The Chemical Engineering Program (B.S.) is accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET, under the commission’s General Criteria and Program Criteria for Chemical, Biochemical, Biomolecular, and Similarly Named Engineering Programs.
Every course required for the major (except CENG-004 and CENG-199) must be taken for a letter grade, including all CENG and technical elective courses. This also includes all MATH, BILD, CHEM, and PHYS courses. All major requirements must have a grade of C- or higher.
All CENG core courses are taught only once per year and are scheduled to be consistent with the curriculum shown below. CENG courses must be taken in the order they are listed on the curriculum plan in order to ensure all required prerequisites are fulfilled prior to booking.
The courses listed here other than CENG are under the control of other departments. They may not be offered in the quarter shown here. Each student is responsible for determining the prerequisites, when the courses are to be offered and making a schedule of taking the courses that fits into his or her own graduation plan.
Tentative NENG and CENG course offerings for 2026-2027 can be found here.
To view the current and past catalog information, please click here.
Taking additional courses beyond twelve quarters (students entering in fall 2019 or thereafter): A student who books as a first-year student is allowed to book for twelve quarters to complete all requirements for a bachelor's degree. If a student reaches the twelve-quarter limit and needs more time beyond twelve quarters to complete those requirements, they will be required to submit an academic plan and have it approved by their college prior to booking for additional quarters to continue work towards the degree. (Summer session, as well as quarters during which students are approved for part-time status or have withdrawn from all courses, will not count toward the allowable number of quarters.) More information can be found in the UC San Diego Catalog.
Curriculum for Incoming Students (FA 26 and onwards)
All courses are 4-units unless stated below
| FRESHMEN YEAR | ||
|---|---|---|
| FALL | WINTER | SPRING |
| CENG-004 (1-unit)1 | CHEM-006B | CHEM-006C |
| CHEM-006A | MATH-020B | CHEM-007L |
| MATH-020A | PHYS-002A | MATH-020C |
| G.E.2 | G.E. | PHYS-002B |
| SOPHOMORE YEAR | ||
| FALL | WINTER | SPRING |
| CENG-0153 | CENG-102 | CENG-113 |
| CENG-100 | MATH-020D | MATH-020E |
| MATH-018 | PHYS-002C+ 002CL | G.E. |
| G.E. | G.E. | G.E. |
| JUNIOR YEAR | ||
| FALL | WINTER | SPRING |
| CENG-101A | CENG-101B | CENG-101C |
| CENG-170 | CENG-114 | A.S./T.E. (1)5 |
| Adv. Chem. (1)4 | Adv Chem (2) | Adv Chem (3) |
| G.E. | G.E. | G.E |
| SENIOR YEAR | ||
| FALL | WINTER | SPRING |
| CENG-120 | CENG-124A | CENG-124B |
| CENG-122 | CENG-176A | CENG-176B |
| A.S./T.E. (2) | A.S./T.E. (3) | G.E. |
| G.E. | G.E. | G.E. |
1CENG-004: This course should be taken in the first Fall Quarter at UC San Diego. Students will not graduate without taking CENG-004.
2General Education (G.E.) Requirements: The 48 units shown are for Warren College students as an example to fulfill the general education requirements. Students in other colleges need to adjust the plan to match their own college requirements. To meet program requirements, students must have up to twenty-four units in the arts, humanities, and social sciences, not including subjects such as accounting, industrial management, finance, and personnel administration.
3CENG-015: This course will be offered in the Fall Quarter and may be offered in the Winter. If you cannot register for CENG-015 in the Fall, you may book in CENG-015 in Winter if it is being offered.
4Advanced Chemistry Requirements: Three advanced chemistry electives must be selected from among the pre-approved list: CHEM-041A, 041B, 041C, 043A, 114A (or BIBC-100), 114B (or BIBC-102), 120A, 120B, 130, 131, or 132. (Note: Students may not receive credit for both BIBC-100 and CHEM-114A, or BIBC-102 and CHEM-114B).
5Area of Specialization (AS)/ Technical Electives (TE): The three required technical electives must be upper-division or graduate courses in engineering, based on the pre-approved courses. Otherwise, the selections must receive prior approval of the department. Pre-approved courses are listed here. If students wish to follow an area of specialization, they must take all 3 electives from the same category. An area of specialization will not be noted on students' degree audits.
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Curriculum for Incoming Students prior to FA 26
All courses are 4-units unless stated below
| FRESHMEN YEAR | ||
|---|---|---|
| FALL | WINTER | SPRING |
| CENG-004 (1-unit)1 | CHEM-006B | CHEM-006C |
| CENG-0152 | MATH-020B | CHEM-007L |
| CHEM-006A | PHYS-002A | MATH-020C |
| MATH-020A | G.E.³ | PHYS-002B |
| SOPHOMORE YEAR | ||
| FALL | WINTER | SPRING |
| CENG-100 | CENG-102 | CENG-113 |
| MATH-018 | MATH-020D | MATH-020E |
| PHYS-002C + 002CL (2-units) | Adv. Chem. (1)4 | Adv. Chem. (2) |
| G.E. | G.E. | G.E. |
| JUNIOR YEAR | ||
| FALL | WINTER | SPRING |
| CENG-101A | CENG-101B | CENG-101C |
| CENG-170 | CENG-114 | A.S./T.E. (1)5 |
| Adv. Chem. (3) | G.E. | G.E. |
| G.E. | G.E. | G.E |
| SENIOR YEAR | ||
| FALL | WINTER | SPRING |
| CENG-120 | CENG-124A | CENG-124B |
| CENG-122 | CENG-176A | CENG-176B |
| A.S./T.E. (2) | A.S./T.E. (3) | G.E. |
| G.E. | G.E. | G.E. |
1CENG-004: This course should be taken in the first Fall Quarter at UC San Diego. Students will not graduate without taking CENG-004.
2CENG-015: This course will be offered in the Fall Quarter and may be offered in the Winter. If you cannot register for CENG-015 in the Fall, you may book in CENG-015 in Winter, or MAE 8 in Winter or Spring Quarter, if it is being offered.
3General Education (G.E.) Requirements: The 48 units shown are for Warren College students as an example to fulfill the general education requirements. Students in other colleges need to adjust the plan to match their own college requirements. To meet program requirements, students must have up to twenty-four units in the arts, humanities, and social sciences, not including subjects such as accounting, industrial management, finance, and personnel administration.
4Advanced Chemistry Requirements: Three advanced chemistry electives must be selected from among the pre-approved list: CHEM-041A, 041B, 041C, 043A, 114A (or BIBC-100), 114B (or BIBC-102), 120A, 120B, 130, 131, or 132. (Note: Students may not receive credit for both BIBC-100 and CHEM-114A, or BIBC-102 and CHEM-114B).
5Area of Specialization (AS)/ Technical Electives (TE): The three required technical electives must be upper-division or graduate courses in engineering, based on the pre-approved courses. Otherwise, the selections must receive prior approval of the department. Pre-approved courses are listed here. If students wish to follow an area of specialization, they must take all 3 electives from the same category. An area of specialization will not be noted on students' degree audits.