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Graduate Study Guidelines


Degrees Offered
     M. S. and Ph.D. degrees in Chemical Engineering and Petroleum Engineering are offered.

Selection of Research Projects
     Typically, most new students do not have a research adviser and research topic when they come to the University of Wyoming. These students' initial adviser shall be the departmental Graduate Studies Coordinator. During the first semester, the faculty will present available research projects. Students (except for those who are assigned research advisers prior to admission and M.S. Plan B students) will be asked to submit, in writing, their top three project choices. The faculty will then assign research projects and advisers to graduate students.

Graduate Committees

     Shortly after an adviser is assigned, each student, in consultation with his or her adviser, should form a graduate committee. A student's graduate committee is appointed by the Dean of the Graduate School and is based on the recommendation of the department or division chair or head. The committee guides the student in course work selection and project development, and approves completion of the requirements.

     All committees will have at least one member of the UW Graduate Faculty from the appropriate department/division as chairperson and a member of the UW Graduate Faculty from outside the major department/division. All committees may have members from outside the University of Wyoming Faculty.

     The master's graduate committee will consist of at least three members, including the major professor (the committee chair).

     The PhD committee will consist of at least five members, including the major professor (the committee chair); not fewer than three, not more than four, members will be from the major department/division.

     Changes in committee membership or major professor assignment can be requested at any time by the department/division head. This is normally done in consultation with the student and committee chair. The Dean of Graduate School, however, is responsible for approving and making these and any other changes to the graduate committee.

Satisfactory Progress

     Students are expected to make satisfactory progress in their degree programs. Satisfactory progress in coursework is defined as maintaining a grade point average of 3.0 or higher. Students are also expected to make satisfactory progress in their research, which is defined by the student's adviser and graduate committee. Students, therefore, should frequently consult with their advisers to be aware of their adviser's expectations. Failure to make satisfactory progress can result in a reduction in the student's stipend. If a student continues to make unsatisfactory progress in two semesters, then he or she may be asked to withdraw from the program.

     Graduate study is normally considered a year-round, full time job. Student's absence must be approved in advance by the student's adviser.

     Each student must submit a program of study form. The program of study includes all courses that are required for the student's degree. Samples of the program of study forms are attached. This form, and other Graduate School forms, are available from the department office, the Graduate School, and the Graduate School's web site (http://uwadmnweb.uwyo.edu/uwgrad/).

Seminar Requirements

     All chemical and petroleum engineering graduate students must enroll in CHE/PETE 5890, Chemical and Petroleum Engineering Seminar, every semester. All seminars, including the required presentations described below, must be scheduled by the Seminar Coordinator.

     M.S. Plan A candidates must present at least one seminar (thesis defense) before they graduate. Ph.D. candidates must present the following seminars before they graduate: (a) Program-of-Study seminar (an outline of research goals and status described in the Program of Study, usually given in the second or third semester), (b) Preliminary Examination (Admission to Candidacy, at least 15 weeks prior to the final examination), and (c) Final Examination (dissertation defense). A successful Program of Study seminar can be approved for CHE 5150 or PETE 5150 Topics credits (3 hours) or CHE 5880 Chemical Engineering Problems credits (3 hours) or PETE 5200 Petroleum Engineering Problems credits (3 hours). If the research goals are changed between the Program-of-Study and Preliminary Examination, the research adviser should ask the student to give an additional seminar. A student who presents a paper at a conference is encouraged to present it also as a CHE/PETE 5890 seminar.

     The seminars should be attended and evaluated by the Committee members, with input from the faculty; the faculty members can attend the Committee meetings, at their discretion. A satisfactory evaluation qualifies the student to retain the PhD-candidate status. At least one week before the presentation, the student must provide each member of the Committee and faculty with a written document; its format is at the discretion of the adviser, but it should be at least a copy of the slides used for the presentation.

     Registered off-campus graduate students can be exempt from having to enroll in CHE/PETE 5890, but not from having to give the required seminars.

Coursework Requirements, M.S. Plan A

  1. At least four classes from the following list (all are 3 credit classes)
    1. CHE/PETE 5010 Transport Phenomena or CHE 5160 Biomedical Engineering - Transport Processes
    2. CHE/PETE 5020 Thermodynamics
    3. CHE 5030 Reaction Kinetics or CHE 5170 Polymeric Materials Synthesis
    4. CHE 5180 Biophysics or CHE 5190 Polymeric Materials: Characterization & Properties
    5. CHE/PETE 5050 Structure and Properties of Porous Media
    6. CHE/PETE 5060 Flow in Porous Media
    7. CHE/PETE 5080 Interfacial Phenomena                                 12
  2. A graduate level course in mathematics, statistics, or computing         3
  3. CHE/PETE 5960, Thesis Research                                                     4
  4. Electives                                                                                       11
                                                               Total                                 30

Coursework Requirements, M.S. Plan B

M.S. Plan programs do not require a thesis. The coursework requirements are the same as the M.S. Plan A requirements except that Thesis Research (CHE, PETE 5960) is not required. Plan B students must take an additional 4 hours of elective course credits (total of 30 hours required).

M.S. Plan B Paper

M.S. Plan B students must write a paper on a topic assigned by the adviser. This paper must be submitted to the student's Graduate Committee for approval.

Coursework Requirements, Ph.D.

  1. M.S. Plan A list (except CHE, PETE 5960); petitions allowed                                         26
  2. Dissertation Research (CHE or PETE 5980) or 5990 Internship                                     30
  3. Electives (no Internship 5990)                                                                                   16
                                                                    Total                                                        72

Ph.D. Preliminary Examination

Ph.D. students must pass a preliminary examination. The examination should be scheduled about a year before the final dissertation defense. The Graduate School requires at least 15 weeks between the preliminary examination and the dissertation defense. Students must complete at least 30 hours of coursework and file a program of study prior to the examination.

The examination consists of an oral presentation to the student's Graduate Committee. At least one week before the presentation, the student must provide each member of the Graduate Committee with a written document; its format is at the discretion of the adviser, but it should be at least a copy of the slides used for the presentation. Both the paper and the presentation must describe the student's research progress and plans to complete the research. A form sent by the student's adviser to the Graduate School reports the results of the examination.

M.S. Thesis or Ph.D. Dissertation Defense

M.S. Plan A and Ph.D. students must orally defend their thesis or dissertation at a public, final examination. The defense time and room must be scheduled by the Seminar Coordinator. A copy of the M.S. thesis must be delivered to each member of the Graduate Committee at least two weeks before the examination. A copy if the Ph.D. dissertation must be delivered to each member of the Graduate Committee at least three weeks before the defense. Ph.D. students must send a defense announcement to the Graduate School. The defense must be advertised by bulletin board postings, e-mail, or other means.

The results of the examination are reported on the Completion of Requirements form. Often, Graduate Committee members request changes in the thesis or dissertation, and they may postpone signing the form until they are satisfied that those changes have been made.

Publication of Thesis or Dissertation

After the defense, one unbound copy and one CD-ROM copy (in PDF format) of the thesis or dissertation must be submitted to the Graduate School. These copies will be rejected if the format standards specified by the Thesis and Dissertation Format Guide are not met. This Guide allows for a publication-ready format, that is, a published or publishable manuscript can be used as a thesis or dissertation chapter, as long as the same material has never been used in another thesis or dissertation, and the appropriate copyright releases are in place.

A third, bound copy must be submitted to the Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering for the departmental library. Most students will want one or more copies for their own use. Students should consult with their adviser to determine if the adviser wants a copy of the thesis, dissertation, or other research documentation.

Additional Graduate School Requirements

This document lists the requirements set by the Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, and some of the requirements set by the Graduate School. For a more complete description of Graduate School requirements, see the Graduate Student Handbook and the first 30 pages of the Graduate School Bulletin.

Requirement Check Sheet for M.S. Plan A and Ph.D. Students

Semester Deadline What Who Completion Date
First 1. List research project preferences student
2. Assign research project faculty
3. Change adviser Graduate Coordinator
4. Form Graduate Committee List from student & adviser. Memo to Grad School from Dept. Head
Second Submit program of study. M.S. student
Second/ Third Submit program of study. Ph.D. student
Program of Study Seminar Ph.D. student
Min. 15 weeks before defense Ph.D. Preliminary Exam Ph.D. student
Graduation/Title form student
Three weeks before defense. Dissertation copies to Graduate Committee. Send defense announcement to Graduate School Ph.D. student
Two weeks before defense. Thesis copies to Graduate Committee. M.S. student
Thesis or Dissertation defense. Student, Graduate Committee, public.
Graduate Faculty Representative's Evaluation form. Non-dept. member of Graduate Committee
Two copies of completed thesis or dissertation to Graduate School student
Additional copies to Bookstore. student
Degree check, fees, and other completion requirements. student
Check for late semester deadline Completion of Requirements form student
College of Engineering and Applied Science