Typical offers require
A Level: A*A*A
IB: 40-42 points, with 776 at Higher Level
For other qualifications, see our main Entrance requirements pages.
Course requirements
Engineering route
Required by all Colleges: A Level/IB Higher Level Mathematics*, Chemistry and Physics
Required by some Colleges: STEP
Natural Sciences route
Required by all Colleges: A Level/IB Higher Level Chemistry and Mathematics*
Required by some Colleges: A Level/IB Higher Level Physics; A Level Further Mathematics
See
Chemical Engineering: Subject Requirements and Typical Offer by College for College-specific requirements/preferences. All undergraduate admissions decisions are the responsibility of the Cambridge Colleges. Please contact the relevant College admissions office if you have any queries about College-specific requirements.
See also Entrance requirements and
The Subject Matters for additional advice about general requirements for entry, qualifications and offers.
* IB applicants starting the new IB Mathematics syllabus are expected to take IB Higher Level 'Analysis and Approaches' for any course where Mathematics is a requirement. If this option is not available at your school, please contact the College that you wish to apply to directly for further advice and guidance.
Admission assessment
For 2021 entry, applicants for Chemical Engineering are required to take a pre-interview written assessment on 5 November 2020, at an authorised centre local to them (for a lot of applicants, this will be their school/college). You need to be registered by 15 October 2020 to take the assessment, and your assessment centre must do this for you. See admission assessments for details.
Assessment format
Applicants to Chemical Engineering will sit the assessment in their chosen route (Natural Sciences or Engineering).
Chemical Engineering via Engineering
- Section 1: Mathematics and Physics multiple-choice questions. (60 minutes, no calculator)
- Section 2: Advanced Physics multiple-choice questions. (60 minutes, no calculator)
Chemical Engineering via Natural Sciences
- Section 1: Multiple choice questions in mathematics plus one science (Biology, Chemistry or Physics) (60 minutes)
- Section 2: Extended multiple choice questions in Biology, Chemistry or Physics (60 minutes)
In addition to the pre-interview assessment, applicants to the following Colleges are required to take a College-set written assessment at interview (see individual College websites for details): King's (via Engineering), Trinity.
Mature students (aged 21 or over) applying to one of the mature Colleges are not required to take the pre-interview assessment, and will instead sit an at-interview assessment. See the written assessments page for more details.
Please note that your performance in the pre-interview assessment will not be considered in isolation, but will be taken into account alongside the other elements of your application.
Submitted work
Please refer to the submitted work information for Engineering and/or Natural Sciences (Physical).
Applicants to some Colleges will have separate interviews for Chemical Engineering and for their Year 1 course. See individual College websites for further details.
For further information about studying Chemical Engineering at the University of Cambridge see the Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology website.