ChE 4020: Chemical Engineering Internship Course Syllabus: AY

ChE 4020: Chemical Engineering Internship

Course Syllabus: AY 23/24 & 24/25

Course: Che 4020: Internship

Instructor: Dr. Jeremy Marston

Office: Chemical Engineering 209

Phone: 806-834-7012

Email: jeremy.marston@ttu.edu

Office Hours: By appointment only

Location: Dependent on internship

Hours: As agreed with instructor

Official Course description:

Individual studies in chemical engineering through an industrial work experience.

Other Course description:

Work experience in an industrial environment in order to gain knowledge and skills to apply

to remaining engineering courses for undergraduate programs in chemical engineering.

Course Goals:

This course is designed to enhance the undergraduate experience by providing the

opportunity to engage in an industrial setting, learn new practical skills and/or research and

design methodology.

Credit Hours:

Credit hours are assigned when students enroll, with the number of credits to be chosen by

the student. Up to 3 credit hours can be applied to the Chemical Engineering degree plan.

Enrollment Restrictions:

Your internship must be with a company whose focus is engineering (preferably chemical).

Otherwise, you will not be eligible to receive credit towards your CHE degree. To enroll, you

must provide the following documentation:

1) A job description (with job title) clearly outlining your role and the nature of the

company.

2) A completed internship form (available on the TTU Chemical engineering webpage

here: https://www.depts.ttu.edu/che/student_resources_forms.php

Once these forms have been received and reviewed by the undergraduate committee, you

will be notified of permission to enroll.

Prerequisites & Required Training:

Students are expected to be in the upper-division of the degree plan (i.e., rising juniors or

seniors). If the work is laboratory based/hands-on field work, students will likely attend

mandatory training provided by the employer. This training is expected to be documented in

the final report, with any certificates added as an appendix.

Learning Outcomes (assessed):

The learning outcomes for this course, in alignment with the student outcomes (SO’s) defined

by the Accreditation Board for Engineering & Technology (ABET), are as follows:

- Ability to communicate effectively with a range of audiences (ABET SO 3)

Assessed by: (i) Layperson abstract/summary of the internship, (ii) Technical abstract

of the final report, (iii) Presentation to faculty and sophomore students in CHE

2310/3315.

- Ability to recognize ethical and professional responsibilities in engineering

situations and make informed judgments, which must consider the impact of

engineering solutions in global, economic, environmental, and societal contexts

(ABET SO 4)

Assessed by: Depth and quality of the appropriate section of the final report covering

economic, environmental and/or societal impacts of the work.

- A

bility to function effectively on a team whose members together provide

leadership, create a collaborative and inclusive environment, establish goals,

plan tasks, and meet objectives (ABET SO 5)

Assessed by: (i) Statements by the student in the report addressing teamwork, (ii)

supervisor survey rating the student’s teamwork.

- A

bility to develop and conduct appropriate experimentation, analyze and

interpret data, and use engineering judgment to draw conclusions (ABET SO 6)

Assessed by: Design of tests/experiments/field trials and depth of statistical analyses

used, as documented in the final report.

- A

bility to acquire and apply new knowledge as needed, using appropriate

learning strategies. (ABET SO 7)

Assessed by: (i) Statements by the student in the report, detailing the new skills learned

and how they were applied, (ii) supervisor survey rating the student’s ability to adapt /

pick up new techniques / skills where needed.

Required Documents & Assessment:

Required documentation/Assessment

Weighting

Due Date**

Complete internship form and job

offer/description

week of internship

Mid-semester update report (1-page)

6 weeks prior to last

day of class*

Submit documentation of all on-site

training provided

Last day of class*

Site supervisor survey

10%

Last day of class*

Student survey

10%

Last day of class*

Final report

50%

Last day of class*

Recorded video / zoom presentation to

faculty / students

15%

End of semester*

*As per TTU academic calendar for the semester you are enrolled.

** No late submissions accepted. Any item not submitted by due date will receive a score of zero. All items submitted

to blackboard, except for supervisor survey which can be submitted by email to the instructor of record.

Report content:

Whilst the precise format, section titles/headings, and total length of the report are left to the

student’s discretion, it must be at least 10 pages, and contain the following elements:

1. Cover page: Stating your name, R-number, semester enrolled/dates of internship,

credit hours, company name, Site supervisor, job title and location.

2. L

ayperson’s & Technical Abstracts: [1 page] Two abstracts (1-2 short paragraphs)

about the internship and work performed aimed at both (i) a “layperson” audience

(i.e., those without a science or engineering background) that is jargon-free, and (ii)

a technical audience (i.e., those with significant engineering background).

3. I

ntroduction: [~2 pages] A general background of the business and technology of

the industry or process with which they are involved. Business details might include

general supply-demand discussion, production data, players and companies involved

in the industry or using the process, the end use of the product or process.

4. Ro

le description: [~1 page] A description of your role whilst working at the

company, and a list of specific tasks/duties assigned.

5. T

echnical details: [>5 pages] A comprehensive discussion that illustrates how

engineering and science-based analysis guided your decisions or recommendations.

The report must include a non-trivial amount of data (real or simulated to avoid

disclosure issues), detailed data analyses, properly referenced background on the

data analysis, detailed graphs, schematics and other appropriate graphical

presentations supporting your work and the decisions or recommendations that you

made and should include estimates of error and statistical analysis. The report must

discuss each figure or table, walking the reader through its significance. All estimates

should be justified from scientific or knowledge-based reasoning. Technical details

might include typical raw materials, generic processing steps, purification, safety,

hazards, and end products or processes. For service work the report should describe

the type of service provided, methods and techniques used by the service, rules,

standards and regulations typical for the service and the end goal of the service.

6. S

tatistical Analyses: [no set length] Within the technical details or as a stand-alone

section, detail the analyses run, example calculations/tests, and implications of the

results for the work/processes.

7. G

lobal, Economic, Environmental, and/or Societal Impacts: [no set length]

Within the technical details or as a stand-alone section, discuss in detail how your

work contributed to engineering solutions, and how they impacted the economy,

environment of society (see the full description of ABET SO 4 above).

8. C

onclusion / Summary: [~1 page] A summary of what was learned during the

internship, new skills learned, and how the work performed will impact your future

studies and career path.

9. R

eferences / Appendices: [As needed] List any cited literature and/or other

sources of information used. If there are extensive tables of data or schematics (e.g.,

P&ID’s) add them as an appendix. Also add any certificates/documentation of training

and safety programs you took.

Other Information:

Graphics should be professional, presentation quality. Text should be error-free and use

proper scientific grammatical construction.

It should be noted that the student may work with confidential information and the contents

of their work report should be vetted by their supervisor or legal department of their sponsor

prior to submission, to ensure no improper disclosures are made. Students who are unsure

what information can and should be discussed should ask their internship sponsor or they

supervisor. It is the responsibility of the student to check first with their

supervisor/company. In the event that you cannot submit an adequate report, you will

not earn credit for the course.

Report Grading:

Your report will be graded based upon the following sections, with a strict/clear rubric

available via blackboard.

- Formatting and aesthetics

- Use of graphics

- Appropriate amount of technical details

- Communication with range of audiences (abstracts)

- Depth of statistical data analyses

- Consideration of impact of engineering solutions on economic, environmental or

societal contexts

- Ability to acquire and apply new knowledge (conclusion/summary statements)

- References/bibliography

Presentation to faculty and students:

In addition to your report, you will present a summary (~10 minutes) of your internship

experience to faculty and students that covers:

- The company you worked for, their general business area/business model, location,

market cap, etc.

- Your role as an intern, teams you worked with, etc.

- Technical aspects of your work, i.e., details about what you did, and the engineering

design/solutions you were part of

- Overall, what you learned from the experience, how your engineering courses may

have helped prepare you, and advice for students seeking internships

Grade boundaries:

A: >90%, B: 81-90%, C: 71-80%, D: 61-70%, F: <60%