Chemical Engineering vs. Civil Engineering

Salve
Wed, 03 Jul 2013 15:43:35 +0000

I should probably respond to this question. I have a ChemE degree and an EnvE masters, which EnvE tends to work really closesly with the civil department. I will tell you that ChemE does have more options available. However, the type of civil engineering degree you can get depends a great deal on the university you go to. There is ABET accredation that makes sure there is some standard across universities, but some focus more in one area than another. For example, my university’s civilE program focused a great deal in structural engineering, so getting a degree from there might be different than at another university. AKA you might like a CivilE program in one university over another. Civil means you will be covering things like structures, materials, statics, geology, mechanics, etc. In ChemE you will deal with thermo, mass balance, transport, fluid mechanics, reactor design, etc. Honestly, I would look at both programs, read up on the classes, and see what seems most relevant to your interests. If you get in one and don’t like it, there’s nothing saying you can’t switch majors. Luckily, your first year you will have basically gen eds and some intro classes to your major, so that will give you somewhat of an indication whether you should stay in the certain major while not really losing anything.

If you have specific questions for each major, please ask. I will say it’s hard for us to direct you if you only ask which is better…