List of engineering branches

Engineering is the discipline and profession that applies scientific theories, mathematical methods, and
empirical evidence to design, create, and analyze technological solutions cognizant of safety, human
factors, physical laws, regulations, practicality, and cost. In the contemporary era, engineering is generally
considered to consist of the major primary branches of chemical engineering, civil engineering, electrical
engineering, and mechanical engineering.[1] There are numerous other engineering sub-disciplines and
interdisciplinary subjects that may or may not be part of these major engineering branches.

Contents
Chemical engineering
Civil engineering
Electrical engineering
Mechanical engineering
Interdisciplinary
See also
References

Chemical engineering
Chemical engineering is the application of chemical, physical and biological sciences to the process of
converting raw materials or chemicals into more useful or valuable forms.
Subdiscipline Scope Major specialties

Biomolecular Genetic engineering (of whole genes and their chromosomes)

engineering Immunology and biomolecular/biochemical engineering
Engineering of DNA and RNA (related to genetic engineering)

Metallurgical
engineering, works
with metals
Ceramic engineering
works with raw oxide
materials (e.g.
alumina oxide) and
advanced materials
that are polymorphic,
polycrystalline, oxide
and non-oxide
Materials Involves properties of matter (material) and its applications to ceramics
engineering engineering. Polymer engineering
works with polymer
materials
Crystal engineering
works with the design
and synthesis of
molecular solid-state
structures
Biomaterials
engineering works
with natural and living
systems

Molecular
Focuses on the manufacturing of molecules.
engineering

Petroleum refinery
engineering works on
the manufacture of
refined products
Plastics engineering
Focuses on the design, operation, control, and optimization of
works on the plastics
chemical processes. These include natural and man-made
products
Process materials, the interaction of materials with machines, safety and
engineering health, energy conservation, and waste and pollution control. This Paper engineering
extends to plant design and layout, machine and wet process works on paper
design and improvement and designing and creating products. products
Textile engineering
works on fiber, textile
and apparel products.
Cosmetics
Household chemicals

Applies scientific knowledge, natural laws, and physical resources

to design and implement materials, structures, devices, systems,
and procedures to manage corrosion. Generally related to
Corrosion
metallurgy, corrosion engineering also encompasses non-metallics
engineering
including ceramics. Corrosion engineers often manage other not-
strictly-corrosion processes including cracking, brittle fracture,
crazing, fretting, erosion, and more.

Civil engineering
Civil engineering comprises the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and natural built
environments.
Subdiscipline Scope Major specialties

Ecological engineering, the design, monitoring, and construction of

ecosystems
Fire protection engineering, the application of engineering to protect
people and environments from fire and smoke
Sanitary engineering, the application of engineering methods to
improve sanitation of human communities
Wastewater engineering, Wastewater engineering is a type of
engineering that comes from civil engineering and environmental
engineering. A wastewater engineer determines the best way to
The application of transport or collect rainwater for human populations. Wastewater
engineering to the engineering also deals with the transportation and cleaning of
Environmental
improvement and blackwater, greywater and irrigation water. Wastewater treatment
engineering
protection of the and water reclamation are areas of concern in this field.
environment. Wastewater engineers map out the topographical and geographical
features of Earth to determine the best means of collection. They
use sonar scanning in wells to determine volumes of water that can
be used for human consumption. Using these types of data they
can provide a means of collecting water. After collecting the water,
it is their job to transport it to where it can be made available for
use.
Municipal or urban engineering, civil engineering applied to
municipal issues such as water and waste management,
transportation networks, subdivisions, communications, hydrology,
hydraulics, etc.

Concerned with
the behavior of
earth materials Foundation (engineering), the engineering of below-ground
Geotechnical and soil and rock foundations that support superstructures
engineering mechanics at the Mining engineering An engineering discipline that involves the
site of a civil science, technology, and practice of extracting and processing
engineering minerals from a naturally occurring environment.
project.

Earthquake engineering, the behavior of structures subject to

seismic loading
The engineering of
Structural structures that Wind engineering, the analysis of wind and its effects on the built
engineering support or resist environment
structural loads. Architectural engineering, application of engineering principles to
building design and construction
Ocean engineering, the design of offshore structures

The use of Traffic engineering, a branch of transportation engineering focusing

engineering to on the infrastructure necessary for transportation
Transport ensure the safe
Highway engineering, a branch of engineering that deals with major
engineering and efficient
roadways and transportation systems involving automobiles.
transportation of
Highway engineering usually involves the construction and design
people and goods.
of highways.

Utility A branch of Civil

engineering Engineering that Subsurface utility engineering, a branch of utility engineering that
focuses on the involves managing certain risks associated with utility mapping at
planning, design, appropriate quality levels and communication of utility data to
construction, concerned parties.
operation,
maintenance, and
asset
management of
any and all utility
systems, as well
 as the interaction
between utility
infrastructure and
other civil
infrastructure[2]

Hydraulic engineering, concerned with the flow and conveyance of

fluids, principally water; intimately related to the design of
pipelines, water supply network, drainage facilities (including
bridges, dams, levees, channels, culverts, storm sewers) and
canals.
River engineering, is the process of planned human intervention in
Prediction, the course, characteristics, or flow of a river with the intention of
Water planning, producing some defined benefit—to manage the water resources,
resources development, and to protect against flooding, or to make passage along or across
engineering management of rivers easier.
water resources.
Coastal engineering, the study of the processes ongoing at the
shoreline and construction within the coastal zone, often directed
at combating erosion of coasts or providing navigational access.
Groundwater engineering, involves the analysis, monitoring and
often modeling of groundwater source to better understand how
much remains and if the water can be used for e.g. recharging
reservoirs and irrigation.

Electrical engineering
Electrical engineering comprises the study and application of electricity, electronics and electromagnetism.
Subdiscipline Scope Major specialties

Control engineering, focuses on

the modeling of dynamic
systems and the design of
controllers using electrical
circuits, digital signal processors
and microcontrollers
Telecommunications engineering,
focuses on the transmission and
processing of information through
The creation of physical devices and abstract methods communications channels that
that make it possible to conduct electricity, magnetism are created by making use of
and light, through low power electrical circuits deemed applied electromagnetism in the
electronic circuits as well as through communication physical world and are oftentimes
channels, in such a manner so as to make it possible divided in wired and wireless.
to control, that is to actuate, on other external entities
that can be mechanical, electrical, chemical and even Electronics denotes a broad
Electronic engineering field that covers
biological in nature, even to the point of automation and
engineering subfields such as analog
thus achieving a manipulation over those natural
phenomena so as to concede to them a specific form electronics, digital electronics,
so that they abstractly represent something, in a consumer electronics, embedded
processing action that is called program and therefore systems and power electronics.
they become abstract signals of information, which can Electronics engineering deals
be subject of further processing and even end-user with implementation of
presentation in what is known as computing. applications, principles and
algorithms developed within
many related fields, for example
solid-state physics, radio
engineering, telecommunications,
control systems, signal
processing, systems engineering,
computer engineering,
instrumentation engineering,
electric power control, robotics,
and many others.

Software engineering, the

application of a systematic,
disciplined, quantifiable approach
to the development, operation
and maintenance of software and
the study of these approaches;
that is, the application of
engineering and computer
Computer The design and control of computing devices with the science to software.[3]
engineering application of electrical systems. Hardware engineering, designing,
developing and testing various
computer equipment. Can range
from circuit boards and
microprocessors to routers.
Network engineering, designing,
deploying and maintaining
computer networks, such as
corporate networks or the
Internet.

Power The generation, transmission and distribution of

engineering electricity and the design of devices such as Power System Planning, involves
transformers, switchgear, electric generators, electric the modelling of power systems
motors, high-voltage engineering and power electronics. to analyse the management of
current and future electricity
demand
Power System Design, the
development of a specific
 solution to address a power need,
such as a new substation, a new
power line, power system
protection and so on
Power System Operations and
Control, involves plant and
system operation, where
protocols for the safe and
continuous operation of individual
equipment, subsystems, power
plants or the whole power system
are developed and applied
Protection and Control, involves
the design of power system
protection, measurements,
metering, telecommunications,
and so on
High Voltage Engineering,
involves the understanding of
electromagnetic phenomena of
large voltages and currents (such
as partial discharge), as applied
to the holistic power system
design and its components, such
as transformers, electric motors,
electric generators, switchgear,
to create coordination and
harmony

Optical The design of instruments and systems that utilize the

engineering properties of electromagnetic radiation.

Mechanical engineering
Mechanical engineering comprises the design and analysis of heat and mechanical power for the operation
of machines and mechanical systems.[4]
Subdiscipline Scope Major specialties
Acoustical Concerns the manipulation and control of vibration, especially
engineering vibration isolation and the reduction of unwanted sounds.

Musical instruments
Hand tools
Cleaning tools
Cutting and abrasive
tools
Forestry tools and
equipment
Garden tools
Kitchen tools
Concerns dealing with different manufacturing practices and Machine and
Manufacturing metalworking tools
the research and development of systems, processes,
engineering
machines, tools and equipment. Power tools
Woodworking,
Woodworking machine
Balancing machine
Electrical discharge
machining
Loom
Pumpjack
Printing machine
Personal protective
equipment

Fiber optics
Field specific to the mechanical aspects of optical systems. Laser systems
Optomechanical
Includes design, packaging, mounting and alignment Telescopes
engineering
mechanisms specific to optical systems.[5]
Cameras
Optical instrumentation

Thermal Concerns heating or cooling of processes, equipment, or Air conditioning

engineering enclosed environments. Refrigeration
Heating, ventilating

Is a field of engineering that involves the design, development

Sports and testing of sport equipment. The equipment used by
engineering athletes has always gone through technological design and
development based on current knowledge and understanding.
Vehicle The design, manufacture and operation of the systems and
engineering equipment that propel and control vehicles. Automotive engineering,
bicycles, motorcycles,
automobiles, buses and
trucks and new
telecommunication
vehicles
Naval architecture,
marine vehicles and
structures
Aerospace engineering,
airplanes, helicopters,
drones and spacecraft
Marine engineering,
boats, ships, oil rigs and
other marine vessels or
 structures,
oceanographic
engineering
Railway engineering
dealing with the design,
construction and
operation of all types of
rail transport systems.

Geothermal power
plants
Coal-fired power plants
Hydroelectric power
Field of engineering that designs, construct and plants
Power plant
engineering
maintains different types of power plants. Serves as Diesel engine (ICE)
the prime mover to produce electricity. power plants
Tidal power plants
Wind turbine power
plants
Solar power plants

Air Compressors
Pumps
Fans and Blowers
Conveyors
Field of engineering that designs, construct and
Elevators
Industrial plant maintains different types of Industrial Machines and
Escalators
engineering Equipment (https://www.bmu.edu.in/social/industrial
Pneumatics
-visit-to-the-varun-beverages-limited-plant/). Hydraulics
Gears, Springs, Screws,
Bolts, Flywheel,
Machine Components
Piping Systems

Energy efficiency, energy services, facility management, plant

engineering, environmental compliance and energy production.
Energy
Energy efficiency of buildings and manufacturing processes,
engineering
employing advances in lighting, insulation and heating/cooling
properties.

Interdisciplinary
 Discipline Scope Major specialties

Aquaculture engineering,
cultured aquatic species and
their production systems
Biosystems engineering, broad
term to encompass aspects of
agricultural and biological
engineering
Biological systems
engineering, broad term to
encompass aspects of
agricultural and biological
engineering
Biomechanical engineering
Bioprocess engineering,
products from biological
Farm power and machinery, biological material materials
Agricultural
processes, bioenergy, farm structures and
engineering Bioresource engineering
agricultural natural resources.
Biotechnical engineering
Ecological engineering,
ecosystems
Food engineering, food
processing, food machinery,
packaging, ingredient
manufacturing, instrumentation
and control.
Forest engineering
Health and safety engineering
Natural resources engineering
Machinery systems
engineering
Information & electrical
systems engineering

Automation/control
systems/mechatronics/robotics
Computer-aided drawing and
design (CADD)
Applied Systems integration, manufacturing and
Construction
engineering management.[6]
Electronics
General
Graphics
Nanotechnology

Biomedical Medicine and healthcare biology, biocompatible

engineering, prostheses, diagnostic and therapeutic devices Bioinstrumentation, devices
Biomedical ranging from clinical equipment to micro-implants, and tools used in the diagnosis
nanoengineering imaging equipment such as MRIs and EEGs, tissue and treatment of disease.
regeneration and pharmaceuticals. The increased Bioinformatics, digital tools to
utilization of nanotechnology across the existing collect and analyze biomedical
areas of this branch has led the specialization data, such as DNA
Biomedical nanoengineering. Biomechanics, motion,
material deformation, transport
of chemical substances across
biological membranes and flow
inside the body. Artificial heart
valves, artificial kidneys and
artificial hips.
 Biomaterial, materials
implanted in the body
Biomedical optics
Biosignal processing, recording
and processing biological
signals for diagnostic and
therapeutic purposes, such as
cardiac signals, speech
recognition and brain activity
Biotechnology, use of living
systems to make useful
products such as
pharmaceuticals and foods
Clinical engineering, hospital-
related products, including data
management, instruments and
monitoring systems
Medical imaging, MRIs, EEGs,
ultrasound, PET
Neural engineering,
replacement/restoration of lost
sensory and motor abilities,
neurorobots, neuro electronics.
Pharmaceutical engineering,
pharmaceuticals and
pharmaceutical delivery
Rehabilitation engineering,
products that aid individuals
with physical and other
impairments, to improve e.g.,
mobility, seating and
communication
Tissue engineering

Biological
engineering Bioacoustics
Biochemical engineering,
processes that involve
biological organisms or
molecules such as bioreactors
Bioengineering
Biosystems engineering, broad
term to encompass aspects of
agricultural and biological
engineering
Biological systems
engineering, broad term to
encompass aspects of
agricultural and biological
engineering
Biomedical engineering, the
application of engineering
principles and techniques to
the medical and biological
sciences
Biotechnical engineering
Biomolecular engineering
Bioresource engineering
Bioprocess engineering
Cellular engineering
Food engineering
 Genetic engineering,
manipulate genes in organisms
Food and biological process
engineering
Health and safety engineering
Microbiological engineering
Molecular engineering
Protein engineering, protein
synthesis
Systems biology
Synthetic biology

Architectural engineering
Mechanical engineering

Heating, ventilation and air

conditioning
Refrigeration
Public health engineering:
water services, drainage
and plumbing
Electrical engineering
Lighting, including artificial and
Building emergency lighting, low voltage
internal environment and environmental impact of
services systems, containment,
buildings and other structures
engineering distribution, distribution boards
and switchgear
Lightning protection
Security, video and alarm
systems
Escalators and lifts
Fire engineering, including fire
detection and fire protection
Building façade engineering
Energy supply – gas,
electricity and renewable
sources

Energy efficiency, energy services, facility

management, plant engineering, environmental Solar engineering, photovoltaic
Energy compliance and energy production. Energy efficiency systems, solar thermal
engineering of buildings and manufacturing processes, employing systems
advances in lighting, insulation and heating/cooling Wind engineering, wind
properties. turbines

Information Generation, distribution, analysis, and use of

engineering information, data and knowledge in systems. Machine learning
Data science
Artificial intelligence
Control theory
Signal processing
Telecommunications
Image processing
Information theory
Computer vision
Natural language processing
Bioinformatics
Medical image computing
 Autonomous robotics
Mobile robotics

Manufacturing engineering,
tools, equipment and
processes
Component engineering,
optimal components to be
subsequently assembled into
products.
Industrial Systems engineering, logistics,
Logistical and resource management systems team coordination, machinery
engineering
control
Construction engineering,
buildings and other structures
Safety engineering, safe
operation and safe failure
modes
Reliability engineering, product
durability

Robotics and Automation

Instrumentation engineering
Mechatronics Optomechatronics engineering
Mechanical and electrical engineering hybrid
engineering Biomechatronics engineering
Avionics, the design of
electronics and systems on
board an aircraft or spacecraft

Engineering Management of engineers and engineering

management processes
Military Military weapons and vehicles, such as artillery and
engineering tanks Combat engineering

An engineering discipline that involves the science,

Mining technology, and practice of extracting and
engineering processing minerals from a naturally occurring
environment.

Materials nanoengineering
creating Nanomaterials
Biomedical nanoengineering
creating Nanomedicine
The introduction of nanotechnology into existing (Biosensors, Tissue
Nanoengineering engineering, Drug delivery,
fields of engineering.
etc.)
Instrumentation engineering
creating Nanosensors
Electronic nanoengineering
creating Nanoelectronics

Quantum The application of quantum theory to design of

engineering materials and devices. Now gaining recognition as its Quantum properties of
own branch of engineering, but more traditionally nanomaterials, nanoelectronics
associated with sub-disciplines of electrical and and nano-scale devices
computer engineering, communications engineering, Semiconductor materials and
solid-state and semiconductor materials engineering, semiconductor devices
optical engineering and engineering physics. Photonics and quantum optics
Quantum information systems
and quantum cryptography
 Quantum computing

Medical physics
Nuclear Nuclear fuel
Terrestrial and marine nuclear power plants
engineering Nuclear reactor design and
control systems
Radiation protection

A field of engineering concerned with the activities

related to the production of Hydrocarbons, which can Reservoir engineering, the flow
be either crude oil or natural gas. Petroleum engineer of fluids in porous and
focus on studying subsurface formation properties permeable underground
and design and selection of equipment to maximizing reservoirs and sub-surface
economic recovery of hydrocarbons from subsurface stresses.
Petroleum Drilling engineering, well-
reservoirs. Petroleum geology and geophysics focus
engineering drilling, cementation and
on provision of a static description of the
hydrocarbon reservoir rock, while petroleum casing.
engineering focuses on estimation of the recoverable Production engineering, design
volume of this resource using a detailed and selection of sub-surface
understanding of the physical behavior of oil, water equipment, surface facilities
and gas within porous rock at very high pressure. and separation of well fluids.

Project engineering includes all parts of the design of

manufacturing or processing facilities, either new or
modifications to and expansions of existing facilities.
A "project" consists of a coordinated series of
activities or tasks performed by engineers and
designers. A small project may be under the
direction of a project engineer. Large projects are
typically under the direction of a project manager or
Mechanical engineering
management team. Project tasks typically consist of
such things as performing calculations, writing Process engineering
specifications, preparing bids, reviewing equipment Instrumentation and control
Project proposals and evaluating or selecting equipment and engineering
engineering developing and maintaining various lists (equipment Civil engineering
and materials lists) and drawings (electrical,
instrument and piping schematics, physical layouts Structural engineering
and other drawings used in construction). Some Environmental engineering
facilities have in house staff to handle small Electrical engineering
projects, while some major companies have a
department that does internal project engineering.
Large projects are typically contracted out to project
engineering companies. Staffing at engineering
companies varies according to the work load and
duration of employment may only last until an
individual's tasks are completed.
Railway Railway systems, including wheeled and maglev
engineering systems. Train signaling and automatic train control.
Software Software engineering the application of a systematic,
engineering disciplined, quantifiable approach to the Cryptographic engineering
development, operation and maintenance of software Cryptographic Engineering is
and the study of these approaches; that is, the the discipline of using
application of engineering and computer science to cryptography to solve human
software. problems. Cryptography is
typically applied when trying to
ensure data confidentiality, to
authenticate people or devices,
or to verify data integrity in
risky environments.
Information technology
engineering, (ITE) or
information engineering
methodology (IEM) is a
 software engineering approach
to designing and developing
information systems. It can
also be considered as the
generation, distribution,
analysis and use of information
in systems.
Teletraffic engineering
Telecommunications traffic
engineering, teletraffic
engineering, or traffic
engineering is the application
of traffic engineering theory to
telecommunications. Teletraffic
engineers use their knowledge
of statistics including queuing
theory, the nature of traffic,
their practical models, their
measurements and simulations
to make predictions and to plan
telecommunication networks
such as a telephone network or
the Internet. These tools and
knowledge help provide reliable
service at lower cost.
Web engineering focuses on
the methodologies, techniques
and tools that are the
foundation of Web application
development and which
support their design,
development, evolution and
evaluation. Web engineering is
multidisciplinary and
encompasses contributions
from diverse areas such as
systems analysis and design,
software engineering,
hypermedia/hypertext
engineering, requirements
engineering, human-computer
interaction, user interface,
information technology
engineering, information
indexing and retrieval, testing,
modeling and simulation,
project management and
graphic design and
presentation.

Supply chain Supply chain engineering concerns the planning, Logistics

engineering design, and operation of supply chains.[7][8] Pricing
Production

Systems Systems engineering is an interdisciplinary field of

engineering engineering that focuses on how to design and Systems engineering deals
manage complex engineering projects over their life with work-processes,
cycles. Issues, such as reliability, logistics and optimization methods and risk
coordination of different teams, evaluation management tools. It overlaps
measurement and other disciplines become more technical and human-centered
difficult when dealing with large or complex projects. disciplines such as control
engineering, industrial
engineering, organizational
studies and project
management. Systems
 engineering ensures that all
likely aspects of a project or
system are considered and
integrated into a whole.

Textile engineering courses deal with the application

of scientific and engineering principles to the design Apparel engineering
and control of all aspects of fiber, textile and apparel Fabric engineering
processes, products and machinery. These include Industrial & production
natural and man-made materials, interaction of engineering
materials with machines, safety and health, energy
Textile conservation and waste and pollution control. Textile engineering
engineering Additionally, students are given experience in plant management
design and layout, machine and wet process design Textile fashion & design
and improvement and designing and creating textile Textile machinery design &
products. Throughout the textile engineering maintenance
curriculum, students take classes from other
Wet process engineering
engineering and disciplines including: mechanical,
chemical, materials and industrial engineering. Yarn engineering

See also
Outline of engineering
Social engineering
Financial engineering

References
1. Julie Thompson Klein, Robert Frodeman, Carl Mitcham. The Oxford Handbook of
Interdisciplinary. Oxford University Press, 2010. (pp. 149–150)
2. "American Society of Civil Engineers, Utility Engineering and Surveying Institute" (https://ww
w.asce.org/utility-engineering-and-surveying/utility-engineering-and-surveying-institute/).
3. Wiebe, A. J.; Chan, C. W. (April 2012). "Ontology driven software engineering". 2012 25th
IEEE Canadian Conference on Electrical and Computer Engineering (CCECE): 1–4.
doi:10.1109/CCECE.2012.6334938 (https://doi.org/10.1109%2FCCECE.2012.6334938).
ISBN 978-1-4673-1433-6. S2CID 9911741 (https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:99117
41).
4. Clifford, Michael. An Introduction to Mechanical Engineering. Taylor & Francis Group LLC,
2006. ISBN 978-1-44411337-2
5. University of Arizona OPTI 421/521: Introductory Optomechanical Engineering (https://wp.op
tics.arizona.edu/optomech/wp-content/uploads/sites/53/2016/08/1-Introduction.pdf)
6. "ATMAE Membership Venn Diagram" (http://atmae.org/index.php?option=com_content&vie
w=article&id=227&Itemid=48) Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20131113190247/http://
atmae.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=227&Itemid=48) 2013-11-13 at
the Wayback Machine. atmae.org
7. Ravindran, Ravi; Warsing, Donald Jr. Supply chain engineering : models and applications.
CRC Press. ISBN 9781138077720.
8. Goetschalckx, Marc (2011-08-11). Supply chain engineering. Springer. ISBN 978-1-4419-
6512-7.

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