Chemical Engineering — PhD
The doctor of philosophy provides for advanced course work and emphasizes original, creative research. A dissertation embodying the results of this research represents the major portion of the requirements for this degree. A minimum of 60 semester hours of graduate work past the bachelor’s degree is necessary. Each student may include 10 hours of research and dissertation as part of the 60 hours. Four calendar years beyond the bachelor’s degree or three past the master’s degree usually are needed to complete the PhD. There are four (4) core graduate courses for a total of 12 credit hours:
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| CHEN 7100 | Transport Phenomena | 3 |
| CHEN 7110 | Chemical Engineering Analysis and Advanced Transport Phenomena | 3 |
| CHEN 7200 | Chemical Engineering Thermodynamics | 3 |
| CHEN 7250 | Chemical Reaction Engineering | 3 |
| CHEN 8990 | Research and Dissertation | 10 |
| Select 9 Credits in CHEN 6000-8999 | 9 | |
| Select 29 Credits in @ 6000-8999 | 29 | |
| Total Hours | 60 | |
Additional 18 credit hours of chemical engineering (minimum 9 credit hours) and/or other elective courses at 6000 level or higher is required. The remaining 30 credit hours are composed of CHEN 8990 Research and Dissertation (minimum 10 credit hours), formal courses (6000 level or higher), and graduate seminar.
The General Doctoral Examination consists of two parts, the “PhD Qualifying Examination” and the “PhD Preliminary Oral Examination”. The PhD Qualifying Examination will be successfully fulfilled by earning a B or higher in each of the four (4) core graduate courses above.
At the PhD Preliminary Oral Examination, the student will present to their Faculty Research Advisory Committee a thorough description and comprehensive discussion of his/her proposed dissertation research. Successful completion of the Preliminary Oral Examination requires unanimous approval of the student’s Faculty Research Advisory Committee. Upon successful completion of the PhD Qualifying and Preliminary Oral Examinations, the student advances to candidacy. After completion of the dissertation, the student must pass a final oral examination defending the dissertation.
There is no language requirement for the PhD.