study
  4. ChemE Practice School
  5. Faculty
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