graduate program in chemical engineering
MS/PhD
Graduate Program Coordinator: P.T. Vasudevan
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For information about graduate study in the Department of Chemical Engineering or for general information about graduate studies at UNH, please contact the Graduate School.
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If you have specific questions about graduate study in the Department of Chemical Engineering, you may send mail to the Graduate Program Coordinator.
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Download a copy of the Graduate Brochure
Degrees Offered
The Department of Chemical Engineering offers the M.S. degree and the Ph.D. degree in Chemical Engineering
M.S. Admission Requirements
An applicant is expected to have completed a baccalaureate degree in chemical engineering. Students with good undergraduate records but with deficiencies in certain areas may be admitted on condition that they complete specified courses without credit to make up for their deficiencies. Applicants must submit current scores (within 5 years) from the general test of the GRE. International students are required to submit TOEFL test scores. IELTS scores are accepted on a case-by-case basis, and students must have a minimum score of 6.5.
M.S. Degree Requirements
A minimum of 30 credits, which must include Advanced Fluid Mechanics (CHE 913), Heat Transfer (CHE 915), Diffusive Mass Transfer (CHE 916), Advanced Chemical Engineering Thermodynamics (CHE 923), and Advanced Chemical Engineering Kinetics (CHE 932), is required for the Master of Science in chemical engineering. These five core courses constitute 15 credits. The remaining 9 course credits can be made up of electives offered by the department or by the college. Students take electives after consulting with their advisor. A thesis is required, for which a minimum of 6 credits will be allowed, unless the candidate is specifically exempted by the faculty because of previous research experience. For complete list of courses with course descriptions, click here.
Ph.D. Admission Requirements
Students admitted to the Ph.D. program normally hold master's degree in chemical engineering. Exceptional students with baccalaureate degree in chemical engineering are eligible for admission to the program. To be admitted, students must present evidence that they have a strong foundation in chemical engineering. Applicants must submit current scores (within 5 years) from the general test of the GRE. International students are required to submit TOEFL test scores. IELTS scores are accepted on a case-by-case basis, and students must have a minimum score of 6.5.
Ph.D. Degree RequirementsFollowing entrance into the program, the Ph.D. student’s advisor advises the student in outlining his/her program and may specify individual coursework requirements in addition to the required core courses. The core courses are fluid dynamics, mass transfer, heat transfer, thermodynamics and reaction kinetics. Each doctoral student must complete 39 course credit hours or 11 courses (whichever comes first) beyond the bachelor's degree with 5 of those courses specified as core at the 900 level. The remaining courses (totaling 24 credits) may be at the 800- or 900-level, and can be 3 or 4 credit courses. Students entering with a master's degree from other universities will be required to take a minimum of 15 credits or 5 courses at the 800- or 900-level at UNH. These students may be required to take or repeat some or all of the required core courses depending upon their credentials and preparation. This will be determined by the department Graduate Committee. The graduate coordinator also conducts an annual in-depth review of the student's progress and, following completion of the student's coursework (the five core courses), administers the written qualifying examination in each of the core courses. All coursework including electives should normally be completed by the end of the second year of full-time graduate study and must be completed before the student can be advanced to candidacy.The student must prepare a research proposal, which is different from his/her Ph.D. dissertation research, and defend the proposal in an oral examination before a committee. Upon the successful completion of the oral qualifying examination, the student is advanced to candidacy and, upon the recommendation of the graduate coordinator, a doctoral committee is appointed by the dean of the Graduate School. The doctoral committee conducts an annual review of the student's progress, supervises and approves the doctoral dissertation, and administers the final dissertation defense. There is no language requirement.