Chemical Engineering Education at the University of Kansas 1895–1988

A degree program in chemical engineering was established at the University of Kansas in 1895. The curriculum included a mixture of courses in chemistry and engineering. From its inception until 1935 the program had no budget, no staff members with degrees in chemical engineering and contained no chemical engineering courses. In 1935 the University created a department with a budget, hired an assistant professor of chemical engineering and applied in 1936 for accreditation of the program. Accreditation was denied and the denial was repeated on further inspections up through 1940. By 1948 four men with Ph.D. s in chemical engineering were on the faculty and accreditation was achieved in 1949. Without the accrediting process which provided critical and helpful comments, it is doubtful that the University administration would have been aware of any deficiencies in the program or been moved to correct them. Through 1988 1536 B.S., 243 M.S. and 81 Ph.D. degrees have been awarded.