Primary Criteria for Admission into a Master's Program in Chemical Engineering
Students can’t apply for a master’s degree in chemical engineering if they have not completed their bachelor’s degree in science or engineering. The primary requirements for eligibility for an MS in Chemical Engineering are listed in the list below:
Bachelor’s Degree Requirements
Applying to a master’s program in Chemical Engineering may benefit from having a bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering or a closely related discipline. However, if a graduate of any science subject has completed the curriculum needed for CE, multiple universities may also accept their application for admission.
In this situation, students are required to have completed courses in calculus (including multivariate calculus), differential equations, organic chemistry, and physical chemistry.
Other requirements
IELTS and TOEFL
Regarding CE, English-speaking countries are home to over 60% of the top 20 institutions worldwide. The remaining ones also provide English as the language of instruction and enroll a significant number of overseas students. Because of this, obtaining high results on English language proficiency exams is usually necessary for admission. It is advisable to verify the minimum score criteria for admission to the Masters in Chemical Engineering program on the official university websites before applying. Furthermore, the test results shouldn’t be older than two years.
GRE
In situations when individuals have not completed their bachelor’s degree in chemistry or chemical engineering, GRE scores become increasingly significant. It should be mentioned, nevertheless, that it is not always a requirement for application. Good GRE grades will undoubtedly be advantageous whenever they are taken into account. The way that every university determines GRE scores varies. While some just consider the total scores, others give each component a distinct weight. Students should be aware that the CE test is required if they need to receive a subject-specific score for Chemistry.
Undergraduate GPA
Applicants seeking to apply for a Master of Engineering in Chemical Engineering may encounter difficulties if their GPA is less than 3.0. Departments often give preference to applicants who have a GPA of 3.5 or above.
Letters of Recommendation and Statement of Purpose
The majority of universities want three recommendation letters. A statement of purpose might additionally be necessary.
Specialization
Chemical engineering has expanded into several specialized areas of expertise as industries evolved. Chemical engineering master’s degree programs currently provide a range of specialization programs to meet the demands of the industry.
Top Chemical Engineering Master's Program Specializations List
Petroleum Engineering
Petroleum engineering is concerned with the sustainable and economically viable exploration, extraction, and manufacture of about 300 petroleum-derived products. It makes use of fluid mechanics, thermodynamics, geology, chemistry, and physics concepts.
Petroleum engineers manage drilling operations, use recovery models, assess prospective oil and natural gas deposits, and create surface collecting and treatment infrastructure. This specialization includes courses in petroleum characteristics and phase equilibria, formations, production operations, well drilling and logging, pressure transient testing, reservoir engineering, reserves estimation, etc.
Petroleum engineers often work as researchers, scientists, reservoir engineers, drilling engineers, geotechnical engineers, etc. for petrochemical businesses.
Polymer Science and Engineering
Polymer design, analysis, and invention are the focus of polymer science and engineering. It addresses topics including petrochemicals, polymerization, the structure, features, and compounds of polymers, as well as their qualities and processing. This specialization focuses mostly on thermosets, elastomers, and thermoplastics; the materials that it typically deals with include plastic, rubber, and fiber.
Students will be expected to take courses on topics such as polymer reactions, polymer systems, colloidal and interfacial phenomena, nanoscale science and polymers, biomolecules, and pharmaceutical solids. They are employed in roles such as Materials Engineers, Polymer Development Experts, and Polymer Processing Engineers.
Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering
Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering is concerned with the extraction of hydrocarbons found on the earth’s surface. It also addresses the subsequent commercial production of natural gas and petroleum.
This specialization focuses on the design of wells and the extraction procedures. Apart from evaluating the quality of hydrocarbons before or after extraction, it also covers the maintenance of drilling equipment and the transportation of gas and oil.
Study topics for this specialization may include fluid flows, reservoir modeling, evaluating hydrocarbon formations, environmental concerns in petroleum production, etc. They could work for petrochemical companies in production, drilling, reservoir, natural gas, LNG (liquefied natural gas) process, and other engineers.
Smart Oilfield Technologies
It is one of the specialties offered by the MS in Petroleum Engineering or MS in Chemical Engineering programs. Only a few universities offer the expertise needed for the future of oil exploration, extraction, and production. It addresses the automation and digitalization of petroleum engineering operations.
To manage offshore extraction, increase production, and oversee operations at hundreds of wells from one place, big data, software, sensors, and wireless communication are used. Rapid error correction is another of its goals. This specialization covers information technology and robotics for smart oilfields, field and plant automation, closed-loop reservoir management, petroleum data analytics, and onshore and offshore oilfield operations.
After graduating, they can work for companies involved in mining, extraction, drilling, transportation, or production of oil. According to experts, it will be a future specialty for Masters in Chemical Engineering students.
Natural Gas Engineering
The extraction of natural gas and natural gas liquids from reservoirs is the focus of natural gas engineering. In addition to researching and analyzing the geology, natural gas engineers also create injection methods, investigate well locations, evaluate the performance of wells, and make sure that the production process takes reservoir history and extracted fluid characteristics into consideration.
In addition, this specialization includes instructions in working with unconventional subsurface natural gas resources such as pockets and traps, as well as a variety of modeling techniques. Natural gas production and distribution, processing, reservoir characterization, separation procedure, two-way flow, pressure transient analysis, cryogenics, rheology, and other topics are covered in the reservoir engineering course.
They are placed in roles such as pipeline directors, gas system planners, natural gas field specialists, LNG planning and design engineers, and natural gas construction and maintenance engineers, among others.
Petroleum Reservoir Systems
The Petroleum Reservoir Systems specialty is primarily intended for those who have worked in the petroleum sector in the past and want to become knowledgeable about the geological, geophysical, and reservoir-related elements of petroleum engineering. Students in this specialty are required to study topics such as logging, formation evaluation, and exploration and development in the petroleum and geophysical engineering sectors. After focusing on this field, they may find employment as geomechanics engineers, petroleum geophysics specialists, reservoir simulation engineers, or petroleum reservoir engineers.
Geochemistry
The concentration, distribution, and movement of chemical elements in the earth’s surface and atmosphere are studied by geochemists. It also addresses the chemical reactions that take place in the atmosphere and on the surface of the earth. A geochemistry specialization addresses the chemistry of minerals and rocks, as well as its penetration into soil and water systems.
Its applications include oil drilling, environmental monitoring, mining, and waste management. Students in this specialty will study nucleosynthesis, geochemical bonding, geochemical cycles, mineral chemistry, and biogeochemistry. In addition to the organic geochemistry of fossil fuels and geomicrobiology, they would also study environmental geochemistry, aqueous geochemistry, and geochemistry techniques. Students are hired for positions as environmental geochemists, hydrogeologists, geoscientists, geochemical engineers, and more.
Environmental Chemistry and Technology
Environmental chemistry is not the same as geochemistry since it focuses on the analysis of human-influenced chemical processes in the earth’s environment as opposed to natural chemical processes. Its main focus is on the analysis of chemical components found in soil, groundwater, surface water, and the atmosphere.
Its goals are to measure the pollutants, assess how they affect human health and the environment, and suggest measures to address them. Specialized students in environmental chemistry and technology study the following topics: isotope biogeochemistry; soil chemistry; watershed and wetland hydrology; mixing in coastal environments; soil microbial ecology; toxicology; environmental statistics; and the transformation of organic compounds in the atmosphere.
Graduates of this program can work as environmental chemists, analysts of environmental assessments, water treatment specialists, experts in chemical waste management, etc.
Chemical and Materials Engineer
By specializing in Chemical and Materials Engineering, students may extend their knowledge of polymers, ceramics, and other chemical products, as well as create novel membranes, tactics for pollution management, and methods for delivering drugs. The primary goal of this specialization is to understand the chemical characteristics of materials and how to change them using suitable chemical methods to create novel solutions.
Students can choose courses based on areas like composite fabrication, polymer chemistry, ceramic processing, material structure and characteristics, nanomaterial chemistry, chemical synthesis and processing of advanced materials, and colloids and nanoparticles. Graduates of this program might work as process and materials engineers, polymer materials scientists, ceramic engineers, materials and chemical scientists, etc.
Textile Chemistry
Textile Chemistry is concerned with the chemical structure and processes involved in the manufacturing of textile fibers. It is focused on three main areas: fiber and polymers, dyeing and finishing, and textile blending, which is the nexus of materials science and chemistry.
Textile chemistry professionals are in high demand in two new fields: environmental and medical sciences. The courses offered to students in this specialization will include topics such as advanced organic chemistry, color science, fiber production, dye chemistry, textile polymer science, textile testing and assessment, and smart textiles. Graduates with this expertise can work as textile chemists, engineers, technologists, textile assessment technicians, and other job profiles.
Best 5 Career Options for Chemical Engineering Students
- Process Engineer
- Reservoir Engineer
- Petroleum Engineer
- Project Engineer/Manager
- Environmental Engineer:
