Degree programs and requirements
UC Berkeley photo.
Doctor of Philosophy Degree
- The Ph.D. program is designed to enlarge the body of knowledge of the student
and, more importantly, to discover and develop talent for original,
productive, and creative work in chemical engineering.
- Breadth of knowledge and professional training are achieved through advanced
course work. The course requirement is 30 letter-graded semester units.
Twelve units derive from a required core of 4 chemical engineering courses
in the areas of mathematics, thermodynamics, reaction engineering, and
transport phenomena. An additional 9 unit sequence in an outside specialty
is required, and 9 additional units must be taken from departmental
graduate electives. In addition to these 30 units, the department recognizes
that practicing chemical engineers draw increasingly on information
from other disciplines. Students are strongly encouraged to pursue additional
courses of specific relevance to their thesis research and to explore
other areas of technical, professional, or personal interest.
- To develop the creative talents of the student, a paramount emphasis in
the Ph.D. program is placed on intensive research, a project on which
students work closely with one or more members of the faculty. Students
are expected to consult extensively with faculty members to choose the
research project early in their first semester. Students begin their
research at that time.
- Two
departmental examinations are required in the course of the degree.
The first, an oral preliminary examination, is held at the beginning
of the second semester to ensure adequate knowledge of fundamental graduate
and undergraduate course material. The results of this examination,
performance in course work, and a statement from the students' research
director are used by a committee of the faculty to evaluate the students'
progress toward the Ph.D.
- The second examination, the oral qualifying examination
taken at the beginning of the fifth semester
in residence, consists of a written technical
manuscript and a formal presentation of students'
research, including review of the most relevant
literature, research accomplishments to date,
and a future plan. Students spend most of
their time after passing the examinations
on their dissertation research projects.
- The department requires that each doctoral candidate
assist in the instructional program of the
department as a teaching assistant for two
semesters. The faculty regard teaching experience
as highly valuable for all graduate students,
especially those who plan to teach as a career.
- Completion of the Ph.D. occurs with the filing of the student's dissertation. Time
for completion of the degree is on average slightly more than five years.
Master's Degree
We are currently only accepting applications to the MS - Product Development Program
Course Catalog
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