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| Dept of Chemical Engineering Carnegie Mellon University 5000 Forbes Avenue Pittsburgh, PA 15213-3890 USA Phone: (412) 268 - 2230 Fax: (412) 268 - 7139 |
About the MChE degree... The Master of Chemical Engineering (MChE) is a coursework-only degree signifying that the recipient has learned fundamental chemical engineering principles forming the foundation of analysis. The Master of Chemical Engineering program produces skilled engineers having a deeper understanding of the fundamentals of chemical engineering as well as a broader set of professional skills and/or exposure to other technical disciplines. This training is designed to meet the growing need of the process industries for chemical engineers with deeper technical backgrounds. Thus the MChE graduate makes use of a deeper and more flexible toolkit of knowledge when confronted with engineering problems. Students take four of the graduate core courses and one other graduate chemical engineering course toward this end. The degree requirements include electives that allow students to take several Breadth/Depth/Skill courses to complement the core knowledge. These electives are essentially free electives so the student can study alternative topics such as business, finance, entrepreneurship, or take more science or engineering. Students entering with a BSChE can earn the MChE with one additional academic year of study. It is even possible to graduate with a BSChE and MChE at the same time for CMU undergraduates; it is arduous but has been done. It is likewise possible to enter the MChE program from another discipline and obtain the MChE degree after taking some basic courses as background for the four graduate core required courses. This path, however, typically requires an extra year.
Who might be interested in a MChE degree? The Master of Chemical Engineering (MChE) is an attractive degree for students wanting to deepen their understanding of engineering fundamentals and obtain a graduate degree that gives them a competitive edge, but who do not want to spend two years doing coursework, research, and a thesis. Since only coursework is required, the MChE can be completed within nine months starting from a BSChE. The MChE is also an attractive degree for students who want to become chemical engineers but have an undergraduate degree in another discipline. Depending on the student's background, three or four academic semesters will be required to complete both background coursework and the MChE requirements. Carnegie Mellon undergraduates find the MChE particularly attractive because it provides the highest quality preparation, the shortest time to completion, and the convenience of not having to move to another location. The degree is typically completed in a fifth year of residence; undergraduates become graduate students. Graduates with the MChE successfully compete for industrial positions and fellowships in graduate school. Recruiters place a premium on students having this additional education.
Application and Admission All students applying for the MChE must follow the Online Application Procedures. Admission is based on overall academic performance, recommendation letters and standardized test scores (GRE and TOEFL if applicable). Applicants should have better than a "B" average in chemical engineering courses and overall. Junior and senior Carnegie Mellon undergraduates may apply to the MChE at any time; a minimum overall QPA of 3.25 and three letters of recommendation from faculty of the Department of Chemical Engineering are required. The deadline for application will be January 15 for the fall semester, and October 15 for the spring semester. Late applications may also be considered.
Requirements MChE degree candidates must satisfy the following requirements: The MChE degree requires the completion of at least eight courses and 96 units with a cumulative QPA of 3.0 or better in the following categories: (a) At least four core graduate-level courses (48 units minimum) in chemical engineering from among the list below: 06-702 Advanced Reaction Kinetics (12 units) (b) At least one advanced level course (9 units minimum) in chemical or other engineering (600-level or higher) or science (Biological Sciences, Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics, Computer Science, Operations Research, or Statistics; 400-level or higher). This requirement may be substituted by a one-semester research project (06-600) that requires the submission of a report. Examples: 06-606 Computational Methods for Large Scale Process Design and Analysis, 06-607 Physical Chemistry of Colloids and Surfaces, 06-609 Physical Chemistry of Macromolecules, 06-619 Semiconductor Processing Technology, 06-640 Principles and Applications of Molecular Simulation, 06-717 Fermentation Technology, 06-721 BioProcess Design; 03-620 Techniques in Electron Microscopy; 09-510 Introduction to Environmentally Benign Chemistry; 15-413 Software Engineering; 21-660 Introduction to Numerical Methods; 33-755 Quantum Mechanics I; 36-707 Regression Analysis; 47-834 Linear Programming (c) Sufficient elective courses to meet the required 96 units. The courses must be 200-level or higher in chemical or other engineering, science, industrial management, economics, or almost any other discipline on campus with the exception of physical education, at the choice of the student. Examples: 03-331 Biochemistry I; 09-441 Nuclear and Radiochemistry; 18-220 Fundamentals of Electrical Engineering; 33-448 Introduction to Solid State Physics; 70-371 Production I; 70-391 Finance; 73-260 Econometrics I; 76-379 Technical Communications for Engineers Three sample curricula follow: Example 1: (96 units) Fall: (51 units) Spring: (45 units)
Example 2: (96 units) Fall: (48 units) Spring: (48 units)
Example 3: (96 units) Fall: (51 units) Spring: (45 units) The above sample curricula are for students entering with a Bachelor's degree in chemical engineering. Students entering with a degree in another discipline should check with the Graduate Advisor (Professor Sides) to design an appropriate program and optimize the entry point into graduate chemical engineering.
How much does it cost? Students should plan on two to three academic semesters of study depending on preparation. See Tuition and Fees for estimates of the current cost of study per semester at Carnegie Mellon. Students derive financial support for this program either from their own resources, employer programs, foundations or governmental agency sources. The Department of Chemical Engineering does not offer fellowships to MChE students.
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