International Programs
The department of CBE has established one of the most active international study programs at Iowa State University. These programs have been recognized as being one of the leading internationalization efforts for American chemical engineering departments. Through these programs you have the opportunity to:
- study for 1-2 semesters at prominent chemical engineering departments in Europe, Asia, or Australia;
- participate in 5-6 week summer school course in Oviedo, Spain;
- gain international work experience with a global corporation in conjunction with an academic exchange.
Oviedo Summer Program
A summer study program is available to juniors, seniors, and qualified sophomores. The five-week program offers the opportunity to complete the unit operation lecture and laboratory course at the University of Oviedo (Spain) and to compare the technical and cultural aspects of the US and Spain.
By participating in this program, students earn semester 7 credits in ChE 391 and 392. The program is typically advertised in September, an explanatory meeting held in October, and the application deadline is in November.
Participants are responsible for making their own round-trip travel arrangements.
University Exchanges
Students have generally attended classes for one or two semesters, perhaps with a travel period coordinated with university schedules.
Coursework is sufficiently similar at these universities to enable students to continue their degree programs without interruption upon return to ISU.
Bogaziçi University (BU) & Middle East Technical University (METU) — (Turkey)
Bogaziçi University and Middle East Technical University are clearly two of the most prestigious universities in Turkey. Bogazici University was founded as the first American higher education institution outside the US as Robert College. Bogaziçi offers extensive coursework taught in English. It has most of the engineering programs including Chemical Engineering. Located only five minutes from the Bosphorus Strait, the university is in the heart of Istanbul.
METU offers extensive coursework taught in English. The Engineering College offers 14 degree programs including Chemical Engineering (with three of their faculty being graduates of ISU) and the engineering undergraduate enrollment is significantly larger than at ISU. Located in the outskirts of capitol city of Ankara in a beautiful campus, it provides an excellent setting for student both academic and extracurricular activities.
Monterrey Tec (Mexico)
The Tecnológico de Monterrey (Monterrey Tec) is the premier undergraduate engineering institute in Mexico, covering nearly all engineering disciplines. It was the first in Mexico and one of the first outside the U.S. to be accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology. The Tec campus is located within a bus ride of the center of Monterrey, Mexico’s third largest city. Just above it are the first ranges of the Sierra Maestre Oriental.
A working knowledge of Spanish is required, as most courses at Monterrey Tec are taught in it.
National University of Singapore (Singapore)
The National University of Singapore consists of nearly 23,000 students studying in the disciplines of engineering, science, business administration, architecture and building, arts and social sciences, dentistry, law, and medicine.
NUS has been recognized as one of the premier universities in southeast Asia. Excellent laboratory, equipment, and library facilities are to be found on this spectacular urban campus in modern Singapore. All classroom instruction is in English.
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (Lausanne)
ISU has had an exchange program with the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL) in Lausanne since 1984. Students exchange on a one-for-one basis. ISU students pay tuition to ISU and room & board in Lausanne. The exchange is for a full year, and roughly 30 cr. toward graduation should be earned by a student taking a full course load.
EPFL is a world-class engineering and science university. It covers all engineering disciplines found at ISU except agricultural and industrial engineering. In addition, it offers physics, chemistry, and mathematics. Courses are taught in French. Humanities and language courses can be taken at the adjacent University of Lausanne.
Virtually all instruction is in French.
University College London (United Kingdom)
An exchange program for chemical engineering juniors for the complete academic year. Two different sets of courses to be taken depending on whether you want traditional chemical engineering or a biochemical engineering emphasis.
University of Limerick (Ireland)
The University of Limerick campus, located on the banks of the River Shannon, lies at the heart of the 600-acre National Technological Park, three miles outside the city of Limerick. The university currently houses a population of 9,000 students.
For More Information
Please visit Engineering International Programs for specific details and program coordinator.
See How to Apply for specific details.
Research Program
Biological Materials and Processes (BioMaP): Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) (National Science Foundation). The Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at Iowa State University hosts a summer research experience for undergraduate students. The program will create novel research experiences for undergraduate students in the areas of biological materials and processes (BioMaP). The students will be active members of interdisciplinary groups and will interact with faculty, post-docs, graduate students, and industry.
