Skip to content

Studies & Degrees in Industrial Chemical Engineering

Industrial chemical engineering applies chemistry to production at industrial scale. It deals with the plants and equipment in which raw materials become fuels, plastics, medicines, paper, food ingredients or clean water, and with running those processes safely and efficiently. In Spain it is a bachelor's degree in its own right, the Grado en Ingeniería Química Industrial, one of the degrees of the industrial engineering branch.

The ministerial order that sets the content of these degrees (Orden CIN/351/2009) describes what the chemical specialisation covers: material and energy balances, biotechnology, mass transfer, separation operations, chemical reaction engineering, reactor design, and the transformation of raw materials and energy resources. Students also learn to analyse, design, simulate and optimise processes and products. The Universidad de Sevilla sums up the aim as training a professional who can organise, design and control production in chemical plants.

Qualifications and levels

  • Bachelor's degree (grado). Spanish bachelor's degrees have 240 ECTS credits, which means four academic years. For this degree the order fixes the main blocks: 60 credits of basic sciences, 60 credits common to all industrial engineering degrees, 48 credits of the specific technology (here, industrial chemistry) and a final degree project of 12 credits. The degree qualifies graduates for the regulated profession of Ingeniero Técnico Industrial.
  • Master's degree. Official master's degrees in Spain have 60, 90 or 120 ECTS credits. According to the Universidad de Jaén, graduates have access to the Máster Universitario en Ingeniería Industrial, the master's degree that gives access to the regulated profession of Ingeniero Industrial. The Universidad de Oviedo links the two in a programme of successive studies (PARS).
  • Vocational training (FP). The Spanish catalogue of vocational qualifications includes a higher-level title, Técnico Superior en Química Industrial, in the chemistry family. It is a vocational qualification, not an engineering degree.

Some degrees carry an international engineering label. The Universidad de Jaén states that its degree holds the EUR-ACE quality label, awarded through the Spanish agency ANECA.

Where to study it

SpainExchange lists 10 active schools for industrial chemical engineering, all of them in Spain. The degree is usually taught at a university's engineering or polytechnic school, which is not always in the main city of the university:

  • The Universidad de Sevilla teaches it at its Escuela Politécnica Superior, in Spanish. Students must prove level B1 in a foreign language before the degree certificate is issued.
  • The Universidad de Oviedo teaches it at the Escuela Politécnica de Ingeniería de Gijón, in Spanish and English, with a bilingual track, 60 places and three specialisations: environmental engineering and sustainability, industrial analysis, and materials.
  • The Universidad del País Vasco (EHU) teaches it at the Escuela de Ingeniería de Vitoria-Gasteiz, with 40 places and teaching in Spanish, Basque and English.
  • The Universidad de Jaén teaches it at the Escuela Politécnica Superior de Linares.
  • The Universidad de Santiago de Compostela offers a degree with a slightly different name, the Grado en Ingeniería de Procesos Químicos Industriales, at the Faculty of Sciences in Lugo. It also qualifies for the profession of Ingeniero Técnico Industrial.

The Universidad de Almería includes the Grado en Ingeniería Química Industrial in its list of degrees, and the Universidad de Cádiz and the Universidad de Vigo also appear in the directory for this subject. Most teaching is in Spanish, so international students should expect to need a good level of Spanish. In the Basque Country and Galicia part of the teaching may be in the co-official language.

Careers

Graduates work where chemistry meets production. The Universidad del País Vasco lists the chemical, pharmaceutical, paper, petrochemical and food industries, engineering project firms, technology centres and R&D departments, as well as teaching and public administration. The Universidad de Sevilla adds testing and quality control, environmental management, and water and waste treatment. Typical roles are process engineer, production or plant engineer, quality engineer, and environmental or safety engineer.

Because the degree leads to a regulated profession in Spain, graduates from other countries who want to practise there should ask about the recognition of their own degree before they plan a career in Spain.

Frequently asked questions

How long does a degree in industrial chemical engineering take in Spain?

Four years. The bachelor's degree has 240 ECTS credits, including a final degree project of 12 credits.

Is it the same as a degree in chemical engineering?

Not necessarily. The Grado en Ingeniería Química Industrial follows the official requirements for the profession of Ingeniero Técnico Industrial. Degrees with other names may or may not do so, so check with each university which profession its degree qualifies for.

Can I study it in English?

Mostly not. Teaching is mainly in Spanish, although some universities offer part of it in English: the Universidad de Oviedo has a bilingual track and the Universidad del País Vasco lists English among the languages of the degree.

Can I become an Ingeniero Industrial afterwards?

Yes, through a master's degree. The Universidad de Jaén states that graduates have access to the Máster Universitario en Ingeniería Industrial, which gives access to that regulated profession.