General Education Courses

In addition to these technical courses, a proper number of general education, humanities, and social science courses is absolutely essential to complete the education of a chemical engineer. Two of these courses play almost as important a role in an individual’s career as any of the technical courses: economics and communication.

A course in economics is essential for the engineer to understand the ultimate driving force for most, if not all, professional activities he/she will be involved in. Economic considerations play a major role in evaluation of alternative technologies and processes and often dictate the ultimate choice. The course provides an engineer with not only an understanding of the interplay of economics and technology but also a perspective about the role of a chemical engineer in a societal context.

Competence in reaction engineering, thermodynamics, transport phenomena, and separations is viewed as an essential qualification by the industry. However, an ability to communicate is an equally important skill that an employer looks for in a prospective employee [14]. Chemical engineers need to interact and communicate with a broad range of people having varying levels of technical knowledge. They need to communicate with chemical and other engineers, technical managers and administrators, sales/marketing and finance personnel, and plant operators and technicians, among others. The chemical engineer should be able to convey his/her ideas clearly and succinctly to all these people. A chemical engineer will quickly discover that technically sound, logical ideas that benefit the process need to be articulated properly even in a peer group of chemical engineers for them to accept it. A course that helps develop written and oral communication skills is a must for a budding chemical engineer.

Economics and communication are probably the two most important general education courses, but the value of the other general education courses cannot be underestimated. The humanities and social science courses in disciplines such as philosophy, history, sociology, and so on are absolutely essential for the holistic education of an individual. These courses provide a moral and ethical framework for one’s thoughts and actions, present the context for the development of societies, and promote an understanding and appreciation of the diversity of viewpoints, and they provide many other such benefits that can only lead to a better chemical engineer.