Areas of study & research: Biomedical & Biomolecular Complex Fluids Enviromental Materials Microelectronics Microfluidics Modeling & Simulations Nanotechnology Process Systems Reaction Engineering Thermodynamics

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Accreditation

ABET (the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology, Inc.) has changed their criteria for accreditation of undergraduate engineering programs, to emphasize a self-defined set of student outcomes and learning objectives. Our department is taking advantage of this opportunity to define a vision for its graduates and implement a curricular plan to meet it. Our Mission, Objectives, and Outcomes are described below.

TAMU Chemical Engineering Program Educational Objectives

The missions of Texas A&M University, the College of Engineering, and the Chemical Engineering Department are rooted in excellence and leadership in education, research, and service to Texas and the nation.

Our Mission

University
Texas A&M University is dedicated to the discovery, development, communication and application of knowledge in a wide range of academic and professional fields. Its mission of providing the highest quality undergraduate and graduate programs is inseparable from its mission of developing new understandings through research and creativity. It prepares students to assume roles in leadership, responsibility and service to society. Texas A&M assumes as its historic trust the maintenance of freedom of inquiry and an intellectual environment nurturing the human mind and spirit. It welcomes and seeks to serve persons of all racial, ethnic and geographic groups, women and men alike, as it addresses the needs of an increasingly diverse population and a global economy. In the twenty-first century Texas A&M University seeks to assume a place of preeminence among public universities while respecting its history and traditions.

College
The mission of the Dwight Look College of Engineering is:

To serve the state, nation and global community by providing engineering graduates who are well founded in engineering fundamentals, instilled with the highest standards of professional and ethical behavior, and are prepared to meet the complex technical challenges of society. To achieve this mission the college is committed to:

• ensuring an academic environment conducive to our faculties achieving the highest levels of academic and research excellence;

• encouraging excellence, innovation and cross-disciplinary initiatives in education and research;

• providing national and international leadership in undergraduate and graduate engineering education;

• becoming the engineering college of choice for the increasingly diverse citizenry of the state; and

• encouraging and supporting opportunities for our students to grow beyond their chosen disciplines by participation in ethics, leadership programs, study-abroad programs, and research.

Department
The mission of the Department of Chemical Engineering at Texas A&M is: to educate and prepare students for leadership roles in industry, government, and academia; to attract top students to chemical engineering; to define and develop new directions in chemical engineering fundamentals and practices, and in chemical engineering education and curricula; to be a valuable resource and service base to the State and to industry; and to provide leadership in solving problems of social and economic importance.

Constituencies

The department recognizes that the following groups have a stake in its success:

• Students

• Faculty

• Alumni

• Employers of graduates and co-op/intern students

• Corporate and private sponsors

Program Educational Objectives

We have defined four program objectives that we believe, if achieved, will lead to accomplishment of our mission. The objectives are built upon quality and depth within our discipline, breadth in engineering and non-engineering skills, communications skills, and an attitude of professionalism and ethics. These four objectives of our chemical engineering program are:

1. Our graduates will demonstrate the foundation and depth for successful chemical engineering careers in industry, academia, or government,

2. Our graduates will demonstrate the foundation and breadth to obtain, apply, and transfer knowledge across disciplines and into emerging areas of chemical engineering and related fields,

3. Our graduates will demonstrate effective communications, leadership and teaming skills, and

4. Our graduates will demonstrate that they have a sense of responsibility, are ethical in the conduct of their profession, and have an appreciation for the impact of their profession on society.

Program (Desired) Outcomes

As described above, our program desired outcomes are defined in terms of their support for our four program objectives. (We distinguish between desired outcomes and measured outcomes, the latter more simply denoted as “outcomes.”) We have defined 16 desired outcomes that support the program objectives in the following way:

Objective 1: Our graduates will demonstrate the foundation and depth for successful chemical engineering careers in industry, academia, or government,

1. Our graduates will have a foundation in math, chemistry, and the physical sciences.
2. Our graduates will have a proficiency in core chemical engineering science: the conservation laws, thermodynamics, transport processes, and kinetics.
3. Our graduates will have aptitude in the application of chemical engineering principles to design and the practice of the profession.
4. Our graduates will be able to use current technology, including computational tools.
5. Our graduates will be able to design and conduct experiments to examine engineering problems.

Objective 2: Our graduates will demonstrate the foundation and breadth to obtain, apply, and transfer knowledge across disciplines and into emerging areas of chemical engineering and related fields,

6. Our graduates will have a knowledge of technical areas in emerging areas of chemical engineering and outside of chemical engineering.
7. Our graduates will be able to solve real, open-ended problems, including being able to translate the physical situation (in chemical engineering or other areas) into engineering principles and mathematics, such that a solution is obtained.
8. Our graduates will be able to apply creativity in problem solving and design.
9. Our graduates will be able to work in environments that require interaction with people from different backgrounds.
10. Our graduates will have an elementary knowledge of business principles such that students understand the economic impact of engineering decisions.

Objective 3: Our graduates will demonstrate effective communications, leadership and teaming skills,

11. Our graduates will be skilled in written and oral communications.
12. Our graduates will be skilled in teaming, including leading, time management, and professionalism.

Objective 4: Our graduates will demonstrate that they have a sense of responsibility, are ethical in the conduct of their profession, and have an appreciation for the impact of their profession on society.

13. Our graduates will be participants in professional societies.
14. Our graduates will understand the impact of engineering decisions on society, including safety, the environment, and ethics.
15. Our graduates will value and participate in lifelong learning.
16. Our graduates will value a broad, diverse, and liberal arts education.

Each objective is supported by a number of specific desired program outcomes. In the same sense that our mission is supported by the program objectives, the objectives are supported by the desired outcomes. We believe that if the outcomes are achieved, then we will be successful in achieving the objectives and in turn in accomplishing the mission. If we find that we are not achieving the objectives, then either we are not accomplishing the desired outcomes, or the assumption that they adequately support the objectives will need to be revisited.

The nearby figure depicts this pyramid of support of the desired outcomes for the program objectives that in turn support the mission. Underlying the objectives are all of the elements of our undergraduate program that are required to achieve the desired outcomes. These elements include: student quality, advising, and activities; curriculum and courses; faculty quality and diversity of expertise and experience; instruction; and facilities and support.