Mar 29, 2024  
2009-2010 Graduate Catalog 
    
2009-2010 Graduate Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Biobased Products and Bioenergy Graduate Certificate


Contact: John R. Schulp
Email: jrsch@ksu.edu

This certificate is offered through the Chemical Engineering  graduate program. Chemical feedstocks, materials, and fuels derived from biomass have received increasing emphasis nationally and are seen as being very desirable from a number of standpoints. Private industry now actively recruits individuals with specific training in bioprocessing and biobased materials. With the interest in green chemistry and in sustainability increasing along with the escalation of crude oil prices during 2008, emphasis on the utilization of biomass for energy and materials can only continue to increase. This rapidly expanding industry has a growing need for a trained workforce. This Graduate Certificate Program is designed to identify students’ focus in their graduate training as well as provide post-baccalaureate educational opportunities for industry practitioners for whom a full graduate degree program is not appropriate at that point in their career. Students can develop a truly interdisciplinary background in a specific area, and yet the certificate will permit any given individual to tailor their program of study to their specific interests.

Structure


The graduate certificate program proposed will consist of a minimum of fifteen (15) credit hours of coursework selected from a series of
courses approved by the Biobased Products and Bioenergy Certificate Committee (BPBCC). Each student will be required to complete at
least one of the courses below, each of which includes content from more than one of the designated subject areas. In the case of students
pursuing a graduate degree, the course cannot be selected from a student’s primary academic department.

Associated Courses


The remaining coursework is to be selected from at least three of the following four subject areas: plant science, plant/crop production,
processing, and utilization. The four courses above (AGRON 630, GRSC 825, CHE 715, and BAE 545) count towards the subject
area and academic department requirements while also serving as the primary required course.

Students will submit a proposed list of courses to be used in meeting the requirements for the certificate of graduate studies to the
coordinator of the biobased products and bioenergy certificate program with the program of study being formally approved by the BPBCC.