Process Engineering by Flexible Open Learning

Process engineering is concerned with the design, optimisation, and operation of industrial processes that transform raw materials into useful products. It sits at the heart of industries including chemicals, pharmaceuticals, food and beverage, oil and gas, energy, and water treatment, applying principles of chemical engineering, thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, and materials science to create efficient and safe production systems. The discipline demands both technical knowledge and the ability to manage complex design projects from client brief through to evaluated solution.

Teesside University offers this Process Engineering degree through distance learning on a part-time basis, making it particularly accessible for professionals already working in process industries who want to deepen their technical and engineering knowledge alongside their careers. The programme is studied entirely through online materials accessed via the Virtual Learning Environment, providing maximum flexibility. You will engage with the full design process, including client brief, planning, design specification, and report writing, gaining an appreciation that design involves harmonising key parameters and blending them into a coherent solution, as the course itself describes.

The focus on distance learning means you can study at your own pace within the structure of the programme, applying learning directly to your professional context.

Graduates of process engineering programmes work in process design, plant operations, process optimisation, safety management, and environmental compliance roles across a wide range of industries. The analytical and design skills the degree develops are particularly valued in chemical, petrochemical, pharmaceutical, food and drink, and energy companies, as well as in engineering consultancies and regulatory bodies. Professional accreditation and membership of relevant engineering institutions are goals for many graduates, and the combination of academic study and industry experience that distance learning supports is often specifically valued by employers in this sector.