Graduate Program

Baton Rouge is the state capitol of Louisiana and home of the state’s flagship institution for higher education — LSU. Situated in the Acadian region, Baton Rouge blends the Old South and Cajun Cultures. Baton Rouge is one of the nation's busiest ports and the city's economy rests heavily on the chemical, oil, plastics, and agricultural industries. Louisiana and the Gulf Coast region lead the nation in growth of the chemical, petroleum, and materials industries. In these industries, about 40 percent of the professional staffs are chemical engineers. Attractions in and around Baton Rouge are plentiful and include a wide array of museums and other attractions. The great outdoors provide excellent recreational activities year-round, especially fishing, hunting, and water sports. The proximity of New Orleans provides for superb nightlife, especially during Mardi Gras. The city is also only two hours away from the Mississippi Gulf Coast, and four hours from either Gulf Shores or Houston.

LSU offers the Ph.D. as well as both thesis and non-thesis M.S. programs in Chemical Engineering. Students should have either a bachelor's degree from an accredited Chemical Engineering department or equivalent preparation in a department whose curriculum closely corresponds to Chemical Engineering (e.g., Chemical Technology, Polymer Engineering, Biochemical Engineering, etc.). Special programs can be developed for those with degrees from other disciplines.

The department is recognized as a strong educational and research unit, both regionally and nationally. During the past five years, the department has averaged 5 Ph.D. graduates per year and 7 M.S. graduates per year. Enrollment averages 55 students with 80% of those being Ph.D. candidates; and the overall quality of our entering students is the highest of any department at LSU. We are consistently among the top 20 in the nation in sponsored research. Current areas of concentration include Environmental Engineering—as related to both remediation and transport modeling, Catalysis and Reaction Engineering, Thermodynamics, Materials Science, Process Control, and Biochemical Engineering. In 2006-07, the department averaged $1.75 million in funded research grants. Funding is through external grants and contracts from federal agencies, including the National Science Foundation, the Department of Energy, and the Environmental Protection Agency; state sources; and, private (corporate) sources.
Part-time students are welcome. For the convenience of those working in near-by industry, key graduate courses are offered in the early evening. Students are encouraged to develop programs to meet their particular interests. With the conviction that chemical engineering training equips one to work in many fields, the faculty endorses and participates in interdisciplinary studies.

Graduation, Spring 2008

At a more personal level, countless graduates and faculty have attained distinction in our profession, as exemplified by the more than 50 LSU graduates in faculty positions around the world, the four who have been elected to the National Academy of Engineering, the two doctoral and three baccalaureate graduates who were recently recognized by AIChE as preeminent chemical engineers, and the five current faculty who are Fellows of AIChE.

Finally, concerning the intimate level at which you, the graduate student, must operate in order to be successful, we can say the following. No student will leave our department who has not had the opportunity to interact both personally and intellectually with the faculty, staff and research associates. There is no research group so large that it is isolated, and joint research projects are common. Cross-disciplinary interaction with our colleagues in Chemistry, Mechanical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Microbiology, the Center for Advanced Microstructures and Devices, Wetland Biogeochemistry and many others will add to your experience. Your classes will be taught by faculty who understand their role in graduate education. Finally, LSU is among the most beautiful of college campuses and was recently ranked one of the country’s most popular universities by U.S. News & World Report.

Research information relevant to all current faculty members can be found on our Research web page.

Graduate Coordinator
Cain Department of Chemical Engineering South Stadium Drive, Rm. 110 Louisiana State University Baton Rouge, LA 70803
Telephone:	(225) 578-1426 or toll-free: (800)-256-2084
FAX:	(225) 578-1476
E-Mail:	gradcoor@lsu.edu

This page was last modified on March 25, 2009.