All graduate students in chemical and biological engineering are required to pass the following core graduate courses:
- CHE 551 Advanced Thermodynamics I
- CHE 552 Transport Phenomena
- CHE 553 Computation in Chemical Engineering
- CHE 554 Chemical Reaction Engineering
Master of Science–Thesis Option (PLAN I): 30 Credit Hours
Candidates for the master’s degree under Plan I must earn a minimum of 24 semester hours of credit in coursework and write a thesis (a minimum of 6 semester hours of thesis research required).
- A minimum of 24 credit hours of coursework is required.
- A minimum of 6 hours of thesis research is required.
- A student’s curriculum and thesis must be approved by the student’s graduate advisory committee. The student must pass a final comprehensive examination, which is typically a presentation and defense of the thesis. In addition, the student must satisfy all University requirements defined in the current edition of The University of Alabama Graduate Catalog.
Master of Science–Non-Thesis Option (PLAN II): 30 Credit Hours
Candidates for the master’s degree under Plan II must earn a minimum of 30 semester hours of credit and complete a culminating or “Capstone Experience” as described below.
- A minimum of 30 credit hours of coursework is required. A minimum of 18 hours must be CHE courses, while the remaining 12 hours may be outside of CHE, with the approval of the Graduate Coordinator.
- The “Capstone Experience” consists of two components:
- First, a research presentation must be delivered to the faculty. The research presentation can be based on a literature review of a chemical engineering topic or a presentation of hands-on research results. The student must register for 1 hour of CHE 595 – Seminar during the semester of the presentation. Graduate Seminar Guidelines MS 2021 (pdf)
- The second component is a mentored grading experience, CHE 591 (3 hours), and this will count towards the 30 credit hours of coursework. The student will gain first-hand experience with several aspects of the chemical engineering educational process (homework design, grading, test preparation, etc.).
These two components (seminar + mentored grading experience) shall constitute The University of Alabama Graduate School culminating experience requirement for an MS Plan II degree in chemical and biological engineering.
For additional information about chemical engineering graduate programs, contact Dr. Yuping Bao.
For more information for current students visit: https://bama365.sharepoint.com/sites/ChBE-grad