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Undergraduate Curriculum | ABET Objectives | | Graduate Program
Graduate Programs
Graduate Students working one of the many new laboratories located within the Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies. The 218,000-square-foot, $80 million facility offers high-tech laboratories, an expansive atrium, and provides a platform for
collaboration among many diverse academic and research disciplines.
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The Chemical and Biological Engineering Department offers the Master of Science,
the Master of Engineering, and the Doctor of Philosophy degrees, each of which is tailored to fulfill the
varying educational needs of its graduate students.
All graduate programs offer flexibility. Students are advised to plan programs
that use course choices and electives to obtain in-depth studies in one or more subspecialties
of their degree majors. Cross-disciplinary studies using courses offered by other departments or
schools at Rensselaer are encouraged.
In addition, all graduate degree programs are arranged individually, and students are encouraged to
use electives to conduct intensive studies in one or more subdisciplines or specialties. The M.S. and
Ph.D. programs are particularly flexible. However, each student's program must include the following courses:
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Master's Programs |
| The master's degree represents an intermediate level of academic preparation. It is often
the optimal degree for careers in engineering design. |
| Master of Science |
The M.S., which requires a thesis, may be used for professional entry, but is also well suited
to students who wish to measure their ability to get a Ph.D. without commitment of
extra time beyond that required for an M.S. A special optional master's program is available for this purpose.
For the M.S., 30 credits of graduate-level studies, including six credits for the thesis, are normally required.
However, the thesis requirement may vary from three to nine hours at the discretion of the department.
The 24 hours of approved course work must include at least 15 credits of 6000-level courses.
A formal thesis defense is not required.
Students who wish to follow the optional master's program should plan to take the Ph.D. comprehensive examination
during their second semester of full-time graduate studies. The examination may be taken a maximum of two times.
Passing students may register for an additional three credits of CHME-6990
Master's Thesis, and formal course work requirements for the master's degree are reduced to 21 hours. The student
also has the option of proceeding directly toward a Ph.D. without completing the master's thesis. This option will
normally reduce the time required for a Ph.D. by about six months. Students who elect to proceed in this manner will receive
an M.S. degree, with thesis requirmenets waived, after two years of satisfactory full-time study and acceptance
of the dissertation proposal.
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| Master of Engineering |
The M.Eng. degree involves formal course work only and does not require a thesis. This degree is
awarded on completion of 30 credits of course work. For a student with an accredited B.S. degree in chemical enigneering,
the program includes the following:
Of the electives, at least two must be chemical engineering courses, and at least two must be nonchemical engineering courses.
A feature of this M.Eng. program is the opportunity to concentrate in one of the subspecialties of chemical engineering.
These areas include (but are not limited to) biological engineering, process systems engineering, materials engineering, and polymer engineering.
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Doctoral Programs |
The Ph.D. degree represents the highest level of academic preparation. With it, a student can expect to maintain
technical competence and contributions throughout a professional career. It is usually the preferred degree for research
and development in industry and government and for teaching.
Within the Chemical and Biological Engineering Department, 90 credits of graduate-level studies, including the dissertation,
are required for a Ph.D. The emphasis is on advanced study in a specialty with major focus on the dissertation. A doctoral
student must pass a comprehensive examination, prepare a dissertation proposal and the dissertation itself, and present and defend the dissertation.
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