Mar 28, 2024  
2021-2022 Graduate Catalog 
    
2021-2022 Graduate Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]


Chemical Engineering (Ph.D.)



For more information about the Ph.D. program, see the Chemical Engineering  section of this catalog.

Doctoral degree requirements


The Ph.D. degree requires 90 credit hours. This is divided among major course work, minor subjects, and research work. Students enrolled in 12 hours per semester during the regular semesters and 3 hours during the summer term would achieve this total in just over 3 years.  A diversified and flexible choice of minor subjects and a good selection of research topics are available. Qualified students may bypass the master’s degree and work directly toward the Ph.D. degree.

Requirements specific to the Department of Chemical Engineering (please see below) are as follows:

  • Satisfactory completion of specified coursework.
  • Satisfactory performance in a qualifying examination covering the field of Chemical Engineering.
  • Submission of a written thesis proposal and satisfactory oral defense of this proposal.
  • Submission of an acceptable dissertation, and satisfactory oral defense of this dissertation.
  • Presentation of research results at a departmental seminar.

Required Courses


Ph.D. students are expected to be well grounded in the fundamentals of Chemical Engineering and must successfully complete the following courses (or their equivalents).

Elective Requirements (18 hours)


Elective Graduate Courses - all students are required to demonstrate a mastery of some body of knowledge in their research field by completing elective courses. At least fifteen hours of work is required in addition to those listed above.

No more than 6 hours of course work at the 500-level are permitted.

Thesis Hours


A Ph.D. must include at least 30 hours of research credits. All students on stipends must be enrolled 9 hours per semester. Students receive research credit for those hours not taken as coursework. Thus, reaching this minimum is not difficult.