BA in Chemical Engineering

The Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Technology of the Al-Farabi Kazakh National University opened in 1934 and is historically the strongest chemical faculty in the country.

Both strong traditions and scientific schools took shape at the Faculty of Chemistry during the middle of the last century, allowing it to classify among the top three faculties of former USSR, beside the ones of Moscow State University (Lomonosov), and Saint-Petersburg University (Zhdanov). The faculty has significantly contributed to the recent phenomenal breakthrough of Al-Farabi Kazakh National University by its positioning 165th within the global ranking of QS universities.

There are many prominent figures in science, education, industry or business among the graduates, some still working at the faculty.

Features of the program

Chemistry is nowadays one of the fastest growing sciences, as the needs of mankind in new materials, products and devices are growing at an unprecedented rate. Chemistry is in demand in many areas, such as environmental protection, energy sources, hydrocarbon processing, production of plastics, pharmaceuticals, food or biomedical devices, etc. Chemists and engineers can successfully get a job in existing production companies or become founders of their own businesses. We are confident that a chemical engineering education will make your future career prospects even brighter.

A distinctive feature of the Chemical Engineering educational program in Al-Farabi Kazakh National University is the enhanced chemical education, with a large number of laboratory hours. This allows graduates to master the chemical essence of the processes, thus creating new products and technologies more easily. Our students also have the opportunity to work in research laboratories, starting already with the 1st course.

The program is strongly linked to industry, allowing students to undergo practical training in production each summer. Moreover, some of the subjects are taught by specialists of our industrial partners. Other subjects are taught online with the issuance of a paid certificate from the world’s leading universities (via edx.org, coursera.com and other platforms). This was in practice even before the COVID-19 pandemic, therefore transition to online education during quarantine did not pose significant difficulties for us.

During your studies, you will also have the possibility to participate in an international apprenticeship, as part of our academic mobility program, the Erasmus+ academic exchange program, or other similar programs.

Your future prospects might include:

• Chemical technologist
• Chemical engineer
• Project engineer
• Research and development engineer
• Operation engineer

You may professionally validate yourself in fields associated with: pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, petrochemicals, food, electrochemistry, plastic processing, synthesis of organic and inorganic compounds as well as several other branches of industry.

You may increase your competitiveness on the labor market by applying for the second-cycle studies and obtaining a Master of Science Engineer degree in one of our several majors: Organic Technology, Inorganic Technology, Chemistry, Nanomaterials and Nanotechnologies, Chemical Engineering. A third of the graduates of our faculty successfully continue their studies in magistracy and further in doctoral studies, within Al-Farabi Kazakh National University or other leading universities of the world.

Whether you choose to manage projects, develop products, or improve processes, you have varied career opportunities anywhere in the world. You may find our graduates at national companies such as KazAtomProm, Karachaganak Petroleum Operating, Agip, KazMinerals, KazZinc, Tengizchevroil, ENRC, Raimbek Group or various international companies.

Program plan

The completion of our program in Bachelor of Engineering and Technology in Chemical Engineering (BET ChEn) ensures 240 ECTS credits in 8 semesters. This is in agreement with the requirements of the Bologna Process and the European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS) for Master’s Degrees.

The Chemical Engineering program includes during its first year the usual basic courses necessary for engineering: Physics and Mathematics, Information and communication technologies. Some attention is paid also to the general cultural preparation of students. Therefore, the program contains subjects such as Philosophy or Political sciences. In addition, students begin to study the main sections of chemistry: General, Inorganic and Analytical chemistry.

During the second year, students continue with the study of Chemical thermodynamics and kinetics, Organic chemistry, Colloid chemistry and Polymer chemistry. They also attend to the first subject of basic engineering: Fluid mechanics.

The third year immerses students completely in chemical engineering. They learn about the key blocks of chemical plants, such as reactors, heat exchangers, separation units, control and measuring equipment in subjects such as: Chemical reaction engineering, Heat and mass transport processes, Process control, Separation processes, Modeling of chemical and technological processes. Control systems and Safety of chemical plants complete information provided to the students.

During their final year, students will focus on the design of entire industries in subjects such as Process and plant design, as well as on the study of a specific chemical-technological direction. Hence, there are 5 modules available, each of subjects, for the in-depth study of petrochemical, environmental, biochemical, electrochemical engineering or the processing of natural and techno-genic raw materials.

All subjects are supported by 4-hour laboratory classes, where students lay their own hands on chemical and chemical-technological processes.

There are some additional reasons to choose the Chemical Engineering educational program of Al-Farabi Kazakh National University:

• The opportunity to participate in scientific or industrial projects;
• The opportunity to develop their own innovative engineering products through the support of research departments of the university, the association of graduates and employers;
• The presence of several student communities at the faculty and of a vibrant social life at the university;
• The extremely comfortable living in Almaty - a tolerant ethnic environment, an unusual cultural flavor at the junction of Europe and Asia, a settled and nomadic lifestyle, a developed infrastructure (the abundance of round-the-clock malls, cuisine from different nations of the world, various types of leisure and sports) and the proximity to unique natural attractions (https://visitalmaty.kz/en/ );
• The daily joy offered by magnificent views of the mountains of Zailiysky Alatau or by the practice of cycling, hiking, mountaineering, skiing, etc.