LESN Satellite > Credit Options > Master of Engineering in Biological Chemical Engineering

Program Overview

Chemical engineers play important roles in all activities bearing on the chemical process industry. These include the functions of research, development, design, plant construction, plant operation and management, corporate planning, technical sales, and market analysis.

The industries that produce chemical and/or certain physical changes in fluids, including petroleum and petrochemicals, rubbers and polymers, metals, industrial and fine chemicals, and industrial gases, have found chemical engineers to be vital to their success.

Additionally, chemical engineers are the driving force in many exciting areas of bioengineering and biotechnology, including pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical R&D, cellular bioengineering, diagnostics, drug delivery, and the large-scale processing of food and consumer products from perfume to crayons to toothpaste.

Chemical engineers are also important participants in pollution abatement, national defense and homeland security, and the manufacture of microelectronic devices and integrated circuits. Their skills are also uniquely attuned to the engineering of efficient energy resources, from nuclear plants to fuel cells. Chemical engineers are bringing new perspectives and approaches to meeting the world's energy needs.

The Department of Chemical Engineering in the P.C. Rossin College of Engineering & Applied Science is home to a number of active and internationally respected faculty and grants approximately 40 bachelor's and 20 graduate degrees annually. Laboratory facilities are state-of-the-art, research funding is strong, and the department maintains close ties with more than 50 industrial and corporate sponsors in the U.S. ChE faculty are renowned for their work, uphold the highest standards of research and publication, cooperate actively with international researchers, and hold high offices in the American Institute for Chemical Engineers and other professional societies.

Program Requirements

Regular Graduate Student

In order to be considered for admission as a regular graduate student in the Master of Engineering in Biological Chemical Engineering, the applicant must have an undergraduate GPA of 3.0 or higher and a GPA of 3.0 or higher for the last two semesters of undergraduate study. 

In addition to the minimum requirements, students must have one undergraduate course in Molecular Biology and one undergraduate course in Molecular Genetics in order to be admitted to the program.  Students with a degree other than Chemical Engineering will be required to take the bridging course, "Fundamentals of Chemical Engineering III."

Associate Graduate Student

Students may apply for associate admission if regular admission deadline is missed, or if background does not meet standards for regular admission.

The 30 credit hour program is comprised of 12 credit hours of core chemical and biotechnology courses, 6 credit hours of elective chemical engineering courses of importance to the field, 6 credit hours of biology elective courses, and 6 credit hours of chemistry elective courses at the following levels:

• Not less than 30 semester hours of graduate work at 300- or 400-level
• Not less than 18 hours in the field of Chemical Engineering
• Not less than 18 hours of coursework at the 400-level

There are no required examinations such as GRE, GMAT, etc.  In addition to the requirements outlined in the admissions packet, a personal essay summarizing your career objectives and work experience with respect to your chosen field of study must be submitted along with the application for admission.  

Once Accepted

The master's degree performance requirements approved by the Chemical Engineering Department which will remain in force are as follows:

• No course with grade below C may be included in the degree program.
• More than four grades (regardless of number of credits) below B will terminate the student's eligibility for continued graduate work at Lehigh.

Curriculum

Core Courses - Required

• ChE 400 Chemical Engineering Thermodynamics (3)  
• ChE 410 Chemical Reaction Engineering (3)  
• ChE 441 Biotechnology I (3)  
• ChE 442 Biotechnology II (3)  

Electives

Elective ChE Courses

• ChE 331 Separation Processes  (3)  
• ChE 344 Molecular Bioengineering (3)  
• ChE 391 Colloid and Surface Chemistry (3)  
• ChE 430 Mass Transfer (3)  
• ChE 440 Chemical Engineering in the Life Sciences (3)  
• ChE 444 Bioseparations (3)  
• ChE 448 Topics in Biochemical Engineering (3)  

Elective Biology Courses

• BIOS 345 Molecular Genetics (3)  
• BIOS 371 Elements of Biochemistry I (3)  
• BIOS 372 Elements of Biochemistry II (3)  

Elective Chemistry Courses

• CHM 424 Medicinal and Pharmaceutical Chemistry (3)  
• CHM 425 Regulatory Affairs I: Drug Discovery to Approval (3)  
• CHM 428 Regulatory Affairs II: Medical Devices and Combination Technologies (3)  
• CHM 432 Chemometrics (3)  
• CHM 442 Regulatory Affairs III: Validation of Analytical Assays (3)  

Please note: The Chemical Engineering Department has the following application deadlines:

Semester	Regular	Associate	Non-Degree
Fall Semester	July 15	2 weeks prior to start of class	1 week prior to start of class
Spring Semester	Dec 1	2 weeks prior to start of class	1 week prior to start of class
Summer Session I	April 30	2 weeks prior to start of class	1 week prior to start of class
Summer Session II	May 30	2 weeks prior to start of class	1 week prior to start of class

Academic Advisor

Professor Cesar Silebi, 610-758-4267, cas5@lehigh.edu

Program Contact: Barbara Kessler, 610-758-4261/e-mail: bak0@lehigh.edu.