Five reasons to study chemical engineering at Surrey

1. Industry-standard facilities

As part of our "learning by doing" approach, you'll gain invaluable hands-on experience working on our award-winning chemical pilot plant. The plant mirrors real-life industry operations and helps develop crucial team-work, problem solving and decision making skills, offering an unparalleled learning experience in large-scale chemical processes.

The Fluor Pilot Plant is a key training site for the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) Associate Programme, supporting global chemical safety efforts, and continues to train Fluor's graduate engineers.

In 2023, we were honoured to receive the Horizon Prize for Education from the Royal Society of Chemistry in recognition for our pioneering work in developing an integrated training facility for chemists and chemical engineers.

2. Focus on green energy

Our Chemical Engineering degree - ranked 13th in the UK in the Guardian University Guide 2025 - has a strong focus on the advanced technologies and processes which are helping to solve global issues related to climate change. You'll learn about the latest techniques for energy efficiency and storage, treating emissions, wastewater processing, and renewable energy sources such as biomass, wind and solar – as well as traditional chemical engineering topics. 

3. Award-winning maths support

Maths skills are crucial to studying chemical engineering at degree level, and at Surrey we help to bridge the gap between school and University. Before you even arrive at the University you’ll be given learning resources and a diagnostic quiz that will help you identify any topic areas you need to work on.

As a first year student you can attend maths ‘bootcamps’ alongside your modules where you’ll apply mathematical concepts to solve real-world problems, as well as making use of our Maths and Statistics Advice (MASA) service.

Our academics have won university best teacher awards, and developed innovative education tools including card games to aid your learning.

4. Teaching inspired by research

You’ll learn about cutting edge topics in chemical and process engineering – such as thermodynamics, energy and industrial systems, and corporate sustainability – from academics who are at the forefront of global research in these fields. You’ll work alongside one of these academics during your Design project in Year 3 and – if you’re studying on the MEng course – you’ll get the chance to explore a research topic that fascinates you during both your Research Project and your Multi-Disciplinary Design Project (MDDP) in your final year.

Students' recent research projects include:

• Machine learning methods for process fault diagnosis
• The role of biogas in the UK energy market
• Modelling drug diffusion in the human eye to improve the design of glaucoma implants
• The electrochemical reforming of plastic waste towards H2 using exsolution
• A chemical engineering based Escape Room

Designed in partnership with the Royal Society of Engineering, our MDDP module is unique to Surrey, and recent projects include:

• Hydrogen-fuelled large aircraft
• Designing a lunar base and UK spaceport
• Retro-fitting cars for renewable energy
• 11.7T mobile MRI scanner on wheels
• Hosting a green Olympic Games

5. Fantastic work placement opportunities

Our renowned Professional Training placement programme enables you to gain a year’s valuable work experience with a company like:

• Pfizer
• Air Products
• BAE Systems
• JP Morgan
• EDF Energy
• Magma Global
• GE
• SciTech
• Crondall Energy Consultants.

Read about student Imogen Slinn’s placement experience at EDF Energy.

Discover our courses in chemical and process engineering.