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Undergraduate Study

 

The Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology course at Cambridge looks at the challenge of how processes can make products in a sustainable way.

Chemical Engineers make chemical products from raw materials. Biotechnologists use living systems and organisms to make products. On the course, you'll learn the scientific principles used by both.
 

 

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Overview
Number 2 in the UK for Chemical Engineering (The Complete University Guide 2025)

Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology at Cambridge

The skills you'll learn are essential to the development of processes and products that are needed to address some of the problems facing humanity. These include:

  • the need for sustainable food and water supplies as climate change occurs
  • the provision of improved global healthcare solutions and therapeutics
  • the energy transition away from fossil fuels

As well as learning scientific theory, you'll work on projects that teach you about the practical side of process and product design.

We aim to produce graduates who meet the needs of today's process and biotech industries. To do this, we provide you with:

  • a thorough understanding of the subject
  • technical competence
  • transferable skills

You can graduate after 3 years with a BA degree, but most students stay on for the fourth year which leads to the BA and MEng degrees.

Teaching and facilities

Teaching

We have a reputation for excellence in teaching and research. The Department regularly tops national league tables. We also benefit from strong links with industry.

Facilities

Our purpose-built department building has the highest quality teaching and research facilities.

These include:

  • laboratory space for practicals and research projects
  • a Makerspace area with 3D printers and other mechanical and electronic workshop equipment
  • a computer suite
  • lecture theatres and classrooms
  • a central social space for relaxing and networking

You'll be able to access library resources for Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology. These are at the West Hub, near to the department.

You'll also have access to:

  • our impressive Cambridge University Library, one of the world’s oldest university libraries

Course costs

When you go to university, you’ll need to consider two main costs – your tuition fees and your living costs (sometimes referred to as maintenance costs).

Your living costs will include costs related to your studies that are not covered by your tuition fees. There are some general study costs that will apply for all students.

Find out more about general study costs.

Other additional costs for Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology are detailed below. If you have any queries about resources/materials, please contact the Department.

Equipment

  • University approved scientific calculator. Estimated cost £20.
  • Lab coat. Estimated cost £15.
  • Safety glasses. Estimated cost £5.

Becoming an accredited Chartered Engineer

The 4-year course is accredited by the Institution of Chemical Engineers.

This means that you can apply for Chartered Engineer status after you've graduated and have 4 years of relevant experience. You won't need to take any further exams.

Progression to the fourth year and accreditation are dependent on satisfactory performance in core components.

Your future career

There are many well-paid career opportunities within chemical engineering and biotechnology.

Some of our graduates go on to postgraduate study before entering employment.

Graduates may go on to work as:

  • engineers in the process industries
  • research scientists
  • technical managers

The skills you learn on the course will also prepare you for careers outside of the subject. For example, previous graduates have gone into careers in finance and management consultancy.

Course outline

Teaching

You will mostly be taught through lectures. These lectures are supported by projects, laboratory classes, supervisions and coursework.

In a typical week students attend 10 lectures and have 2 or 3 supervisions.

In the first 2 years of the course, you will do a significant amount of laboratory work. The amount of project work increases each year.

Assessment

You'll be assessed by a combination of written examinations and coursework.

You won't usually be able to resit any of your exams.

Year 1 (Part IA)

You will study:

  • Fundamental scientific topics such as cell biology, materials science and engineering principles
  • Introductory chemical engineering and biotechnology principles. For example, sustainability, process calculations, fluid mechanics, and chemical and biochemical product design
  • Chemistry from Part IA of Natural Sciences
  • Mathematics from Part IA of Natural Sciences

You will also:

  • complete an engineering design and manufacturing workshop
  • do the chemistry practical laboratory class from Part IA of Natural Sciences
  • undertake classes in computing skills, including process simulation
  • attend workshops on professional and transferable skills

Year 2 (Part IB)

In the second year, you will study:

  • fundamental principles like biotechnology, process thermodynamics, fluid mechanics and heat and mass transfer
  • introductory applications. For example, reaction engineering, separations and solids processing
  • supporting topics like engineering mathematics, data analysis, and safety principles

You will also take:

  • laboratory classes in chemical engineering and biotechnology
  • assessed projects throughout the year
  • classes in computing skills, including process simulation
  • an engineering design and manufacturing project
  • professional and transferrable skills workshops

Year 3 (Part II)

In the first term, you will study further applications. These include:

  • advanced biotechnology
  • equilibrium thermodynamics
  • reaction engineering
  • separation technology
  • process dynamics and control

In the second and third terms, you study process design and undertake a design project.

You will work in a team to design a plant making a particular chemical or biological product.

As part of the project, you will consider all aspects of engineering design, including:

  • specification of equipment
  • control procedures
  • safety and environmental impact
  • economic assessment

If you successfully complete the third year, you’ll get a BA degree.

Year 4 (Part III)

Progression to fourth year depends on satisfactory performance in your previous exams.

If you successfully complete the fourth year, you’ll get the MEng qualification, as well as the BA degree.

You will study some compulsory topics. Currently, these are:

  • energy technology
  • sustainability
  • advanced design

You will also develop your research skills and undertake a research project. This might involve experimental, theoretical and/or computational work.

Some projects support ongoing Department research. But others are ‘blue sky’ investigations leading to new research programmes.

You also choose further topics from a list of optional papers. The options change every year to reflect the research interests of academic staff.

Past examples include:

  • pharmaceutical engineering
  • adsorption and nanoporous materials
  • computational fluid dynamics
  • interface engineering
  • optical microscopy
  • biophysics
  • bionanotechnology
  • biosensors and bioelectronics
  • rheology and complex fluids

For further information, see the Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology website.

Changing course

It’s really important to think carefully about which course you want to study before you apply. 

In rare cases, it may be possible to change course once you’ve joined the University. You will usually have to get agreement from your College and the relevant departments. It’s not guaranteed that your course change will be approved.

You might also have to:

  • take part in an interview
  • complete an admissions test
  • produce some written work
  • achieve a particular grade in your current studies
  • do some catch-up work
  • start your new course from the beginning 

For more information visit the Department website.

You can also apply to change to:

You can't apply to these courses until you're at Cambridge. You would usually apply when you have completed 1 year or more of your original Cambridge course.

You should contact your College’s Admissions Office if you’re thinking of changing your course. They will be able to give you advice and explain how changing courses works.

Entry requirements
The listed entry requirements relate to entry in 2026 or deferred entry in 2027. They are currently draft entry requirements and will be confirmed in June 2025. 

Minimum offer level

A level: A*A*A
IB: 41-42 points, with 776 at Higher Level
Other qualifications: Check which other qualifications we accept.

To apply to any of our Colleges for Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, you will need A levels/IB Higher Levels (or the equivalent) in: 

  • Mathematics 
  • Chemistry 
  • a third science/mathematics subject (Biology, Physics or Further Mathematics)

If you’re studying a science that’s not listed as your third subject, please contact the College you wish to apply to for advice.

If you’re studying IB Higher Level Mathematics, we ask for Analysis and Approaches for this course. If this isn’t an option at your school, contact the College you wish to apply to for advice. 

College entry requirements

The following Colleges usually set offers at the minimum offer level. They may sometimes ask for higher grades or an A* in a particular subject:

  • Christ’s
  • Clare
  • Downing
  • Fitzwilliam
  • Jesus
  • King’s
  • Newnham
  • Peterhouse
  • Robinson
  • St Catharine’s
  • St Edmund's
  • St John's
  • Trinity
  • Trinity Hall
  • Wolfson

The following Colleges specify which subjects an A* needs to be achieved in for most or all offers. Generally, this is one or two from Chemistry, Mathematics, or Further Mathematics. They may occasionally set more challenging offers. For more information check the College websites:

Colleges set additional offer requirements for a range of reasons. If you'd like to find out more about why we do this, check the information about offers above the minimum requirement on the entry requirements page.

IB offers

Some Colleges usually make offers above the minimum offer level. Find out more on our qualifications page.

Admission assessment

All applicants for Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology are required to take the Engineering and Science Admissions Test (ESAT) at an authorised assessment centre. You must register in advance for this test.

Please see the admissions test page for more information.

Submitted work

You won't usually be asked to submit examples of written work. You may be asked to do some reading prior to your interview, but if this is required the College will provide full details in your interview invitation.

What Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology students have studied

Most Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology students (who had studied A levels and started at Cambridge in 2018, 2019 and 2023) achieved at least A*A*A* (80% of entrants).

All had studied:

  • Chemistry
  • Mathematics

Most also took Further Mathematics (78%) and/or Physics (86%).

The majority of students who studied IB achieved at least 43 points overall, half achieved at least 44 points overall.

Check our guidance on choosing high school subjects. You should also check if there are any required subjects for your course when you apply.

All undergraduate admissions decisions are the responsibility of the Cambridge Colleges. Please contact the relevant College admissions office if you have any queries.

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Contextual information

Discover Uni allows you to compare information about individual courses at different higher education institutions.  This can be a useful method of considering your options and what course may suit you best.

However, please note that superficially similar courses often have very different structures and objectives, and that the teaching, support and learning environment that best suits you can only be determined by identifying your own interests, needs, expectations and goals, and comparing them with detailed institution- and course-specific information.

We recommend that you look thoroughly at the course and University information contained on these webpages and consider coming to visit us on an Open Day, rather than relying solely on statistical comparison.

You may find the following notes helpful when considering information presented by Discover Uni.

  1. Discover Uni relies on superficially similar courses being coded in the same way. Whilst this works on one level, it may lead to some anomalies. For example, Music courses and Music Technology courses can have exactly the same code despite being very different programmes with quite distinct educational and career outcomes.

    Any course which combines several disciplines (as many courses at Cambridge do) tends to be compared nationally with courses in just one of those disciplines, and in such cases the Discover Uni comparison may not be an accurate or fair reflection of the reality of either. For example, you may find that when considering a degree which embraces a range of disciplines such as biology, physics, chemistry and geology (for instance, Natural Sciences at Cambridge), the comparison provided is with courses at other institutions that primarily focus on just one (or a smaller combination) of those subjects.You may therefore find that not all elements of the Cambridge degree are represented in the Discover Uni data.

  2. Some contextual data linked from other surveys, such as the National Student Survey (NSS) or the Destination of Leavers in Higher Education (DLHE), may not be available or may be aggregated across several courses or several years due to small sample sizes.  When using the data to inform your course choice, it is important to ensure you understand how it has been processed prior to its presentation. Discover Uni offers some explanatory information about how the contextual data is collated, and how it may be used, which you can view here: https://discoveruni.gov.uk/about-our-data/.

  3. Discover Uni draws on national data to provide average salaries and employment/continuation data.  Whilst starting salaries can be a useful measure, they do not give any sense of career trajectory or take account of the voluntary/low paid work that many graduates undertake initially in order to gain valuable experience necessary/advantageous for later career progression. Discover Uni is currently piloting use of the Longitudinal Education Outcomes (LEO) data to demonstrate possible career progression; it is important to note that this is experimental and its use may be modified as it embeds.

The above list is not exhaustive and there may be other important factors that are relevant to the choices that you are making, but we hope that this will be a useful starting point to help you delve deeper than the face value of the Discover Uni data.

Key information

Minimum offer level 
A level: A*A*A
IB: 41-42 points, with 776 at Higher Level
UCAS code 
H810
Course length 
BA (Hons) 3 years full-time, or MEng 4 years full-time
Start date 
October 2026
Study at 

All Colleges except Corpus Christi

Applicant numbers 
2024 cycle:
Applications per place: 6
Accepted: 66
Contact email 
admissions@ceb.cam.ac.uk
Contact telephone 
01223 748999