Graduates will be qualified chemical engineers and materials engineers. Chemical engineering is the design, management and optimisation of processes that turn raw materials into valuable products, using the latest knowledge of biology, chemistry, physics and mathematics, integrated with engineering principles and economic consideration. Chemical engineers ensure economic viability, and a minimum loss of materials and consumption of energy, while maintaining safety and environmental standards. This major also applies knowledge within team-based project work. Students tackle real world issues sourced from industries and the latest research. Materials engineering is concerned with the selection, processing and development of materials to design and make products. Materials - metals, alloys, ceramics, polymers and composites - give manufactured products their functional and aesthetic qualities. Materials engineers apply their knowledge of materials behaviour to optimise processing and improve the properties of products. They are also involved in controlling the service behaviour of materials; improving the performance of machines and structures.

There are career paths in design, operation, management, research and consulting in Australia and overseas. Materials engineers, and materials and testing engineers may be employed in the materials processing and manufacturing industries, including the automobile, whitegoods, steel, aluminium and polymer industries that create wealth and add value to Australia's mineral resources. Materials engineers are employed in large multinational companies and small to medium enterprises, in research establishments, in public utilities and in consulting engineering firms. Chemical engineers work at the cutting edge of fields such as molecular biology, nano-materials and chemistry, mathematics and information technology. They work in a range of industries, government departments and private consultancies, within environmental protection, management and safety; natural resource utilisation and the energy sector; chemical, petroleum and petrochemical industries; biochemical, biomedical and pharmaceuticals industries; computer-aided process and control engineering; advanced materials design and manufacture; minerals processing and related industries; food processing and product design and development.