Skip to main content

Master of Chemical Engineering Degree

A Master of Chemical Engineering (MChE) degree is offered as a non-thesis program for the working professional. The program has been designed for those persons who plan careers in plant operations, design and management. It is not intended to be competitive with the Master of Science degree, which is specifically research oriented, nor with the MBA degree. Rather, the goal of this program is not only to permit earlier productive use of the young engineer's technical skills, but also to introduce the engineer to the broad concepts of systems, analysis, advanced process economics, and technical management. The program is aimed at improving opportunities for chemical engineers in the chemical process industry and related industries.

Constituting the program is a core of five (5) required courses plus five elective courses, selected to meet the student's interests in the areas of process control, management and business economics, biochemical and environmental engineering, and petroleum engineering.

The courses are available in the late afternoon and evenings, and the degree can be completed in 2-3 years of part-time study.

Professionals working in the chemical process industry and related industries with degrees other than but related to chemical engineering (such as mechanical engineering or chemistry) are encouraged to apply. If admitted to the MChE program, such students are required to take a number of undergraduate chemical engineering courses that will prepare them to take the graduate-level MChE courses. A list of preparatory courses is composed by the MChE Director on an individual basis, depending on the student’s background. Typical lists from which selection is made for students with undergraduate degrees in mechanical engineering or chemistry are shown below in this page. For a full list of chemical engineering courses click here. To accommodate working professionals admitted to the MChE Program who might have time conflicts attending preparatory courses, a number of these courses are now offered by UH online.  Additional information can be provided by the MChE Program Director each semester.

Selection list of preparatory courses for MChE students with undergraduate degree in chemistry
Course Description
CHEE 3321 Analytical Methods for Chemical Engineers
CHEE 3333 Chemical Engineering Thermodynamics II
CHEE 3363 Fluid Mechanics for Chemical Engineers
CHEE 3367 Process Modeling & Control
CHEE 3369 Chemical Engineering Transport Processes
CHEE 3462 Unit Operations
CHEE 4367 Chemical Reaction Engineering
Selection list of preparatory courses for MChE students with undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering
Course Description
CHEM 3331 Organic Chemistry (I)
CHEM 3332 Organic Chemistry (II)
CHEE 3333 Chemical Engineering Thermodynamics II
CHEE 3367 Process Modeling & Control
CHEE 3369 Chemical Engineering Transport Processes
CHEE 3462 Unit Operations
CHEE 4367 Chemical Reaction Engineering

 

Entrance Requirements

Admission:

Minimum undergraduate grade-point average (GPA) of 3.00 (based on 4.00), and a typically total GRE score (Verbal + Quantitative) over 300.

Be advised that there is no financial assistance in this program and not intended for F-1 students.

The deadline dates for the Part-Time MChE program:

  • ​Spring — November 1
  • Fall — May 1

The required admission procedures and materials are the same as MS/PhD and can be found here. For international or permanent resident applicants, the TOEFL exam is required unless you have a degree from a US institution.

Additional Information

Non-chemical engineering BS degree holders working in the chemical industry should contact the Program Director for additional course requirements, nikolaou [at] uh.edu (Prof. Michael Nikolaou.)

 

Required Courses

Course Description
CHEE 6368 Chemical Process Economics I
CHEE 6369 Chemical Process Economics II
CHEE 6383 Advanced Unit Operations
CHEE 6367 Advanced Process Control*
INDE 6372 Advanced Linear Optimization
* Offered every two years

 

MChE Degree: Elective Courses

Course Description
CHEE 6330 Foundations of Mathematical Methods in Chemical Engineering
CHEE 6331 Mathematical Methods In Chemical Engineering I
CHEE 6332 Mathematical Methods In Chemical Engineering II
CHEE 6333 Transport Processes I
CHEE 6335 Classical and Statistical Thermodynamics
CHEE 6337 Advanced Reactor Engineering
CHEE 6360 Biochemical Engineering Fundamentals
CHEE 6365 Fundamentals of Catalysis
CHEE 6370 Advanced Topics in Biochemical Engineering
CHEE 6371 Pollution Control Engineering
CHEE 6375 Chemical Processing for Microelectronics
CHEE 6379 Safety and Reliability
CHEE 6386 Air-Pollution Problems and Control
CHEE 6390 Energy and the Environment
CHEE 6397 Prob. & Stat. for Chemical and Petroleum Engineers
CHEE 6397 Introduction to Polymer Science
INDE 6332 Engineering Project Management
INDE 6335 Engineering Administration
INDE 6350 Statistical Process Control
INDE 6364 Advanced Engineering Statistics
INDE 6370 Digital Simulation
INDE 6371 Operations Research, Optimization Methods
PETR 6351 Introduction to Petroleum Engineering (Prereq: Graduate Standing)
PETR 6362 Reservoir Engineering I (Prereq: PETR 6351, Graduate Standing)
PETR 6328 Petroleum Properties & Phase Equ. (Prereq: PETR 6351, 6362, 6364)
PETR 6364 Origin/Development of Oil & Gas Reserv. (Prereq: PETR 6351)
PETR 6304 Evaluation of Petroleum-Bearing Formations I (Prereq: PETR 6351, 6362)
PETR 6310 Petroleum Production Economics (Prereq: Graduate Standing)
PETR 6332 Reserves Estimation I (Prereq: PETR 6362, Graduate Standing)
PETR 6334 Reserves Estimation II (Prereq: PETR 6362, Graduate Standing)

Other engineering graduate courses can also be taken with the approval of the MChE Program Director.