|
Graduate Program in Chemical Engineering
View the department's
Graduate Program brochure.
The Department of Chemical Engineering offers graduate programs
leading to Master of Science and Doctor Philosophy degrees. The thesis
masters program includes 18 credits of course work and 12 credits of
research. A written thesis and a formal
thesis defense are required.
A non-thesis masters program is available for
part-time students, with permission of the department chair.
Requirements for the Ph.D. degree include
18 credits of course work beyond the M.S. and 24 credits of
research. Students must pass a comprehensive examination and defend an
original dissertation.
The department also offers a Polymer Certificate Program.
The post-baccalaureate certificate program in polymers is targeted
toward students who possess a bachelor's degree in an engineering or
science field and are seeking further education in polymers. The
program provides opportunities for students to improve their knowledge
of polymers in areas outside of their specific field of expertise, to
apply their technical knowledge to problems in polymer engineering and
science, and to develop technical skills that can be applied in
industrial polymer engineering positions.
The Master of Science (M.S.) requires a bachelor's degree in chemical
engineering; candidates from other engineering fields or from mathematics,
biology, chemistry, or physics may be accepted into the program
with possible addition of prerequisite courses.
A Ph.D. candidate's program is determined in consultation with his or
her committee and is usually based on his or her background or career
goals. A comprehensive examination is required and, while there is no
general language requirement, a student's committee may require a
foreign language or research tool in addition to an acceptable
dissertation.
Courses in
thermodynamics and transport phenomena
are required of all M.S. level graduate students. Ph.D. candidates are
required to take advanced chemical engineering thermodynamics and advanced
transport phenomena. Additional classes involve technical electives,
often related to a student's research area. See the
Chemical Engineering section of the
URI Catalog for official details.
Areas of research concentration include
- Bioengineering
- Colloids and Surfaces
- Computational Methods
- Environmental Engineering
- Materials and Characterization
- Molecular Simulation
- Polymers
- Process Engineering
New students in 2008 will likely work on one of these
new planned projects.
Department facilities include a scanning electron microscope with
EDAX, static and dynamic laser light scattering, auger probe, scanning
probe microscopy, contact angle goniometer, IR spectroscopy,
differential scanning calorimeter, thermo-gravimetric analyzer, light
microscopes. In addition, the university makes available a wide range
of analytical equipment including TEM (cryo and normal), NMR, confocal
microscopy. Research programs within the department are currently
supported by the NSF, NASA, and the EPA; the State of Rhode Island; and
many industrial firms.
A package of self-managed application materials is available. This
may be obtained by downloading the
U.S. and
international applications forms.
Application and Admission
The following passages are intended to provide information to potential
graduate study applicants. You are strongly encouraged to read this information
carefully because it will help you understand the application, admission,
financial aid and orientation processes. It will also answer many common
questions and concerns related to graduate study in Chemical Engineering
at URI.
Applicants must complete and submit the appropriate application
information to be considered for admission and financial aid.
This information includes
- an on-line application form
- statement of purpose (also on-line)
- official transcripts (not copies)
- official TOEFL score (not a copy)
- letters of recommendation on letterhead or submitted on-line
- application fee ($50, can be paid on-line)
Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores are optional for
both domestic and international applicants, as listed on a reference
copy of the application forms
(international
or US).
The University has established a
minimum TOEFL
score of 550 (paper based test); the
equivalent minimum score on the computer-based test is 213.
On the newest TOEFL test, minimum scores are
20 (reading), 22 (writing),
17 (listening), and
17/23 (speaking, higher value to be a
teaching assistant). If your TOEFL score is below these minimum
values, then you cannot be accepted into the program.
It is important to pay careful attention to the details associated
with the information required for admission. Applications will
only be reviewed when all of this information and the application fee
have been received by the Chemical Engineering Department. For
those wishing to enter in the fall semester,
deadlines
for application are February 1 and
July 15 of the same calendar year for
International and US applicants respectively. For entry in the
spring semester, July 15 and
November 15 are the respective deadlines
for International and US applicants. The application deadline for US
applicants for summer entry is April 15
of the same calendar year. We do not waive application fees but do
acknowledge receipt of this material by mail. It is the
applicant's responsibility to ensure that all of the necessary
information has been forwarded to URI.
Financial Aid for Graduate Students
We do not prescreen application material. Our policy is
to review applications in a timely manner and rank applicants according
to qualifications in order to fill a limited number of both Teaching
Assistantship (TA) and/or Research Assistantship (RA) positions.
We also do not respond to questions regarding rank.
Once applications have been reviewed and a rank of applicants has
been decided, applicants will be notified of the results of the review, including
those who are declined admission. Offers of admission and financial aid
are made starting with those at the top of the list and working downward.
It has been our recent policy to provide full financial aid for
all incoming full-time students so that all full-time graduate students
in the department are supported. Part-time students can also apply
for financial aid. Applicants who receive offers of admission and financial
aid will initially receive information from both the Department of Chemical
Engineering and the Graduate School. Information from the department
will consist of a letter from the Chair of the Graduate Committee stating
the conditions of admission, financial aid, and other general terms.
Graduate School information will consist
of the following:
- a letter of admission from the Dean of the Graduate School
- an Intent to Enroll form
- a financial responsibility form
The letter from the Dean of the Graduate School will not contain any
statements regarding financial aid. This is something that is
autonomously determined by each department. Full financial aid
consists of funds to cover the first academic (or calendar) year of
- tuition
($21,046/yr)
- stipend ($13,144/ academic yr; $5000-10,000/summer)
- health insurance ($1045)
- registration fee
with the intent of continued support provided the student’s
performance
meets acceptable standards. The figures shown in parenthesis are
rough amounts meant to give the applicant an idea of the level of support.
These figures change from year to year, usually in July, and slight
differences may exist. Financial aid does not cover other
fees (e.g.,
health fees, student activities fees, etc.) which total roughly $600/per
semester because of RI state regulations; this is normally the responsibility
of the student.
Intent to Enroll and Financial Responsibility
Forms
Any applicant receiving an offer of admission and financial aid
will have ample time to decide to accept or decline
that offer. Those applicants accepting our offer must complete
both the Intent to Enroll and Financial Responsibility forms and return
them promptly to the correct campus offices. The Intent to Enroll
form must be sent to the Graduate School while the Financial Responsibility
form must be sent to the International Students and
Scholars (ISS) Office. Mailing addresses for both of these
administrative offices are on the associated forms.
I-20 Form for International Students
This is particularly important for international students, since
processing an I-20 form can not begin until all official application
and financial responsibility information is received by the ISS
Office. The I-20 form, which is both required by law and necessary
for a visa application, is the responsibility of the ISS Office and
not the Department of Chemical Engineering. This process is begun
shortly after the student accepts the admissions offer.
Once an I-20 form is received, international students
can apply for a visa. Proper visa and passport application is the
responsibility of the prospective student.
Orientation
Those new full-time graduate students entering in the fall semester
will participate in both a mandatory department and mandatory Graduate
School orientation program shortly before the beginning of the
semester. Thus students should make appropriate travel plans to
arrive on campus a few days prior to those orientation meetings. The
dates of those meetings are forwarded to new graduate students in
correspondences from both the Chemical Engineering department and the
Graduate School.
Incoming spring semester full-time graduate students are only required
to attend a departmental orientation program since the Graduate School does
not offer an orientation program in the spring.
Many of the graduate students in the department belong to on-campus
student organizations that are outside of Chemical Engineering. The
most popular include
|
