What is Process & Chemical Engineering? Chemical engineering is all about changing raw materials into

useful products you use everyday in a safe and sustainable

way. It is a profession in which mathematics, chemistry, and

other natural sciences are applied to develop innovative and

effective ways of using materials and energy for the benefit of

society. It generally involves the design and operation of pro-

cesses to produce a wide range of products from plastics to

face cream. Chemical engineering worldwide is vibrant with

the need to re-invent these processes from oil-derived chemi-

cals to sustainable forms of production.

In Ireland the most relevant sectors are food & drink, pharma-

ceutical & biopharmaceutical, and possibly in a near future,

energy, gas & oil (including bio’s). However Chemical Engi-

neers also require managerial and personal skills such as

presentation skills, communication and teamwork.

Choosing UCC to do chemical engineering means that you will

avail of the right setting to develop all these skills with a look

towards the future, and in a location classified by the QS

World Rankings (in 2010 and 2012) among the top 200 in the

world.

Process & Chemical EngineeringProcess & Chemical Engineering SSCHOOLCHOOL OFOF EENGINEERINGNGINEERING, U, UNIVERSITYNIVERSITY CCOLLEGEOLLEGE CCORKORK

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What do Process & Chemical Engineers do ? Process & Chemical Engineers find employment in a wide

range of process industries – among them pharmaceuticals,

food and drink, water, cosmetics, bulk chemicals, plastics and

the energy sector. A large proportion are employed by Engi-

neering consultancy firms and these often work in teams with

groups of other engineers (Electrical, Civil, Mechanical, etc) in

the design, installation and commissioning of plants and pro-

cesses for companies operating in the process industries.

The work of the Process & Chemical Engineer usually in-

volves one or more of the following:

• Designing a process to produce a given product through all

the stages from intake of raw materials to output of finished

product.

• Designing the equipment or 'unit operations' that make up

this process.

• Improving the energy efficiency of the process, the safety of

the process, the quality of the product being produced and

making the process more environmentally friendly by for ex-

ample, reducing or recycling process waste or energy con-

sumption.

• Developing new processes or products which will better

serve the needs of society and its environment.

For further details please contact:‐ Anne‐Marie McSweeney Process & Chemical Engineering Tel: 021‐4902389 Fax: 021‐4270249 Email: processeng@ucc.ie

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ENTRY TO PROCESS & CHEMICAL ENGINEERING AT UCC From 2015, the CAO entry to the BE in Process & Chemi-cal Engineering is via the general engineering entry CK600. Although the entry code is common you will need to specify the PCE option on your CAO form. For those candidates who have already decided to apply for Process & Chemical Engineering at UCC, the new entry system makes no difference: just make sure to tick the PCE option under CK600 to be consid-ered for a place in this programme in 1st year, as UCC will only make offers to the candidate’s preferred choice. This new entry system gives more flexibility of choice to candidates who are still uncertain of which engi-neering discipline they would like to choose. The CAO points necessary for entry will as always be determined by the number of available places. However CAO points level will be common across all Engineering disciplines. Candidates who are unsure of which engineer-ing programme they would like to do in UCC may pick the NPF (No Preference) option, which allows them to de-clare their programme of choice only after 1st year. All NPF 1st year students will need to register in one of the 4 programmes in 2nd year. Access to their top preference cannot however be guaranteed as it may depend on available places in 2nd year of that specific programme; if competition for limited places is necessary, it will be based on 1st year exam results (not on CAO points). PROGRAMME STRUCTURE All engineering programmes in UCC have a common first year, composed of foundation subjects in mathematics, chemistry and physics and introductory engineering mod-ules. Students registered for BE Process & Chemical must choose the introductory module of Process & Chemical Engineering and have one more introductory engineering elective to freely choose from.

Students may request to change programmes for 2nd year (subject to availability and on a competitive basis with 1st year results, if necessary)

In 2nd and 3rd year students complete the mathematics and chemistry foundations and cover the core chemical engineering subjects. In 3rd year they choose one elective subject from pharmaceutical & biopharmaceutical or en-ergy & environment. Between 3rd and 4th year students undertake a 24 week salaried work placement at an industrial company, indus-trial R&D laboratory or similar industrial environment, in Ireland or abroad. In 4th year students complete the chemical engineering programme with more advanced subjects and continuing their elective chosen in 3rd year. A major feature of 4th year are the capstone projects: a group design project and an individual research project.

CAREERS IN PROCESS & CHEMICAL ENGINEERING Career prospects are exceptionally good with graduates hav-

ing a broad range of industry sectors to choose from including

Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology, Food and Drinks, Cosmet-

ics, Bulk Chemicals, Water, Plastics, Paints, Mineral Extrac-

tion, Energy; both renewables and fossil fuels as well as with

Engineering Design and Consultancy firms.

For example graduates may work in the Irish Pharmaceutical

and Chemical Industries which employ about 25,000 people

directly and generated €56bn in exports in 2012 (60% by

value) Moreover the Irish agri-food and drink sector accounts

for about 8% of Irelands economy-wide GVA (Gross value

added),

Graduates have also found employment worldwide in other

areas ranging from banking and finance to electronics. The

opportunities available to graduates are endless as may be

evidenced on our Alumni web pages.

The UCC Careers Service Destination Report 2012 showed

that 0% of graduates of Process & Chemical Engineering

were seeking employment six to nine months after graduation

in 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012. Our own records show that

this was also true of 2013 graduates. Indeed many final year

students have in the past received multiple job offers even

before sitting their final exams as prospective employers will

regularly contact the School of Engineering to interview pro-

spective graduates.

Leaving Certificate: minimum HC3 in two subjects (one of which must be Mathematics or Applied Mathematics; if the HC3 is in Applied Mathematics, a HD2 in Mathematics is also a prerequisite) and passes in four other subjects at H or O level in the leaving certificate from: Irish, English, one labora-tory Science subject i.e. Chemistry, Physics, Biology, Physics with Chemistry (joint) or Agricultural Science and one other subject recognised for entry requirements.

ENTRY REQUIREMENT

http://pce.ucc.ie

Proceng UCC