Paper engineering encompasses the design and analysis of the equipment and processes that are used in the manufacture of paper. The field encompasses the preparation of fibrous materials from (usually) trees via a pulping process, chemical and mechanical pretreatment of the fibers in a fluid suspension, the forming and dewatering of a web on a paper machine, and the post-treatment of the sheet with coating, calendering, and other mechanical processes.

Only a few universities in the United States offer B.S degrees in this area which is closely allied with chemical engineering: Maine, Syracuse, N.C. State, Miami(Ohio), W. Michigan, Stevens Point, Minnesota, and Washington.