Chemical Engineering, M.S.

Graduate Study Guidelines

All incoming M.S. Plan A and M.S. Plan B 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

Plan B (Non-Thesis)

The coursework requirements are the same as the M.S. Plan A requirements except that Thesis Research (CHE 5960) is not required. Plan B students take an additional 4 hours of elective course credits (total of 30 hours required).

M.S. Plan B students must write a paper on a topic assigned by the adviser. This paper must be submitted to the student’s graduate committee for approval. A final presentation is then required.

M.S. 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.

M.S. Thesis (Dissertation Defense)

All M.S. Plan A students must orally defend their thesis or dissertation at a public final examination. If, for any reason, a student’s M.S. 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 M.S. thesis 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. Often, graduate committee members request changes in the thesis, 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, dis¬sertation, or other research documentation.