Chemical Engineering, MS

Department Chair:

Radhakrishna Sureshkumar, 329 Link Hall, 315-443-1931; fax: 443-9175

Faculty

Rebecca Bader, Jesse Q. Bond, Katie D. Cadwell, Ruth Chen, Mandy B. Esch, Jeremy L. Gilbert, Julie M. Hasenwinkel, James H. Henderson, Ian Hosein, George C. Martin, Patrick T. Mather, Shikha Nangia, Dacheng Ren, Ashok Sangani, Pranav Soman, Radhakrishna Sureshkumar, Lawrence L. Tavlarides, Angela Zachman

Adjunct/Research Faculty:

Jurgen Babirad, Gino Duca, Bart Farrell, Eric Finkelstein, Shelley Stephens, Kent Ogden, David Quinn, Dana Radcliffe, Suresh Santanam, Frederick Werner

Affiliate Faculty:

Joseph Chaiken, Andria Costello Staniec, Martin Forstner, Juntao Luo, Yan-Yeung Luk, Cristina Marchetti

Emeritus Faculty:

Gustav Engbretson, John Heydweiller, Philip Rice, Klaus Schroder, Robert L. Smith, S. Alexander Stern, Chi Tien, Josef Zwislocki

Graduate Chemical Engineering Program Director:

Dacheng Ren, 357 Link Hall, 315-443-4409, dren@syr.edu

The Department of Biomedical and Chemical Engineering offers a comprehensive set of graduate programs in bioengineering and chemical engineering, including master’s of science (MS) degrees and doctor of philosophy (PhD) degrees. Graduates of these programs work in the medical profession, the biomechanics and bioinstrumentation industries, the pharmaceutical industry, the chemical engineering industry, the government, and in education.

The graduate program in chemical engineering features a core of courses in chemical engineering, elective courses in areas of student interest, and an intense research or independent study experience with the student’s faculty advisor. Elective courses may be concentrated in a large number of special areas, including bioengineering, environmental engineering, computer science, materials science, and manufacturing engineering. New initiatives are underway in the multidisciplinary area of environmental systems that should provide a wealth of opportunities to graduate students in chemical engineering.

M.S. in Chemical Engineering

The Master’s of Science degree in Chemical Engineering is a flexible and individually-structured program, determined by the student and his/her advisor. The MS can be a terminal degree or an introduction to research before pursuing the Ph.D.

There are two degree plans a student can choose. Plan 1 has a minimum requirement of 30 credit hours of graduate study, including 24 credits of coursework and 6 credits of thesis, with at least 12 credits of coursework in chemical engineering. A master’s thesis must be completed and defended in an oral examination. Plan 2 also has a minimum requirement of 30 credit hours of graduate study, including at least 3 credits of an independent study course, with at least 15 credits in chemical engineering. Both plans are designed to be completed in about two years.

Master’s of Science with Thesis (Plan 1)

30 total credits:

24 credit hours of coursework, including at least 12 credits in chemical engineering (CEN);
6 credit hours of thesis;
student must complete a master’s thesis and defend it in an oral examination (see below);
no more than 50% of coursework at 500-level;
minimum GPA of 3.0 for coursework included on the Program of Study for the degree;
minimum GPA of 2.8 for all credits earned.

Master’s of Science Non-Thesis (Plan 2)

30 total credits:

at least 15 credits of coursework in chemical engineering (CEN);
successful completion of the M.S. project course);
after completion of the coursework, the student must pass an oral comprehensive examination based on the independent study and the coursework (see below);
minimum GPA of 3.0 for coursework included on the Program of Study for the degree;
minimum GPA of 2.8 for all credits earned.

General Information for MS Degree Programs

Residence Time:

The MS degree typically requires three to four semesters to complete.

MS Project Class (Bioengineering and Chemical Engineering):

Effective Fall 2014, all non-thesis Master’s students (plan 2 and 3 in Bioengineering, and plan 2 in Chemical Engineering) will be required to take the M.S. Project course. The successful completion of this course is a degree completion requirement. The project course will be optional for thesis students, on a space-available basis, with permission of the instructor.

Oral Comprehensive Examination (Bioengineering and Chemical Engineering):

The Oral Comprehensive Examination will be the culminating event of the M.S. Project courses in Bioengineering and Chemical Engineering. Students will prepare and present the products/outcomes of their project to the departmental faculty and respond to questions from the faculty. The Oral Comprehensive Examination will occur once a year toward the end of the semester in which the M.S. Project courses take place. The examination committee will be composed of at least three department faculty, but all faculty are invited, and the examination will be scheduled to maximize faculty participation. The examination committee will meet separately to determine if the student has passed the examination, and the student will be informed of the decision. Students are required to submit an electronic copy and a printed copy on standard-size paper of presentation materials to the Graduate Secretary prior to the presentation.

Thesis Defense Requirements:

Completion of the MS degree with thesis requires a written MS thesis and an oral defense. Students must submit a Request for Examination Form to the GEMC at least three full weeks prior to the oral defense. The thesis document must be delivered to the MS Thesis defense committee at least two weeks prior to the date of the oral defense.

Defenses must comply with the requirements of the Graduate School as described in the Graduate Course Catalog. The MS Thesis defense committee consists of four members. The committee must include the thesis advisor, no fewer than two tenure-track members of the BMCE faculty, and the Chair of the Oral Examination Committee. If a proposed committee member is not a full-time or adjunct faculty member at Syracuse University (e.g. from SUNY-ESF, Upstate Medical University, etc.), the student must petition the Department to allow this person to serve as a committee member. The Chair of the Oral Examination Committee must be a Syracuse University tenured or tenure-track faculty member outside the department and program.

All students must submit two copies of the final version of the thesis, with the signed title page, to the Department in fulfillment of the requirements for the MS degree.

For information on the formatting of the final thesis document for submission to the Graduate School, see http://www.syr.edu/gradschool/em/current_whatyouneed.html.