Top 20 Doctoral Program—National Research Council
For more information
Please contact:
Graduate Studies Coordinator
Dept. of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering
University of Houston
S222 Engineering Bldg 1,
Houston, TX 77204-4004
phone: 713-743-4311
email: grad-che [at] uh [dot] edu
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.
Selection list of preparatory courses for MChE students with undergraduate degree in chemistry
| Course | Description |
|---|---|
| CHEE 3331 | 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
A bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering, industrial employment, and approvals of the MChE Program Director.
Admission:
Minimum undergraduate grade-point average (GPA) of 3.00 (based on 4.00), and a typically total GRE score (Verbal + Quantitative) of 1100 Old Scores or New GRE Conversion over 300.
Non-chemical engineering BS degree holders working in the chemical industry should contact the program director for additional course requirements.
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 | |
With the permission of the Program director, the elective courses can be selected from the list below.
MChE Degree: Elective Courses
| Course | Description |
|---|---|
| CHEE 6330 | Computational Methods for Chemical Engineers I |
| CHEE 6331 | Mathematical Methods In Chemical Engineering I |
| CHEE 6332 | Mathematical Methods In Chemical Engineering II |
| CHEE 6333 | Transport Processes I |
| CHEE 6334 | Transport Processes II |
| 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 6386 | Air-Pollution Problems and Control |
| CHEE 6397 | Prob. & Stat. for Chemical and Petroleum Engineers |
| CHEE 6397 | Introduction to Polymer Science |
| INDE 6332 | Engineering Project Management |
| INDE 6334 | Statistical Decision Analysis and Design |
| INDE 6335 | Engineering Administration |
| INDE 6350 | Design of Artificial-Intelligence Systems |
| INDE 6364 | Advanced Engineering Statistics |
| INDE 6370 | Operation Research, Digital Simulation |
| INDE 6371 | Operations Research, Optimization Methods |
| PETR 6302 | Reservoir Engineering II |
| PETR 6304 | Evaluation of Petroleum-Bearing Formations I |
| PETR 6308 | Well-Diagnostic Methods and Remedial Measures |
| PETR 6312 | Evaluation of Petroleum-Bearing Formations I |
| PETR 6320 | Enhanced Oil-Recovery Processes |
| PETR 6324 | Reservoir Simulation I |
| PETR 6326 | Reservoir Simulation II |
Other engineering graduate courses can also be taken with the approval of the MChE Program Director.
Additional Information
Prospective students should contact Prof. Peter Vekilov, Program Director.

