Study With Us
Studying with the School of Chemical Engineering and Advanced Materials will prepare you to confidently tackle global issues relating to energy storage and sustainability, advanced manufacturing and tissue engineering.
Our award-winning, industry-connected researchers and teachers will help you develop theoretical and practical skills, and teach you how to transform laboratory results into large-scale commercial production.
The school’s degrees transcend any other South Australian institution’s. The University of Adelaide is the state’s only university in the world’s top 50 for engineering (Academic Ranking of World Universities 2020); and the only one offering degrees in chemical and pharmaceutical engineering.
Upon graduation you will also have the opportunity to immediately pursue work internationally. Our undergraduate degree in chemical engineering is accredited by Engineers Australia and the Institution of Chemical Engineers, UK.
Undergraduate
Our undergraduate chemical engineering degree includes an embedded honours year and will prepare you for a career in engineering.
Postgraduate
If you are looking to expand your knowledge, or change career pathways, you can specialise in chemical engineering through our postgraduate degrees.
Research
Whether you see yourself working in research or industry, our higher degrees by research will give you additional insight and a competitive career edge.
Ingenuity – 26 October 2021
Ingenuity is an interactive showcase of our student's projects exploring the real-life applications of engineering, computer and mathematical sciences. This year, Ingenuity will be brought to you both face-to-face and online
Will you be joining us from overseas?
If you are an international student and considering studying chemical engineering with us, find out more about study options, entry requirements, how to apply and life in Adelaide, South Australia.
Enhance your degree with industry-relevant majors and minors
The School of Chemical Engineering and Advanced Materials offers a range of exciting, industry-relevant majors and minors, designed to enhance your knowledge and practical skills. Choose from:
- Minerals processing
- Pharmaceutical engineering
- Renewable energy
- Food and Beverage Engineering
What is chemical engineering?
Almost every product and service is created by a process that was invented, designed and/or operated by a chemical engineer.
Drawing on biology, biochemistry, chemistry and mathematics, as well as economics and finance, chemical engineering involves designing and developing process systems for the extraction, transformation and recovery of materials.
Careers in chemical engineering
As a chemical engineer you can work in a laboratory, an office, outdoors, an industrial plant, or a combination of all of these. Some industries and careers you could be involved in include:
- Biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries.
- Wine-making.
- Food production (e.g. beer, milk, cheese).
- Petrochemicals (e.g. oil refining, natural gas, plastics).
- Industrial chemicals (e.g. detergents and soaps, chlorine, explosives).
- Mining and minerals processing (e.g. gold, rare earths, iron ore, steel manufacturing, aluminium).
- Environmental engineering (i.e. air pollution control, water and wastewater treatment, waste disposal, resource management).
- Semi-conductors and microelectronics (many chemical engineers work in these areas).
- Nanotechnology (an emerging scientific area utilising very small particles for diverse applications).
- Management consulting (i.e. engineering business and financial management).
Our graduates have gone on to manage companies, start their own businesses and work in a wide range of industries and organisations. Some of these include Haigh’s Chocolates, Santos, Mayne Pharma, GPA Engineering and WorleyParsons.
Scholarships
The University offers scholarships to undergraduate and postgraduate students.