Requirements for the Master of Science

Both thesis and non-thesis options are available for this degree. Whenever practicable the student is encouraged to pursue the thesis option and it is only this option for which financial aid is available from the department. The thesis option is composed of 24 credit hours of formal course work and a 6 credit thesis while the non-thesis option is composed of 36 credits of course work. 

All students must complete the core sequence of ChE 7110 (Mathematical Modeling), ChE 7120 (Thermodynamics), ChE 7130 (Transport Phenomena) and ChE 7140 (Reactor Design).  A maximum of nine credits of course work can be transferred upon approval of the department. During the Fall and Spring semesters, a full-time graduate student is expected to register and complete at least 12 credit hours of graduate course work. The 12 hours can be entirely formal course work, a combination of formal course work and research credits, or entirely research credits.   

Requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy 

A minimum of 30 credit hours of course work is required for the PhD. A minimum of 18 credits of graduate-level course work in chemical engineering is required, all of which must be at the 7000 level. The remaining 12 hours of course work can include graduate level courses in any department and may constitute a formal minor or an informal collection of courses of interest. Completion of the chemical engineering graduate core program, ChE 7110 (Mathematical Modeling), ChE 7120 (Thermodynamics), ChE 7130 (Transport Phenomena) and ChE 7140 (Reactor Design), or equivalents, is required. 

Students already holding a master's degree in chemical engineering can transfer up to 24 credits of course credit. The Director of Graduate Studies can review the student's transcripts and indicate what, if any, credit can be transferred. A minimum of six credits of course work numbered 7300 or greater must be taken in the department, regardless of the transferred credit. 

Students enrolling in the Ph.D. program take a written qualifying examination within one year of their enrollment. Within one year of successfully passing the qualifying examination, the student forms an examining committee and takes a "General Examination", which is an oral defense of a written plan for doctoral research. The final examination is an oral defense of the doctoral dissertation.

More details on requirements of the Graduate School can be found in the on-line Graduate Bulletin. You may also want to see Graduate School Regulations.