Chemistry vs. Chemical Engineering vs. Materials Science/Engineering

Note: I’m new to College Confidential, so this might be in the wrong subtopic.

I live in California, and I’m most likely going to go to college/university in California. I’m mainly interested in Chemistry and Math, and I’ve picked out my top few majors, but I’ve been confused as to which route to go. I’m preferring the UC system currently… I’m not an amazing ultra-study type person in school (UCLA, Cal are probably out of the picture), so I was thinking UCSB, UC Davis, UCI, maybe UCSD. I’m focusing more on SB and Davis at the moment

I’d think that Materials Science involves math more heavily than other Chemistry-related professions. I’ve taken a look at UCSB’s Chemical Engineering program, and the research they conduct seems pretty awesome. I’ve also heard that it’s a bit more well-known and in-depth than Davis’s. I am a beginner at college research, so any comparisons of these are greatly appreciated.

What’s the main difference between ChE and Chem? Based on some perfunctory research, ChE seems like it’d include more math and physics, while still being chem-based, which I would love (I also heard that it has a wider job market) :slight_smile: Materials Science seems a little more removed from chemistry, but I might be wrong about that.

Finally, my school offers Organic chem (nomeclature, stereochem, spectroscopy, reactions, mechanisms), and I took it, and enjoyed it. Did half-decent grade-wise. So, I’d also definitely consider a biology-leaning path too. Thank you all for any replies.

Chemical engineering is more math and physics (thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, heat and mass transfer, etc.) than it is chemistry. You’d still likely take quite a few chem classes, especially early on, but chem usually isn’t the focus of the main classes of the major.

Chemical engineering also usually has better job and career prospects than chemistry.