Chemical Engineering, Ph.D.

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The Department of Chemical Engineering offers graduate programs leading to the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in chemical engineering.The M.S. degree is offered under Plan A and Plan B. In addition, an environmental engineering program, run jointly by the Department of Chemical Engineering and the Department of Civil and Architectural Engineering, offers graduate programs leading to an M.S. in environmental engineering under either Plan A or Plan B.

The mission of the graduate program in Chemical Engineering is to prepare students to be leaders in industry, government, or academia.

A master’s degree is not required to enter a Ph.D. program.

Graduate Core Classes

All incoming Ph.D students must have an adviser. The student is responsible for contacting faculty members in order to find an adviser.

All Chemical Engineering graduate students must take the following Chemical Engineering Core courses:

CHE 5020 - Thermodynamics Credits: 3
CHE 5010 - Transport Phenomena Credits: 3
CHE 5030 - Reaction Kinetics Credits: 3
CHE 5355 - Mathematical Methods in Chemical Engineering Credits: 3

Doctoral Program

Credit Hours

CHE 5980 - Dissertation Research Credits: 30
Electives - Credits: 30 (CHE 5980 will count toward your electives)
Total Credits: 72

Ph.D. Seminar Requirements

All chemical engineering graduate students must enroll in CHE 5890, Chemical Engineering Seminar, every semester. All seminars, including the required presentations described below, must be scheduled by the seminar coordinator. Registered off-campus graduate students can be exempt from having to enroll in CHE 5890.

Ph.D. Preliminary Examination

All Ph.D. students must pass a preliminary examination no later than the end of the student’s fifth full semester in the graduate program and a least 15 weeks prior to the dissertation defense. Prior to attempting the Ph.D. preliminary examination, students must have completed all required core classes no later than the end of their fourth semester in the graduate program. Students must file a program of study prior to attempting the preliminary examination.

The goal of the preliminary exam is for the student to demonstrate his or her research progress to-date and present the research proposition that will be investigated and lead to his or her final dissertation. The preliminary exam consists of three components: a written document provided to each member of the student’s graduate committee at least one week prior to the oral presentation; a public oral presentation; and a private examination by the student’s graduate committee immediately following the oral presentation.

The written document may be in any format but must concisely provide a survey of the relevant literature, a summary of the student’s progress to-date, and a clear, detailed plan for the successful completion of the proposed work. The preliminary exam oral presentation should be consistent with the written document. It should provide an appropriate literature background, demonstrate proficiency with proposed experimental/computational techniques, identify details of the experiments to be performed, and provide a timeline to final defense.

The student’s committee will pass or fail the student on the strength of the preliminary examination, with an option to conditionally pass the student while requiring an interim committee meeting prior to the final Ph.D. examination. A form sent by the student’s adviser to the Office of the Registrar reports the results of the examination.

Ph.D. Final Examination (Dissertation Defense)

All Ph.D. students must orally defend their thesis or dissertation at a public final examination. If, for any reason, a student’s Ph.D. research goals are substantially changed after successful completion of the preliminary examination, the student must arrange a subsequent meeting to provide their committee with an accurate and current overview of their proposed work. The final examination consists of a public thesis defense in oral presentation format. At least two weeks before the examination, the student must provide each member of the graduate committee with a copy of the written thesis of Ph.D. dissertation and provide the department an announcement of their defense for advertisement by bulletin board, e-mail, or other means. The results of the examination are reported on the Report of Final Examination form. Graduate committee members may request changes in the thesis or dissertation, and they may postpone signing the form until they are satisfied that those changes have been made.

Publication of Thesis or Dissertation

After the defense, an electronic copy (in PDF format) of the thesis or dissertation must be uploaded in accordance with the directions provided on the Graduate Student Resources web site. This copy will be rejected if the format standards specified by the Thesis and Dissertation Format Guide are not met. This guide allows for a publication-ready format. If required by the department and/or committee, additional printed copies should be delivered to the University Store for binding. Students should consult with the adviser to determine if the adviser wants a copy of the thesis, dissertation, or other research documentation.