Massachusetts Institute of Technology, often called MIT, is renowned for its focus on the sciences, and chemical engineering is no exception. In 2009, "U.S. News and World Report" ranked it as the top undergraduate chemical engineering school.
MIT also has the largest chemical engineering department in the United States. More than 10 percent of alumni are senior executives at an industrial company. Ten percent of the nation's chemical engineering teachers hold degrees from MIT.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
77 Massachusetts Ave.
Room 66-350
Cambridge, MA 02139
617-253-4561
web.mit.edu/cheme/
The University of California, Berkeley (UCB) holds the number two spot for chemical engineering on the "U.S. News and World Report's Best Colleges for Chemical Engineering" list. Its College of Chemistry, including chemical engineering, provides an excellent opportunity to meet major scientific challenges, including climate issues and the research of new drugs.
In 1912, UCB began offering a chemical technology major, which would eventually become the chemical engineering degree. On Feb. 23 to 24, 1941, in room 307 of Gilman Hall, plutonium was discovered.
University of California, Berkeley
201 Gilman Hall
University of California
Berkeley, CA 94720-1462
510-642-2291
chemistry.berkeley.edu/
Usually when people think of Minnesota, they think of sports, like football and hockey, and not of chemical engineering. Yet, the University of Minnesota (UM) is the third best chemical engineering program in the country.
Approximately 140 students graduate from the UM department of engineering every year. UM has a focus specifically on gas plasmas, with two of its professors winning awards for their research in gas plasmas in 2009. Another advantage for UM is that with costs between $11,000 and $15,500 a year, making attendance a much cheaper option than the other two schools on this list.
University of Minnesota
151 Amundson Hall
421 Washington Ave. SE
Minneapolis, MN 55455-0132
612-625-1313
cems.umn.edu