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University Park, PA · Chemical engineering

Chemical engineering at Penn State

Penn State graduates about 156 chemical engineering majors a year, 2% of its graduating class. That puts it 14th of 163 schools we score for chemical engineering, a standout program at 85 out of 100. Graduates in the major earn a median $104,000 four years out, 1.07× what the same major pays nationally. Research spending in the field runs about $17 million a year, a rough guide to how many labs and projects undergraduates can join.

85/100Standout#14 of 163 for chemical engineering →
Graduates a year1562% of the class
Median pay 4 years out$104,0001.07× the same major nationally
Research in the field$17Ma year, NSF
Admit rate61%whole school
SAT middle 50%1280–1410whole school

Around Penn State

Davey Laboratory building at the University Park campus of the Pennsylvania Stat
Davey Laboratory Building Penn State UniversityPhoto: JohnDziak · CC0 · source
An artificial waterfall in front of the Osmond Laboratory on the campus of Penns
2025-08-30 10 54 20 An artificial waterfall in front of the Osmond Laboratory onPhoto: Famartin · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
University Park, PA, USA
University Park, PA, USA - panoramio (8)Photo: thomasrive · CC BY-SA 3.0 · source
The Thomas Building at Penn State University Park. It contains classrooms, the s
Thomas Building Penn State University ParkPhoto: JohnDziak · CC0 · source

Where chemical engineering happens

Buildings on campus that fit the field: Engineering Design and Innovation Building, Chemical Accumulation Facility 2, Chemical Storage 2, High Pressure Gas Laboratory, Chemical Storage 1, Chemical Accumulation Facility 1, Althouse Laboratory, Wartik Laboratory, Radiation Science Engineering Center Storage Building, Chandlee Laboratory, Agricultural Engineering Building, Pond Laboratory.

Named buildings on the campus map: Academic 279 · Dorm 62 · Student housing 45 · Athletics 13 · Arts 13 · Dining 8.

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Nearby in the chemical engineering ranking

  1. Purdue University–Main Campus 87
  2. Texas A&M University 87
  3. Northwestern University 86
  4. University of Wisconsin–Madison 85
  5. Stanford University 84
  6. University of California, Los Angeles 83
  7. Carnegie Mellon University 83
  8. University of Washington 82

Other strong majors at Penn State

How the score works

The score is out of 100 and compares Penn State with every school we score in chemical engineering. It weighs what graduates earn four years out against the same major nationally (25%), research spending in the field (20%, NSF), how many undergraduate courses the department lists (20%), the student body's test scores (20%) and the size of the program (15%, capped so size alone can't win). 80+ is a standout program, 65+ strong, 45+ solid. Sources: US Department of Education (College Scorecard, IPEDS), NSF HERD, each school's current course catalog, OpenStreetMap and Wikimedia Commons.

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