Undergraduate study in Chemical and Materials Engineering

A Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) in Chemical and Materials Engineering introduces you to applied chemistry, materials characterisation, process engineering, energy, and mathematical modelling. This gives you the solid grounding necessary for a broad range of careers. The University of Auckland is also the only tertiary institution in New Zealand that offers an undergraduate specialisation with this unique combination of both Chemical and Materials Engineering.

Core topics include:

• Chemical engineering: the design, operations and process control for the value-added upgrading of raw material, with an aim to minimise environmental impact
• Materials engineering: an interdisciplinary field that explores the relationships between the structure, processing and properties of engineering materials
• Applied chemistry: the study of analytical, physical and organic chemistry, and biochemistry, including their instrumental techniques
• Materials characterisation: the fundamental sciences behind atomic structure and bonding, properties and testing, and the effects of corrosion, degradation and failure
• Process engineering: one of the most important unit operations in chemical industry, which covers safety, energy balances, and multiphase systems
• Energy: an essential topic that extends to the practical applications of thermodynamics, and theoretical concepts such as chemical potential, fugacity, vapour-liquid equilibria and reacting systems
• Food process engineering: the application of heat and mass transfer to the process and structuring of one of our essential industries

All our BE(Hons) specialisations are accredited by Engineering NZ, so your qualification will be recognised in many countries.

All students take a similar set of courses throughout their first year of a BE(Hons). Find out more about the compulsory degree components.

You can get in-depth information about our undergraduate courses in Chemical and Materials Engineering with the Faculty of Engineering and Design Course Viewer.

For general student enquiries, please contact the Student Hubs.

If you would like further academic information, you can contact an Undergraduate Course Adviser.