<p>Hi, everyone, I'm a sophomore at Emory University, a liberal arts university in Atlanta, GA. I came to the college intending to be a pre-med student, but I realized that, after two years of internship at different hospitals and different branches of medicine, I was more in love with the study of the science behind it rather than the study of medicine. Although Emory and Georgia Tech offer a dual degree enrollment for pre-engineering students, I am not qualified for that program because I took the algebra version of a set of physics classes and cannot take the calculus version because I have taken the algebra version.
I have been researching for almost two weeks now about getting a master's degree in chemical engineering as a BS graduate in chemistry. Is this even possible at all, since there are some core engineering classes that I'd miss? I know I can take some of these over the summer, but there's no way I'd be able to take all of them in only four summers or fewer!
Please let me know of your experience and knowledge!</p>
<p>You need to go talk to an adviser asap.</p>
<p>I have been talking to the program adviser, and apparently they changed advisers twice already. I’ve tried talking to all three of them, and they kept referring me to another person… So that’s not very helpful.</p>
<p>Well the first step is to take the Calculus that is required for a typical Chemical Engineering program, that is through Differential Equations. The next thing is to take extra Physical Chemistry courses as your electives. It will be hard to cover those specific courses that you would get in a Chemical Engineering program but by doing this, you might be able to avoid many remedial courses.</p>
<p>OP, I’m not sure if you’re more interested in Chem vs. ChemE since you say you wanted to study “pure science”. </p>
<p>What kind of science do you want to study? Do you want more of a research job or an “engineering” job? Are you looking to go to a PhD. (which is essentially a must if you want to go into deep science research) </p>
<p>If you truly want to do ChemE I’d try to move out of a BS Chem program asap. There’s no use in completing a Chem program if you want to do ChemE. </p>
<p>Truly at this stage you’ll have to do a comparison of what the requirements are for ChemE and Chem and see what you have finished and what you still need to take. Can you take any pre-req ChemE courses at Emory this year and apply for the GT program next year? </p>
<p>That’s good advice from Xraymancs. You will most definitely need Calculus through Differential Equations to qualify for a degree in Chemical Engineering. Summer school is a good idea, as numerous schools (including community colleges) offer Calculus I&II during their summer sessions. Chemistry BS to Chemical Engineering MS is certainly not an uncommon academic plan. Other folks have earned their MS this way. You might also want to enroll in a programming class (for example, C++, Matlab, Excel VBA) and Linear Algebra while you’re an undergraduate. I also recommend that you reach out to ChE professors to get their advice. Lake Jr.'s experience was that college professors where very eager to offer good advice when he was a high schooler seeking information about engineering universities.</p>
<p>In summary, there is no way around the fact that some “remedial” classes will be mandatory for enrollment in the M.S. program. But it’s not an insurmountable task and your target graduate school may be very willing to minimize some requirements for you. </p>
<p>@xraymancs : I am planning to take all of those math classes and P-chem already.
@sciencenerd : I want to do an engineering job. Transferring to GT means I lose a whole year of credits because I would have passed the transfer credit limit. Emory does not offer any ChemE courses.
@LakeWashington : I am planning on taking computer sciences starting next semester. They’re harder to get into in the fall because they prioritize CS majors first. I’ve been emailing one of the admissions staff members at the GT School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering.</p>