Master's Degree

The chemical engineering master's programs offer a unique opportunity for an individual to broaden and enhance his or her undergraduate training with concentrated study in a specialized area of chemical engineering. The program is a blend of "traditional" programs based on full-time, resident graduate activity and "industrial" programs that can be beneficial to students employed in nearby industries or to those who want to alternate periods of full-time graduate work and full-time work in industry.

The department offers two graduate path alternatives. Our Master of Science (MS) degree program is a traditional thesis-based approach whereby the student pursues both laboratory and course work culminating in the preparation and oral defense of a written thesis. Our Master of Chemical Engineering (MChE) degree is a course-based master's program which requires additional coursework or project study in lieu of a traditional thesis.

Areas of specialization within our department include energy and sustainability, separations, biochemical engineering and biosystems, process and transport modeling, process control and optimization, petroleum engineering, thermodynamics and molecular simulations, polymers, interfacial phenomena and nanotechnology, and particulate materials.

The department also offers undergraduate students who are ahead in their courses to work towards a master's degree while still completing their bachelor's degree. Students who wish to pursue this path should talk to their advisors.

See the Chemical Engineering page under graduate studies for more information.