<p>I am attending University of Kansas next year for Engineering and I want to decide between these two. I know Petroleum is much more revered at KU but also I want to get input from people studying both. I like Chemistry a lot, Physics is fun too but I like Chemistry a bit more which is why I didn't go for Electrical Engineering.</p>
<p>What are pros and cons of studying each one?</p>
<p>How much do you like geology? How much do you like math?</p>
<p>I personally am attending KU right now and am pursuing a double major in both Chemical Engineering and Petroleum Engineering. I’ll be entering my Junior year in the fall. I’m not sure exactly what you’re looking for here, but both are good programs. </p>
<p>With ChemE you’ll have more students in your classes, so if youre a real social person you’ll have a chance to meet a lot of great people. I have 120 in my class in Chemical Engineering. The bonus with ChemE is that upon graduation you’ll have many more windows of opportunity in terms of the fields that you can go into. I think the one downside with PetE is that you kind of pigeonhole yourself into the Oil and Gas Industry, which is by no means a bad thing because there are a lot of companies out there. Most upperclassmen I talked to had several job offers by Xmas time and had all accepted offers from companies long before the end of the year. Also with ChemE there is going to be a few classes that I haven’t personally taken yet, but I have heard are pretty difficult. Mainly Kinetics and Reactor Design, Process Engineering Thermodynamics, and Physical Chemistry.</p>
<p>On the others side of things, in Petroleum Engineering, things are still really good. There aren’t quite as many people, I have about 35 in my class, and quite a few are from other countries. So there aren’t quite as many people to socialize with and study with, but all the people are still really nice. The Petroleum Engineering classes aren’t known as being incredibly difficult, but I think thats mainly because of the people in the classes. The topics are still abstract so if you have no interest than you won’t do well. The curriculum for ChemE and PetE are almost exactly the same through first semester Junior year so you will still have time to decide once you get here. </p>
<p>Once you get to the end of junior year and into your senior year you will have difficult classes no matter what road you go down. However, I have heard from most upperclassmen that the Chemical Engineering Design project is incredibly time consuming. It also last two semesters, whereas the PetE design is only one. I’ll be doing both though, so hopefully its not too tough.</p>
<p>Professor wise, up to this point, the PetE department teachers have been much funner. The ChemE teachers are a little more intense and some will overload you with HW, whereas the PetE teachers I have had up to now are a little goofier and down to Earth. I wouldn’t worry if I were you though, because as long as you do your work as soon as you can and don’t put it off you will have plenty of time to have fun. And there is no shortage of fun at KU.</p>