• Student with lab equipment

    Ready to learn more?

    Whether you are still researching or have already applied, visit WMU chemical and paper engineering to learn more.

Undergraduate Programs

  • Chemical Engineering (B.S.E.)

    Never before has the demand for chemical engineers been at this all time high!

    Ever wonder how gasoline is made from oil or paper from trees or about the manufacture of pharmaceuticals or toothpaste? Are you concerned that we must do a better job of reducing chemical byproducts and improving waste treatment? Are you excited about applications of nanotechnology or bioengineering? Do physics experiments excite you? Are you good in math and like chemistry? Then maybe chemical engineering is for you.

    • Chemical engineers are involved in almost every industrial process in our society.
    • The chemical engineer discovers, designs, builds, and operates industrial processes that involve changes in the chemical composition, physical nature, or energy content of materials.
    • Chemical engineers play a lead role in waste minimization through process improvement and treatment plant design and operation.
    • Gasoline from oil, cereal from grain, paper from trees and pharmaceuticals by chemical synthesis—all utilize chemical engineers.
    • In fact, you would be hard pressed to find anything you are using, at any time of day, that was not produced using the skills of a chemical engineer.

    Many scholarship programs are available to chemical engineering students. Many of these scholarship opportunities are based on national competition, such as those sponsored by the American Institute of Chemical Engineers or the Society of Women Engineers. Others have local sponsors, such as those through Kalamazoo's Monroe-Brown Foundation or our department's own Paper Technology Foundation.  

    For more information, contact Tammi Smith, academic advisor for this major.

  • Paper Engineering (B.S.E.)

    Paper engineers are finding jobs in all of the most exciting technological and scientific industries. New developments in the ways trees are grown, harvested and processed and emerging projects like biofuels and biopolymers are creating opportunities in virtually every area of engineering and manufacturing. The paper industry is a key component in many businesses and touches many aspects of our lives.

    Career options include

    • process engineering
    • technical services
    • pollution prevention
    • research and development
    • marketing and sales
    • manufacturing
    • and much more.

    Western Michigan University provides leading-edge opportunities in the applications of nanotechnology, printing and ink development methods, recycling, paper mill operation control engineering, process control and instrumentation, printing, and chemical manufacturing.

    • Paid summer internships and co-op programs give you practical hands-on experience. This means you'll be ready for your first job when you graduate from our program.
    • A merit scholarship program, under the direction of the Paper Technology Foundation, can help you with your college expenses.
    • Jobs are waiting for our students upon graduation, with average annual starting salaries in excess of $70,000! 

    We look forward to welcoming you soon to the paper engineering program at Western Michigan University!

    For more information, contact Tammi Smith, academic advisor for paper engineering.

    Transfer guides

Do you have questions? Contact the WMU Department of Chemical and Paper Engineering to get answers.

Send Us an Email

Chemical and Paper Engineering
Western Michigan University
Kalamazoo MI 49008-5462 USA
(269) 276-3500