Top chemical engineering departments revealed

University rankings broken down for the first time by subject have found that IChemE-accredited departments make up four of the world’s top ten universities for studying chemical engineering.

QS World University Rankings placed the UK’s University of Cambridge, University of Oxford and Imperial College London second, fourth and eighth respectively, and the National University of Singapore tenth.

The rankings are based on evidence from citations, along with the views of academics and employers. Academic reputation is weighted higher at 40% compared with 30% for employers.

Twelve of the top 50 departments are accredited by IChemE. Five are in the UK, including the University of Manchester (ranked 18th) and University of Edinburgh (35th). Australia also has five, with the University of Melbourne (12th), the University of Queensland (29th), the University of New South Wales (30th), the University of Sydney (44th) and Monash University (47th). The remaining institution is Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands, ranked 22nd.

The majority of the remaining departments, including the rest of the top ten, are in the US, where accreditation is, instead, undertaken by ABET (the US Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology). Massachusetts Institute of Technology came top, with the University of California, Berkeley third, and Stanford University fifth.

IChemE director of qualifications Neil Atkinson says: “It is little surprise that many of the best programmes are accredited by IChemE. The very best chemical engineering programmes will likely demonstrate many common characteristics including great resources, strong problem-based teaching, open-ended projects, advanced chemical engineering content, strong industry linkages, teaching informed by research and high standards of process and laboratory safety. All of these – and much more – are captured, assessed and reviews in our accreditation process.”

IChemE qualifications vice president and head of chemical engineering at the University of Melbourne, Australia David Shallcross says: “Being ranked in the list is a real morale boost to the department – its academic staff, research higher degree students and of course, the undergraduate students...I can imagine my colleagues at other departments in Australia will be working to close the gap between us. And we’ll be working harder to get into the top ten.”

QS launched its first university rankings in 2004 and this is the first time they have been broken down by subject.