Apart from the essential courses, a chemical engineering student will typically have anywhere from three to five technical courses in chemical engineering and related areas as electives. The course offerings vary among institutions depending on the faculty expertise and interests. Materials related courses, such as courses in corrosion, polymer engineering, and ceramic materials, are common if the chemical engineering program is closely aligned with material science and engineering. Several chemical engineering departments have expertise in bio-related areas, and biochemical engineering, bioenergy, and biomedical courses are the available electives. Students may also take as electives relevant courses in environmental engineering, petroleum engineering, semiconductors, and nuclear engineering.
Engineering activities related to the biological or life-sciences area have grown exponentially in recent times, as was seen from the graph of engineering graduates in . A large number of chemical engineering departments have responded to this trend by incorporating relevant courses in their programs. Many curricula mandate a bioengineering course offered within the department or a biology, microbiology, molecular biology, or biochemistry course from other departments and programs, while several others strongly suggest such a course. This trend is reflected both in the names of many chemical engineering departments across the United States, which are now called chemical and biochemical engineering departments (or a variation thereof), and in the emphasis on life-science aspects of chemical engineering in the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) definition stated in
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