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Chemical and Petroleum Engineering with Foundation Year

Entry requirements


A level

C,C,C

Overall: CCC We do not include General Studies or Critical Thinking in our offers. Required Subjects: Mathematics grade C and Physics or Chemistry.

Access to HE Diploma

D:21,M:3,P:21

Overall: QAA recognised Access to Higher Education Diploma with 45 Level 3 credits overall including 21 at Distinction, 3 at Merit and and 21 at Pass Required Subjects: Maths and Physics or Chemistry GCSE or Equivalent: Inclusion of GCSE English and Mathematics equivalent within Access programme

GCSE/National 4/National 5

GCSE English Language at Grade C(4) and Mathematics at Grade C(4).

International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme

29

Overall: 29 Required Subjects: Maths and Physics or Chemistry GCSE or Equivalent: English, HL4/SL4 (including MYP). Maths, HL4/SL4 (including MYP). Maths Studies, SL4.

Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)

MMM

Overall: MMM, with an additional A Level Mathematics, grade C Required Subjects: Maths and Physics or Chemistry

Scottish Advanced Higher

C,C,C

Overall: CCC Required Subjects: Maths grade C and Physics or Chemistry GCSE or Equivalent: English Language: Scottish National 5 - C. Maths : Scottish National 5 - C

Scottish Higher

B,B,B,C,C

Overall: BBBCC Required Subjects: Maths and Physics or Chemistry GCSE or Equivalent: English Language: Scottish National 5 - C. Maths : Scottish National 5 - C

Overall: Pass overall with CCC from a combination of the Advanced Skills Challenge Certificate and two A-levels. Applicants taking an A-level science subject with the Science Practical Endorsement are required to pass the practical element. Required Subjects: Mathematics grade C and Physics or Chemistry

UCAS Tariff

96-123

We've calculated how many Ucas points you'll need for this course.

About this course


Course option

5years

Sandwich including foundation year | 2024

Subjects

Chemical engineering

Petroleum engineering

**Foundation courses**
A foundation year can develop your skills and make it easier to get started at university. It is an extra year of study at the start of your course that leads in to a full degree programme. It’s a great option if:

You don’t have the grades for a full degree course
You have non-traditional qualifications or experience
You’re starting university after some time away from education
You’re looking for more support during the transition into university study.

**Life as a foundation year student**
During a foundation year you’ll learn about your chosen subject, develop your study skills and get used to university life. On successful completion of your foundation year, you’ll be ready to progress to the first year of your degree course.

As a foundation year student, you’ll be a full student of the University and part of our community. You’ll have access to all our campus facilities and support.

**Why choose this course**
Our BEng and MEng courses have been developed in consultation with industry. You’ll gain the technical skills and problem-solving mindset needed to solve real-world engineering problems, preparing you for a fulfilling career in the oil and gas, petrochemical or energy industries.

On this course, you’ll get the chance to experience the complete chemical engineering process: our £1.7m chemical engineering facility includes a fully operational pilot process plant, which you’ll use during your course and operate as part of a team in your third year. You can also take part in our award-winning Professional Training placements programme, which prepares students for roles in industry.

**What you will study**
Our BEng and MEng align with current industry issues. They combine traditional chemical engineering topics with multidisciplinary design projects, specialist petrochemical modules and sustainability.

You’ll be taught by prize-winning academics and experienced former industrialists, and you’ll gain a strong base knowledge that’s relevant for a wide range of fulfilling careers in the global energy sector.

You can apply to study for either a BEng or MEng. The MEng builds on the BEng with a masters year and is a direct route to becoming a chartered engineer. Students on our MEng may take part in a multidisciplinary project working with other engineering students across the University.

Depending on your progress, you may have the option to switch from BEng to MEng during your studies. 

Modules

To see the full range of modules for this course please visit our website. The link is under course ‘contact details’. You will also find full details of the programme, including assessment methods, programme structure, contact hours and Graduate prospects.

Extra funding

The University of Surrey offers a range of scholarships and bursaries to support our students, please visit https://www.surrey.ac.uk/fees-and-funding/scholarships-and-bursaries for more details.

The Uni


Course location:

Stag Hill

Department:

FEPS - Department of Chemical and Process Engineering (CPE)

Read full university profile

What students say


We've crunched the numbers to see if overall student satisfaction here is high, medium or low compared to students studying this subject(s) at other universities.

81%
Chemical engineering
81%
Petroleum engineering

How do students rate their degree experience?

The stats below relate to the general subject area/s at this university, not this specific course. We show this where there isn’t enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

Chemical, process and energy engineering

Teaching and learning

68%
Staff make the subject interesting
72%
Staff are good at explaining things
82%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
82%
Opportunities to apply what I've learned

Assessment and feedback

Feedback on work has been timely
Feedback on work has been helpful
Staff are contactable when needed
Good advice available when making study choices

Resources and organisation

86%
Library resources
83%
IT resources
89%
Course specific equipment and facilities
75%
Course is well organised and has run smoothly

Student voice

Staff value students' opinions
Feel part of a community on my course

Who studies this subject and how do they get on?

81%
UK students
19%
International students
72%
Male students
28%
Female students
80%
2:1 or above
8%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

B
B
C

After graduation


The stats in this section relate to the general subject area/s at this university – not this specific course. We show this where there isn't enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

Chemical, process and energy engineering

What are graduates doing after six months?

This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.

£27,000
med
Average annual salary
84%
low
Employed or in further education
87%
med
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

45%
Engineering professionals
6%
Business, research and administrative professionals
6%
Science, engineering and production technicians

Want to make good money from the word go? This is the degree for you! The UK has had a shortage of chemical engineers for a while now so starting salaries are very good. In fact, across the UK, only doctors and dentists bettered the average starting salary for chemical engineering graduates, with an average starting salary of around £28,000. Key sectors for chemical engineers last year included the petrochemicals, food, nuclear, pharmaceuticals, materials and consultancy industries. Their skills set also means that the finance industry likes graduates from these degrees, so there are options if you don't fancy engineering as a career. Most graduates take a longer course that leads to an MEng — which is what you need to take if you want to be a Chartered Engineer. Chemical engineers are also more likely than other engineers to take doctorates and go into research roles, so if you want to take an engineering subject but fancy a research job, this might be a good subject to take.

What about your long term prospects?

Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.

Chemical, process and energy engineering

The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.

£27k

£27k

£34k

£34k

£39k

£39k

Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.

Explore these similar courses...

Lower entry requirements
Sheffield Hallam University | Sheffield
Chemical Engineering with Foundation Year
BEng (Hon) 4 Years Sandwich including foundation year 2024
UCAS Points: 80
Nearby University
Brunel University London | Uxbridge
Chemical Engineering with Placement
BEng (Hon) 4 Years Sandwich including foundation year 2024
UCAS Points: 128-152
Higher entry requirements
University of Surrey | Guildford
Chemical and Petroleum Engineering
BEng (Hon) 3 Years Sandwich including foundation year 2024
UCAS Points: 120-144
Same University
University of Surrey | Guildford
Chemical and Petroleum Engineering
BEng (Hon) 4 Years Sandwich including foundation year 2024
UCAS Points: 120-144

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This is what the university has told Ucas about the criteria they expect applicants to satisfy; some may be compulsory, others may be preferable.

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This is the percentage of applicants to this course who received an offer last year, through Ucas.

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This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.

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Course location and department:

This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.

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Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF):

We've received this information from the Department for Education, via Ucas. This is how the university as a whole has been rated for its quality of teaching: gold silver or bronze. Note, not all universities have taken part in the TEF.

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This information comes from the National Student Survey, an annual student survey of final-year students. You can use this to see how satisfied students studying this subject area at this university, are (not the individual course).

This is the percentage of final-year students at this university who were "definitely" or "mostly" satisfied with their course. We've analysed this figure against other universities so you can see whether this is high, medium or low.

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This information is from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), for undergraduate students only.

You can use this to get an idea of who you might share a lecture with and how they progressed in this subject, here. It's also worth comparing typical A-level subjects and grades students achieved with the current course entry requirements; similarities or differences here could indicate how flexible (or not) a university might be.

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Post-six month graduation stats:

This is from the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education Survey, based on responses from graduates who studied the same subject area here.

It offers a snapshot of what grads went on to do six months later, what they were earning on average, and whether they felt their degree helped them obtain a 'graduate role'. We calculate a mean rating to indicate if this is high, medium or low compared to other universities.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

Graduate field commentary:

The Higher Education Careers Services Unit have provided some further context for all graduates in this subject area, including details that numbers alone might not show

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

The Longitudinal Educational Outcomes dataset combines HRMC earnings data with student records from the Higher Education Statistics Agency.

While there are lots of factors at play when it comes to your future earnings, use this as a rough timeline of what graduates in this subject area were earning on average one, three and five years later. Can you see a steady increase in salary, or did grads need some experience under their belt before seeing a nice bump up in their pay packet?

Have a question about this info? Learn more here