A seminar for Biotechnology Training Program trainees to present their research for critical review by an audience.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2022–Spring 2026← Chemical and Biological Engineering (CBE)
Easiest courses in Chemical and Biological Engineering
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Highest historical GPA first. At least 100 letter grades over the five years through the selected term. Grades reflect past outcomes, not workload or a guaranteed result.
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25 coursesHistorical grades cover up to five years through the selected term. Only courses with at least 100 letter grades are ranked.
#2 ·CBE 599
Special Problems
1–4 creditsCBE 599 is a special problems course focused on research or independent study in Chemical and Biological Engineering.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2022–Spring 2026#3 ·BIOCHEM/BME/BMI/CBE/COMPSCI/GENETICS 915
Computation and Informatics in Biology and Medicine
1 creditsA seminar for CIBM program trainees discussing current research in computation and informatics in biology and medicine.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2022–Spring 2026CBE 781 covers biological engineering topics including protein engineering, metabolic engineering, synthetic biology, and tissue engineering.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
historical GPA · grades
Fall 2022–Fall 2025CBE 562 covers specialized topics in chemical engineering for majors.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
Homeworks require 8-10 hours each, which reviewers consider excessive for a survey course. Exams are described as hard and niche, with no practice problems or study guides provided to help prepare.
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2022–Spring 2026CBE 660 teaches the application of intermediate mathematical methods, including differential equations and tensor analysis, to solve and interpret chemical engineering problems.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
historical GPA · grades
Fall 2022–Fall 2025Introduction to chemical engineering covering careers, industries, and professional skills.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
Reviewers describe the workload as disproportionately high relative to the single credit hour.
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2022–Spring 2026Introduction to colloid and interface science covering sedimentation, diffusion, thermodynamics, rheology, light scattering, surface tension, adsorption, and colloidal stability.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
Historical reviews of Daniel Klingenberg: The course is rated as having low difficulty.
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2023–Spring 2026#9 ·CBE 735
Kinetics and Catalysis
2–3 creditsCBE 735 surveys kinetic principles and reaction rate factors, emphasizing catalysts and catalytic reactions.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2022–Fall 2025Covers properties of biological molecules, enzyme engineering, metabolic engineering, microbial growth, bioreactor design, and bioseparations.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
Historical reviews of Quentin Dudley: Reviewers note that lectures cover lots of material, sometimes making it unclear what is required, though Dudley is available to help with homework and exam problems.
historical GPA · grades
Fall 2022–Spring 2026#11 ·CBE 450
Process Design
3 creditsCBE 450 teaches the analysis and design of chemical processing systems and equipment.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
Historical reviews of Ross Swaney: Students report that project information is scattered across multiple PDFs and lectures may not align with tests, requiring significant self-directed learning and trial and error.
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2022–Spring 2026CBE 710 applies thermodynamic principles to equations of state, non-ideal solutions, and complex equilibria.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
Historical reviews of Reid Van Lehn: The course content is described as challenging, requiring students to actively engage with provided lecture notes and attend office hours to succeed.
historical GPA · grades
Fall 2022–Fall 2025CBE 440 covers the structure and properties of metallic and nonmetallic materials, focusing on the interrelations between chemical bonding, structure, and material behavior.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
Historical reviews describe the workload as low, with one instructor assigning less homework than the department standard and the course rated as easy.
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2022–Spring 2026#14 ·CBE 324
Transport Phenomena Lab
3 creditsCBE 324 is a lab course focused on determining thermodynamic, transport, and transfer coefficients and studying related phenomena.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
Historical reviews of Katelyn Dahlke: Students report a high workload, particularly at the start, with strict formatting rules for plots and tables causing frustration.
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2022–Spring 2026CBE/ME 567 covers radiant energy transfer, solar exchanger energy balances, and the theory, economics, and practice of solar energy applications.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
Historical reviews of Sanford Klein: Homeworks are described as extremely long, tedious, and time-consuming due to debugging EES software, while exams are fast-paced with insufficient time.
historical GPA · grades
Fall 2022–Fall 2025CBE 540 covers the synthesis, properties, and fabrication of industrially important plastic materials.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2022–Spring 2026CBE 470 introduces the dynamic behavior and automatic control of industrial processes through instrumentation and digital computer applications.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
Historical reviews of Ross Swaney: Reviewers found the course difficult, noting that understanding the instruction was harder than sleeping in class.
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2022–Spring 2026CBE 430 teaches analysis of kinetic data and catalytic phenomena, applying engineering principles to chemical reactor design.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
Homeworks can be difficult, requiring students to utilize office hours and the textbook for help, while exams constitute the majority of the grade.
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2022–Spring 2026CBE 320 covers mass, momentum, and energy transport, including calculation of coefficients, dimensional analysis, and solving problems in viscous flow, heat conduction, and diffusion.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
Historical reviews of Daniel Klingenberg: The course involves a heavy volume of homework assignments that require significant time, with exams that are tough but fair and closely aligned with lecture content.
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2022–Spring 2026Analysis of mass transfer operations, separation processes, and equipment design.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
Historical reviews of Ross Swaney: Homework is consistently described as very difficult and challenging, with one reviewer noting insufficient preparation time before due dates.
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2022–Spring 2026CBE 326 analyzes chemical engineering operations involving fluid flow and heat transfer, including design of related equipment.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
Homework and exams are reported as straightforward, though one review notes the need to access multiple textbooks and keep up with prewritten lectures.
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2022–Spring 2026CBE 310 teaches thermodynamic principles, energy balances, and reaction equilibria for chemical processes.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
The course is a challenge that tests conceptual thermodynamics understanding. Homework is low-point but harshly graded, and success depends on completing assigned readings rather than relying solely on lectures or homework problems.
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2022–Spring 2026Introduction to chemical process modeling and computational analysis tools.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
Reviewers consistently report a heavy workload, citing weekly homeworks, quizzes, and large projects that often require 40 to 70 hours of work. Some students found the assignments excessive and disconnected from class content, while others noted the volume consumed all free time.
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2022–Spring 2026CBE 311 covers the thermodynamics of mixtures, focusing on phase equilibria and complex reaction systems.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
The course is described as difficult, with derivation-heavy lectures and tricky homework problems requiring Excel or Matlab. Exams are considered fair, and reviewers note that ample practice problems are provided to aid preparation.
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2022–Spring 2026#25 ·CBE 250
Process Synthesis
3 creditsCBE 250 teaches process synthesis, focusing on the invention of large-scale, low-cost processing methods for various materials.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
The course is extremely homework-heavy, with assignments described as long, tedious, and sometimes taking an entire day to complete. Reviewers note that homework is harder than exams, which are described as engaging and well-written.
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2022–Spring 2026