Tips for Freshmen & Sophomores
The MATH courses are important prerequisites in Chemical Engineering. You should plan to finish all MATH requirements by the fourth semester. If you fall behind in MATH, use the summer semester to catch up otherwise you may delay graduation by a year.
The Chemical Engineering program begins with CH E 210 and CH E 220, both offered in the spring. You should plan to take these classes in your fourth semester. These two courses must be completed with a grade of C or better and are prerequisites for other classes that follow. If a student has to repeat any of these two courses, he or she would most likely need to stay an extra year in order to graduate in Chemical Engineering. This is true even if the grade in the course is a D because with such grade the student will not be allowed to take subsequent courses that have CH E 210 or 220 as a prerequisite until the D is removed. Consider taking a lighter load in your fourth semester to ensure you have the time to concentrate in CH E 210 and 220.
The CH E course sequence shown on the prerequisite chain page is the backbone of your course schedule and guarantees graduation in five semesters beginning with the Spring semester in which you take CH E 210 and CH E 220. You should follow this schedule as closely as possible to avoid delays in graduation. If you need to make any changes to your CH E courses, you should talk to your adviser to make sure that you do not jeopardize your graduation.
Penn State Blue Book Chemical Engineering Courses
Pay attention to prerequisites! It is your responsibility to ensure that you satisfy the prerequisites for the classes you register. The Chemical Engineering Department takes prerequisites seriously and you will receive a note to withdraw from a course if you do not have the proper prerequisites.
Using A.P. credits
Coming to College with AP credits frees a lot of room in your schedule, allowing you to move ahead of the regular schedule and to pursue additional academic interests such as minors with more freedom and flexibility.
A.P. credits in MATH are very useful. Moving ahead in your Math sequence will guarantee that you will be ready for the courses in your major. A.P. credits in Chemistry are helpful and will free you of the freshman chemistry requirements. If you have A.P. credits in literature, Arts etc., be careful about taking G.A./G.H./G.S. (Arts, Humanities, and Social Science) courses. These A.P. credits should be assigned to their corresponding Penn State course requirements with the help of your adviser after you gain entrance to the chemical engineering major.
Reviewed 09/26/08