Chemical Engineering M.S.

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Overview of the Department of Chemical Engineering Master of Science (M.S.):

New Masters students are typically only admitted to the M.E. program. In cases where a Chemical Engineering faculty member is willing to serve as thesis advisor, it may be possible for M.E. students to transition to a thesis-based M.S. degree after being admitted to the M.E. degree program.

The M.S. degree program requires full-time enrollment.

For the M.S. degree, students will take five core graduate courses dealing with the fundamental aspects of chemical engineering. These courses comprise half (15 credits) of the minimum 30-credit requirement for the M.S. degree. The M.S. degree requires a minimum of 6 credits of research and an independent research effort culminating in a written thesis that must be defended before an examining committee. The M.S. degree requires three elective graduate courses, in addition to the five core graduate courses.

Program Duration

The master’s program is ordinarily begun in the fall semester, with the required course work being taken during the fall and spring semesters. If a student transfers to M.S., thesis research or project work that was begun during the academic year is then carried out on a full-time basis during the following summer and academic year.

Degree Requirements

A minimum of thirty (30) credits of graduate level courses are required for a master’s degree in chemical engineering. Degree candidates must complete an approved plan of study incorporating the following:

For the M.S. Degree

A minimum of thirty (30) credits of graduate course work including the five chemical engineering core courses and three elective graduate courses.
A minimum of 6 credit hours of research carried out under thesis course, CHE 8998.
Presentation of an acceptable thesis based on research conducted under CHE 8998.

All M.S. students should regularly attend the graduate seminar (CHE 7996).

Transfer credit may be approved for inclusion in the plan of study for the master’s degree. Students should consult “Transfer Credit” in the School of Engineering and Applied Science—Academic Rules section of the Record for policies that govern transferring credits. Application for transfer credit is made on the Request Approval of Transfer Credits form located at: https://engineering.virginia.edu/graduate-forms.

Chemical Engineering Core Courses

The five core graduate chemical engineering courses are:

CHE 6615 - Advanced Thermodynamics Credits: 3
CHE 6618 - Chemical Reaction Engineering Credits: 3
CHE 6625 - Transport Processes Credits: 3
CHE 6630 - Mass Transfer Credits: 3
CHE 6665 - Techniques for Chemical Engineering Analysis and Design Credits: 3
All core courses must be completed at UVA. A grade of C- or lower does not satisfy the core course requirement (or any course credits to be applied towards a Chemical Engineering graduate degree.

Advisors

Newly enrolled graduate students will be advised by the Graduate Program Coordinator.

Plan of Study

Each candidate for the master’s degree must submit a Plan of Study (available in the department office) which must be approved by the advisor and the department.

The recommended course load for master’s degree candidates is four 3-credit graduate courses per semester. Students who wish to carry more than four courses in a semester must secure the recommendation of their advisor and the approval of the departmental faculty.

Thesis Defense

After the student’s M.S. thesis has been approved by his/her advisor, an M.S. thesis defense committee will be appointed. This committee consists of at least three UVA faculty members; two faculty members must be from Chemical Engineering.

Copies of the thesis should be given to the committee members at least one week before the date of the thesis defense. Please note that Chemical Engineering requires that the M.S. thesis bibliography include titles of journal articles.

Students should consult the “M.S. Thesis Defense Committee” and “M.S. Milestone Requirements” in the School of Engineering and Applied Science—Academic Rules section of the Record for additional information.