Your complete guide to a PhD in Chemical Engineering

Everything you need to know about studying a PhD in Chemical Engineering

part of Engineering & Technology

Chemical Engineering is an interdisciplinary subject that deals with transforming raw materials into useful products. People who work in Chemical Engineering focus on developing and optimising the processes used to create and refine products. Chemical engineers also strive to create better materials, which have improved properties, are more durable and last longer.

Chemical Engineering is a broad field of study that encompasses Chemistry, Biology, Applied Mathematics and Engineering Science.

Some of the things you'll study during courses in Chemical Engineering are Mechanics, Thermodynamics, Chemical Reaction Kinetics, and Process Design. You will need these engineering and scientific principles for your research and analytical work. You will also develop problem-solving and evaluating skills.

From optimising DNA sequencing to discovering how algae can be used as an alternative for petroleum, you could say chemical engineers have solutions to any problem. Chemical Engineering graduates learn to develop new drugs, and fertilizers, increase energy efficiency and manage chemical plants.

Many people might not understand exactly what you do and how it works – but that’s ok. You can simply tell them that many of the things they take for granted on a daily basis are influenced by your work. You will sleep better at night knowing that you’re making the world safer, faster, and healthier.

Chemical Engineering graduates find jobs as chemical engineers, energy engineers, product development scientists, material scientists, nuclear engineers, and others.

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View all PhDs in Chemical Engineering. Keep in mind you can also study an online PhDs in Chemical Engineering.

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Best Universities for Chemical Engineering on PhDPortal

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Universities Location Shanghai Jiao Tong University Ranking (2017) TopUniversities Ranking (2018)
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Cambridge, United States 1 1
Stanford University Stanford, United States 2 2
California Institute of Technology - Caltech Pasadena, United States 3 5
Tianjin University Tianjin, China 4 51
Zhejiang University Hangzhou, China 5 51
East China University of Science and Technology Shangyu, China 6 101
University of Texas at Austin Austin, United States 7 22
Tsinghua University Beijing, China 8 11
Princeton University Princeton, United States 9 12
University of California, Berkeley Berkeley, United States 10 3
University of Colorado at Boulder Boulder, United States 11 101
Beijing University of Chemical Technology Beijing, China 12 101
National University of Singapore Singapore, Singapore 13 8
Nanyang Technological University Singapore, Singapore 14 17
ETH Zurich - Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zürich, Switzerland 15 13
South China University of Technology Guangzhou, China 16 201
Imperial London, United Kingdom 17 9
University of Delaware Newark, United States 18 51
University of Wisconsin Madison Madison, United States 19 14
University of Science and Technology of China Hefei, China 20 -
Georgia Institute of Technology Atlanta, United States 21 20
Carnegie Mellon University Pittsburgh, United States 22 51
Technical University of Denmark (DTU) Copenhagen, Denmark 23 51
University of Minnesota Twin Cities Minneapolis, United States 23 -
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne Lausanne, Switzerland 25 -
Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) Eindhoven, Netherlands 26 51
Politecnico di Milano Milano, Italy 27 51
Dalian University of Technology Dalian, China 28 101
University of Porto Porto, Portugal 29 101
Shanghai Jiao Tong University Shanghai, China 30 45
Monash University Clayton, Australia 31 28
Pennsylvania State University State College, United States 32 51
Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) Delft, Netherlands 34 24
University of Notre Dame South Bend, United States 35 151
Northwestern University Evanston, United States 36 24
Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) Trondheim, Norway 37 101
University of Alberta Edmonton, Canada 38 51
Xi'an Jiaotong University Xi'an, China 38 151
Islamic Azad University Of Dezful Shushtar, Iran 40 -
University of Queensland Saint Lucia, Australia 41 33
University of Chicago Chicago, United States 42 -
University of Cambridge Cambridge, United Kingdom 43 4
University of New South Wales Sydney, Australia 44 37
Curtin University Perth, Australia 45 101
Seoul National University Anyang, South Korea 46 16
Texas A&M University College Station, United States 47 51
University of Lorraine Maxéville, France 48 -
Cornell University Ithaca, United States 49 27
Purdue University West Lafayette, United States 50 30
Aalto University Helsinki, Finland 101 151
Åbo Akademi University Turku, Finland 101 251
Aristotle University of Thessaloniki Thessaloníki, Greece 101 201
Arizona State University Tempe, United States 101 151
Beijing Institute of Technology Beijing, China 101 151
City University of Hong Kong Kowloon, Hong Kong (SAR) 101 -
Claude Bernard Lyon 1 Villeurbanne, France 101 -
Colorado School of Mines Golden, United States 101 151
Complutense University of Madrid Madrid, Spain 101 151
Fudan University Shanghai, China 101 -
Fuzhou University Fuzhou, China 101 -
Hunan University of Arts & Science (Changde University) Changde, China 101 -
Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur Khargapur, India 101 101
Indian Institute of Technology Madras Perungudi, India 101 101
Korea University Seoul, South Korea 101 43
Kyung Hee Cyber University Seoul, South Korea 101 -
Nanjing University Nanjing, China 101 51
North Carolina State University Raleigh, United States 101 101
Pohang University of Science and Technology (Postech) Enjitsu, South Korea 101 41
Polytechnic University of Catalonia Esplugues de Llobregat, Spain 101 201
Politecnico di Torino Turin, Italy 101 151
Polytechnic University of Valencia Valencia, Spain 101 101
Sapienza University of Rome Roma, Italy 101 151
Shandong University Jinan, China 101 201
Sharif University of Technology Tehran, Iran 101 -
Soochow University Taipei, Taiwan 101 -
Sun Yat-sen University Guangzhou, China 101 151
Sungkyunkwan University Seoul, South Korea 101 48
TU Berlin Berlin, Germany 101 51
The Ohio State University Upper Arlington, United States 101 51
University of Calgary Calgary, Canada 101 101
Universidade de Aveiro Aveiro, Portugal 101 251
University of Birmingham Birmingham, United Kingdom 101 51
University of Connecticut Storrs, United States 101 251
Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU) Nuremberg, Germany 101 101
University of Leeds Leeds, United Kingdom 101 51
University of Lisbon Lisbon, Portugal 101 151
Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg Magdeburg, Germany 101 -
University of Maryland College Park, United States 101 151
University of Michigan Ann Arbor, United States 101 40
The University Of Nottingham Malaysia Semenyih, Malaysia 101 -
University of Ottawa Ottawa, Canada 101 151
University of Pannonia Veszprém, Hungary 101 -
University of Sao Paulo São Paulo, Brazil 101 51
University of Western Ontario London, Canada 101 151
Wuhan University Wuhan, China 101 -
Yale University New Haven, United States 101 23
Zhejiang University of Technology Hangzhou, China 101 -
Aalborg University Aalborg, Denmark 151 -
Chongqing University Chongqing, China 151 -
The Federal University of Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 151 -
Iowa State University Ames, United States 151 201
Jiangsu University Zhenjiang, China 151 -
Jilin University Changchun, China 151 101
King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals Dhahran, Saudi Arabia 151 101
Kyoto University Kyoto, Japan 151 6
Lanzhou University Lanzhou, China 151 251
Laval University Québec, Canada 151 151
Lund University Lund, Sweden 151 -
McGill University Montréal, Canada 151 47
McMaster University Hamilton, Canada 151 101
Michigan State University East Lansing, United States 151 101
Nankai University Tianjin, China 151 151
National Autonomous University of Mexico Coyoacán, Mexico 151 51
National Cheng Kung University Tainan, Taiwan 151 101
Newcastle University Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom 151 201
Rutgers University New Brunswick, United States 151 151
Technical University of Munich München, Germany 151 51
Melbourne Business School Melbourne, Australia 151 30
University of Newcastle Newcastle, Australia 151 201
Tokyo Institute of Technology Meguro, Japan 151 21
University Teknologi PETRONAS Batu Gajah, Malaysia 151 101
University of Alicante San Vicente, Spain 151 -
University of Belgrade Belgrade, Serbia 151 -
University of Bologna Bologna, Italy 151 -
University of California, Davis Davis, United States 151 51
Universidad de Castilla la Mancha Toledo, Spain 151 -
University of Cincinnati Cincinnati, United States 151 -
University of Florida Gainesville, United States 151 101
University of Maribor Maribor, Slovenia 151 -
University of Messina Messina, Italy 151 -
University of Nottingham Nottingham, United Kingdom 151 101
University of Padua Padua, Italy 151 201
University of Palermo Palermo, Italy 151 -
University of Perugia Perugia, Italy 151 -
University of Science and Technology Beijing Beijing, China 151 251
University Sains Malaysia George Town, Malaysia 151 38
University of South Australia Adelaide, Australia 151 -
University of South Carolina Columbia, United States 151 251
University of Southern California Los Angeles, United States 151 151
University of Sydney Sydney, Australia 151 51
University of Toronto Pickering, Canada 151 34
Wageningen University and Research Wageningen, Netherlands 151 -
University of Wollongong Wollongong, Australia 151 -
Wuhan University of Technology (WUT) Wuhan, China 151 251
Yonsei University Seoul, South Korea 151 51
Zhengzhou University Zhengzhou, China 151 -
Anna University Chennai, India 201 201
Auburn University Auburn, United States 201 -
Autonomous University of Barcelona Barcelona, Spain 201 151
Autonomous University of Madrid Alcobendas, Spain 201 201
Beihang University Beijing, China 201 201
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev Beersheba, Israel 201 -
Changzhou University Changzhou, China 201 -
Chungbuk National University Wanju, South Korea 201 201
Chung Yuan Christian University Taoyuan City, Taiwan 201 -
Clarkson University Potsdam, United States 201 -
Columbia University New York City, United States 201 51
Cranfield University Cranfield, United Kingdom 201 -
Deakin University  Burwood, Australia 201 -
Donghua University Shanghai, China 201 -
Federal University of Santa Catarina (UFSC) Araranguá, Brazil 201 251
Graz University of Technology (TU Graz) Graz, Austria 201 251
Hokkaido University Sapporo, Japan 201 51
Indian Institute of Science Bangalore, India 201 51
Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi New Delhi, India 201 51
Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati Gubbi, India 201 201
Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur Nawabganj, India 201 101
Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee Roorkee, India 201 201
Inha University Incheon, South Korea 201 201
Iran University of Science and Technology Tehran, Iran 201 -
Isfahan University of Technology Khomeyni Shahr, Iran 201 -
Jianghan University Wuhan, China 201 -
Kunming University of Science and Technology Kunming, China 201 -
Kyushu University Fukuoka, Japan 201 51
LUT University Lappeenranta, Finland 201 -
Lehigh University Bethlehem, United States 201 201
Loughborough University Loughborough, United Kingdom 201 201
Metropolitan Autonomous University Tlalpan, Mexico 201 201
Nanjing University of Science and Technology Nanjing, China 201 251
National Chiao Tung University Hsinchu, Taiwan 201 101
National Taiwan University of Science and Technology (Taiwan Tech) Taipei, Taiwan 201 101
National Technical University of Athens Athens, Greece 201 151
National Tsing Hua University Hsinchu, Taiwan 201 51
Universidade Nova de Lisboa Lisbon, Portugal 201 151
Northeastern University China Shenyang, China 201 -
Osaka University Osaka-shi, Japan 201 32
Sorbonne University Paris, France 201 151
University Politehnica of Bucharest Bucharest, Romania 201 -
Qingdao University of Science and Technology Qingdao, China 201 -
Queen's University Belfast Belfast, United Kingdom 201 151
Sultan Qaboos University As Sib, Oman 201 -
Tarbiat Modares University Tehran, Iran 201 -
Technion - Israel Institute of Technology Haifa, Israel 201 151
Texas A&M University at Qatar Doha, Qatar 201 -
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University Hong Kong, Hong Kong (SAR) 201 101
University of Adelaide Adelaide, Australia 201 101
The University of Edinburgh Edinburgh, United Kingdom 201 51
University of Sheffield Sheffield, United Kingdom 201 51
The University of Western Australia Perth, Australia 201 151
Tiangong University Tianjin, China 201 -
TU Dresden Dresden, Germany 201 101
Umea University Umeå, Sweden 201 -
Université Grenoble Alpes Grenoble, France 201 -
University of Barcelona Barcelona, Spain 201 101
University of Bath Bath, United Kingdom 201 151
Ruhr University Bochum Bochum, Germany 201 -
University of Calabria Rende, Italy 201 -
University of Cantabria Santander, Spain 201 -
University of Chemistry and Technology, Prague Prague, Czech Republic 201 -
University of Duisburg-Essen Essen, Germany 201 -
University of Houston Houston, United States 201 101
University of Kentucky Lexington, United States 201 -
University of Liège Liège, Belgium 201 -
University of Minho Braga, Portugal 201 251
University of Montpellier Montpellier, France 201 -
University of Montreal Montréal, Canada 201 101
University of Oklahoma Norman, United States 201 151
University of Pisa Pisa, Italy 201 251
University of Regina Regina, Canada 201 -
University of Rostock Rostock, Germany 201 -
University of Saskatchewan Saskatoon, Canada 201 251
University of Seville Sevilla, Spain 201 -
University of Surrey Guildford, United Kingdom 201 251
University of Utah Salt Lake City, United States 201 251
University of Valladolid Valladolid, Spain 201 -
University of Vigo Vigo, Spain 201 -
University of Wyoming Laramie, United States 201 -
University of Zaragoza Delicias, Spain 201 251
University Putra Malaysia Kampong Baharu Balakong, Malaysia 201 51
Rovira i Virgili University Tarragona, Spain 201 -
Utrecht University Utrecht, Netherlands 201 -
Virginia Tech Blacksburg, United States 201 151
Washington State University Pullman, United States 201 101
West Virginia University Morgantown, United States 201 -
Xiangtan University Xiangtan, China 201 -
Yeungnam University Gyeongsan, South Korea 201 251
Ghent University Ledeberg, Belgium 51 101
Hanyang University Seoul, South Korea 51 51
Harbin Institute of Technology Harbin, China 51 151
Huazhong University of Science and Technology Wuhan, China 51 201
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) Karlsruhe, Germany 51 51
King Abdulaziz University Jeddah, Saudi Arabia 51 101
Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) Daejeon, South Korea 51 15
KTH Royal Institute of Technology Stockholm, Sweden 51 101
KU Leuven Brussels, Belgium 51 51
Nanjing University of Technology Nanjing, China 51 -
Institut National Polytechnique de Toulouse Toulouse, France 51 -
National Taiwan University Taipei, Taiwan 51 45
University Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier Toulouse, France 51 -
RWTH Aachen University Aachen, Germany 51 51
Sichuan University Chengdu, China 51 201
The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Hong Kong, Hong Kong (SAR) 51 29
The University of Manchester Manchester, United Kingdom 51 26
The University of Tokyo Tokyo, Japan 51 10
University Teknologi Malaysia Sekudai, Malaysia 51 51
University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign Urbana, United States 51 51
University of Kwazulu Natal Durban, South Africa 51 -
University of Oxford Oxford, United Kingdom 51 7
University of the Basque Country Lejona, Spain 51 -
University of Waterloo Waterloo, Canada 51 51
Xiamen University Xiamen, China 51 201
Amirkabir University of Technology Tehran, Iran 76 -
Central South University Changsha, China 76 -
Chalmers University of Technology Göteborg, Sweden 76 101
Chulalongkorn University Bangkok, Thailand 76 51
Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay Powai, India 76 51
King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) Thuwal, Saudi Arabia 76 51
King Saud University Riyadh, Saudi Arabia 76 151
MINES ParisTech Paris, France 76 -
Peking University Beijing, China 76 -
Southeast University Nanjing, China 76 -
TU Dortmund University Dortmund, Germany 76 51
Tohoku University Sendai-shi, Japan 76 34
Tongji University Shanghai, China 76 201
Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology Ulsan, South Korea 76 -
UCL London, United Kingdom 76 36
University of British Columbia Vancouver, Canada 76 48
University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Los Angeles, United States 76 19
UNICAMP - University of Campinas Campinas, Brazil 76 51
University of Cordoba Cordova, Spain 76 -
University of Malaya Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 76 38
University of Massachusetts Amherst Amherst, United States 76 51
University of Naples Federico II Naples, Italy 76 151
University of Salerno Fisciano, Italy 76 -
University of Tehran, Kish International Campus Kish, Iran 76 -
University of Twente (UT) Enschede, Netherlands 76 -
University of Minnesota Minneapolis, United States - 17
University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, United States - 41
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne Lausanne, Switzerland - 44
University of California, Santa Barbara Santa Barbara, United States - 48
Brown University Providence, United States - 101
Heriot-Watt University Edinburgh, United Kingdom - 101
Instituto Politécnico Nacional Mexico City, Mexico - 101
Kyung Hee University Seoul, South Korea - 101
Novosibirsk State University Akademgorodok, Russia - 101
Pusan National University Yangsan, South Korea - 101
Queen's University Kingston, Canada - 101
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Troy, United States - 101
RMIT University Melbourne, Australia - 101
The Chinese University of Hong Kong Shatin, Hong Kong (SAR) - 101
University of Auckland Auckland, New Zealand - 101
University of Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, Argentina - 101
University of Stuttgart Stuttgart, Germany - 101
Waseda University Shinjuku, Japan - 101
Washington University in St. Louis Saint Louis, United States - 101
Hiroshima University Hiroshima, Japan - 151
Karolinska Institute Stockholm, Sweden - 151
Kyungpook National University Daegu, South Korea - 151
National Chung Hsing University Taichung, Taiwan - 151
New York University New York City, United States - 151
Sogang University Seoul, South Korea - 151
National University of Colombia Bogotá, Colombia - 151
MARA Technological University Seremban, Malaysia - 151
University College Dublin Dublin, Ireland - 151
University of California, Irvine Extension Irvine, United States - 151
University of California, Riverside Riverside, United States - 151
University of Groningen Groningen, Netherlands - 151
University of Pittsburgh Pittsburgh, United States - 151
University of Virginia Charlottesville, United States - 151
Vanderbilt University Nashville, United States - 151
Vienna University of Technology Vienna, Austria - 151
Aix-Marseille University Marseille, France - 201
Case Western Reserve University Cleveland, United States - 201
Chung-Ang University Seoul, South Korea - 201
Colorado State University Fort Collins, United States - 201
École Polytechnique Palaiseau, France - 201
Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul Porto Alegre, Brazil - 201
Istanbul Technical University Istanbul, Turkey - 201
Kobe University Kobe, Japan - 201
Massey University Palmerston North, New Zealand - 201
METU Middle East Technical University Ankara, Turkey - 201
National Central University Taoyuan City, Taiwan - 201
Pontifical Catholic University of Chile Villa Presidente Frei, Ñuñoa, Santiago, Chile, Chile - 201
Shanghai University Shanghai, China - 201
The City University of New York New York City, United States - 201
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem Jerusalem, Israel - 201
Tokyo University of Science Nerima, Japan - 201
Tomsk Polytechnic University Tomsk, Russia - 201
University College Cork Cork, Ireland - 201
University of Aberdeen Aberdeen, United Kingdom - 201
The University of Akron Akron, United States - 201
University of Canterbury Christchurch, New Zealand - 201
University of Chile Lo Prado, Chile - 201
University of Mumbai  Mumbai, India - 201
University of Patras Ríon, Greece - 201
University of Strasbourg Strasbourg, France - 201
University of Strathclyde Glasgow, United Kingdom - 201
University of Tennessee Knoxville Knoxville, United States - 201
Ajou University Suwon, South Korea - 251
China University of Petroleum-Beijing Changping, China - 251
Chungnam National University Seoul, South Korea - 251
Drexel University Philadelphia, United States - 251
Emory University Atlanta, United States - 251
Florida State University Tallahassee, United States - 251
NIT Northern Institute of Technology Management in cooperation with the Hamburg University of Technology (TUHH) Hamburg, Germany - 251
Illinois Institute of Technology Chicago, United States - 251
Institute for European Studies - Universite Libre de Bruxelles Brussels, Belgium - 251
Institute of Technology Bandung Bandung, Indonesia - 251
Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz Mainz, Germany - 251
Konkuk University Kuri, South Korea - 251
National Sun Yat Sen University Kaohsiung City, Taiwan - 251
Northeastern University Boston, United States - 251
Osaka Metropolitan University (OMU) Matsubara, Japan - 251
Queen Mary University of London London, United Kingdom - 251
Swansea University Swansea, United Kingdom - 251
Tecnológico de Monterrey Monterrey, Mexico - 251
Tokyo Metropolitan University Tokyo, Japan - 251
Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology Tokyo, Japan - 251
Tufts University Medford, United States - 251
University at Buffalo Buffalo, United States - 251
University at Buffalo SUNY - School of Engineering and Applied Sciences Buffalo, United States - 251
The University of Arizona Tucson, United States - 251
University of Cape Town Cape Town, South Africa - 251
University of Coimbra Coimbra, Portugal - 251
University of Limerick Limerick, Ireland - 251
University of Pretoria Pretoria, South Africa - 251
University of Santiago de Compostela Santiago de Compostela, Spain - 251
University of Seoul Seoul, South Korea - 251
University of Texas at Dallas Richardson, United States - 251
University of the Andes Bogotá, Colombia - 251
University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg Johannesburg, South Africa - 251
Warsaw University of Technology Warsaw, Poland - 251
Bologna Business School Bologna, Italy - 51
Johns Hopkins University Baltimore, United States - 51
Nagoya University Nagoya, Japan - 51
Rice University Houston, United States - 51
The University of Hong Kong Hong Kong, Hong Kong (SAR) - 51
University Kebangsaan Malaysia Semenyih, Malaysia - 51
University of California, San Diego San Diego, United States - 51
University of Washington Seattle, United States - 51
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