Co-Coordinator: James Springstead
Co-Coordinator: Qingliu Wu

Room A-222 Floyd Hall
 

The Doctor of Philosophy in Chemical Engineering is designed to prepare engineers for performing advanced research or for teaching at the senior level in industry or academia. The emphasis of the program is on fundamental principles in chemical engineering in transport, thermodynamics and chemical reaction engineering and the application of these fundamentals in specific areas applications.

This is a research-intensive degree, based on fundamental scientific and chemical principles; the emphasis is on learning techniques for advanced research, the production of such advanced research, and the reporting of the research. Close supervision of the research will be maintained by the student’s Dissertation Advisory Committee and, particularly, by the chair of that committee. Some formal course work, much of it possibly accepted from course work completed to achieve a master’s degree, is required to prepare for and support an original research problem chosen by the student in consultation with the Dissertation Advisory Committee. However, the degree is awarded for the attainment of knowledge of chemical engineering and for original research; the degree is not awarded for accumulation of course credits. Thus, the key component of the program is the Dissertation Advisory Committee’s careful and continuous mentoring of the student to develop necessary skills and knowledge to support advanced research.

Admission Requirements
Application materials may be obtained from the Office of Admissions, Graduate Admissions or from the Department of Chemical and Paper Engineering (ChP). International students should contact the Office of International Services and Student Affairs for the appropriate materials and information.

All applicants must meet the general admissions requirements for the Ph.D. specified by the Graduate College. In addition, the applicant is strongly encouraged to have completed a bachelor’s or master’s degree in chemical engineering or a closely related field with a minimum 3.25 grade point average. An exemplary academic record in chemical engineering is required of all applicants, with research experience positively contributing toward this record. In addition, three letters of recommendation must be submitted. International students must also submit the language competency examination results.

Admission determinations will be made by the department’s Graduate Committee and will take into consideration the student’s previous academic training and record of achievement, the recommendations provided in letters from three referees, and the information about the proposed area of study described in the letter of interest. It is also strongly recommended that applicants contact faculty in the department and find support of mentorship from a current faculty in chemical engineering to serve as a research advisor.

Financial Assistance
The Department of Chemical and Paper Engineering offers opportunities for financial assistance of doctoral students through graduate assistantships and fellowships, depending on availability of funds and departmental needs. Information concerning these opportunities is available from the department’s graduate advisor or from the Graduate College. Typically, research funding may also be available from external grants that are secured by the student’s research advisor.

Program Requirements
Following a student’s admission to the program, a ChP department graduate coordinator will be the student’s temporary advisor until the dissertation advisory committee is formed within one year of the student’s commencement of the program.  With the assistance of the graduate coordinator, the student will select a chair of the dissertation advisory committee and, in consultation with the chair, the student will form an entire dissertation advisory committee, comprising at least three members. After the chair of the dissertation advisory committee is chosen, primary responsibility for the student will be transferred from the graduate coordinator to the chair. The graduate coordinator, however, will continue to monitor the student’s progress and assist the chair of the dissertation advisory committee to ensure prompt compliance with all University and program requirements. 

After admission to the doctoral program, a student must complete a total of 60 graduate-level credit hours, excluding the dissertation, beyond the bachelor’s degree, or a total of 30 graduate-level credit hours, excluding the dissertation, beyond the master’s degree. Graduate College policy requires that all doctoral students complete at least 30 hours of course work, exclusive of the dissertation, at WMU after admission to the doctoral program.

In addition to the requirements of the Graduate College, the following requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy in Chemical Engineering must be fulfilled: 

30 hours of course work beyond the master’s degree
If applicants have a master’s degree coming into their Ph.D. studies, it is expected that applicants will have finished at least 30 hours of foundation course work at the graduate level.  At the discretion of the department’s graduate committee and with approval of the Graduate College, applicants who have earned a master’s degree may receive credit toward the 60 credit hours of doctoral course requirements beyond the bachelor’s degree and excluding the dissertation, for up to 30 hours of foundation course work important to chemical engineering fundamentals at the time of admission to the program.  Such graduate-level foundation course work may include, as examples, graduate mathematics courses, graduate chemical engineering courses in transport phenomena, thermodynamics or chemical reaction engineering, or other related graduate coursework that may be included in a Masters Degree in Chemical Engineering or related field.

Students must also complete the following:
These courses may already be included in the 30 hours of foundation course work from a master’s degree program.

• CHEG 6100 – Chemical Eng Thermodynamics; Credits: 3 hours
• CHEG 6200 – Advanced Transport Processes; Credits: 3 hours
• CHEG 6300 – Advanced Chemical Reaction Engineering; Credits: 3 hours
• A 5000 or 6000 graduate level Mathematics course
• Nine credits in engineering elective coursework in chemical engineering, independent research or thesis credits
• Nine credits of graduate level cognitive course work, outside of chemical engineering

The required courses must be completed with at least a grade of “B,” if not previously elected in a master’s program as described above.

Additional course work required will be determined at the time of admission by the department’s graduate committee to ensure readiness for graduate level course work or the research program. Additional course work may also be required to remedy deficiencies revealed by the Level I qualifying exams. These courses would be determined by the department’s graduate committee in cooperation with the student’s dissertation advisory committee.

Qualifying Examinations
All students seeking a doctoral degree in chemical engineering from Western Michigan University must successfully complete the Level I and Level II qualifying exams, following the qualifying exam guidelines developed by the Department of Chemical and Paper Engineering. In preparation for the qualifying exams, students without a sufficient background will be required to relevant courses in transport phenomena, thermodynamics, chemical reaction engineering and other foundational coursework in chemical engineering if necessary. The Level I qualifying exam is a series of three written exams that will test a doctoral student’s general knowledge of chemical engineering in the areas of transport phenomena, thermodynamics and chemical reaction engineering.  A student must successfully complete the Level I qualifying exam by the Summer following their first year of enrollment in the doctoral program. A student who does not successfully complete the Level I qualifying exam after two attempts will be dismissed from the doctoral degree program.

The Level II qualifying exam is an oral defense on the proposed dissertation research topic area, the dissertation proposal itself, and questions on graduate-level course materials. During the Level II qualifying exam, the student will demonstrate through oral discussion that they possess an acceptable knowledge of their area of chosen research and other graduate-level topics, in addition to defending their dissertation proposal. A student should complete the Level II qualifying exam within twelve calendar months of their successful completion of the Level I qualifying exam. A student must complete the Level II qualifying exam within two attempts or the student will be dismissed from the doctoral degree program. In preparation for the Level II qualifying exam, students will register for their first three credit hours of doctoral dissertation credits. Successful completion of the Level II qualifying exam will allow the student to continue with research needed to fulfill the remaining 12 credit hours of doctoral dissertation credits, as will be discussed.

Full-time enrollment
Full-time enrollment on campus for at least four semesters.

Demonstrate competency in two research tools
Two research tools chosen in consultation with the dissertation advisory committee.

If some or all of the research tools credit hours are included in the 30 hours of foundation course work, students may select up to six credit hours of graduate-level elective courses, not including dissertation credits, in consultation with the dissertation advisory committee to broaden their research expertise and knowledge.

Research Seminar (3 hours)
Completion of at least three hours of research seminar within the department. The objective of this requirement is to participate in discussion of recent research findings that may be used in the student’s research and to gain practice in the presentation of research results.

Complete and successfully defend a dissertation (15 hours)
Completion of at least 15 hours of dissertation credits. The objective of this requirement is to ensure that the student carries out the research and prepares the dissertation under the guidance of the dissertation advisory committee. The student must successfully defend the dissertation and have the dissertation approved by the dissertation advisory committee and by the graduate dean. In order to receive credit for the first three hours of dissertation credit for which they register, the student must successfully complete the Level II qualifying exam. The student, with approval of the dissertation advisory committee, may choose between two dissertation options.