Masters of Engineering in Chemical Engineering

Students specializing in Chemical Engineering will complete the program outlined below.

The 5-year Masters of Engineering degree, with cooperative education (“Co-op”) is the ABET-accredited degree program at University of Louisville.  Entry to the fifth year of the MEng program requires that students have substantially completed the 4-year BSChE degree, including three 16-week cooperative periods. 

 Students seeking to enter the MEng program, who have not obtained a BSChE at Louisville, must possess a BS in Chemical Engineering, with one year of co-op experience, or equivalent fulltime work experience, which meets the published objectives and outcomes of our ABET-accredited program.  In general, there should be close to a one-to-one articulation between courses taken at another school, and the equivalent courses at UofL.

 Typically UofL students apply for entry to the fifth year in the semester when they complete the requirements of the BSChE degree.  For most students this is in the Spring semester of the fourth year to commence the fifth year that summer or fall.  While students may also commence the fifth year in the spring semester, please be aware that some courses must be taken in a fall-spring sequence (e.g., CHE 698, 699).  A formal application form, available from Speed School Academic Services Office, JBSpeed room 213, should be completed and submitted during the semester before the application is in effect, i.e., in the spring for starting in the summer, etc.  Normally, this form must be processed before a student can register for 600-level classes; a continuing student may thus wish to process the application before the pre-registration period of that semester in which s/he is applying.  Students returning to Speed School after an absence of one or more years may be required to submit a processing fee with their application.  The application form should be submitted to Speed School Academic Services, JBSpeed room 213, for expedited processing, and NOT to the Admissions Office or the Graduate School. 

 Unconditional admission to the 5^th year requires an undergraduate GPA of at least 2.5, a GPA of at least 2.5 in all CHE-prefix courses, and no more than one ‘D’ grade in CHE-prefix courses.  In addition, students whose overall GPA, and/or CHE-prefix course GPA, is less than 2.75 in the semester of application, will have their 5^th year applications deferred until grades for all CHE-prefix courses are available.  Students must maintain at least a 2.5 GPA each semester of the 5^th year, and a minimum 5-year GPA of 2.5 is necessary for graduation.  In the near future, a 3.0 GPA in the 5^th year may be mandated for graduation.

 Students returning after a break in studies of one or more semesters are not eligible to participate in pre-registration, and must register during the open registration period for the semester in which they recommence their studies (typically the week prior to start of classes).

 MEng students who wish to pursue the thesis alternative should select a research advisor and research project as early as possible in the fifth year.  In some cases it may be advisable to begin background work for the project as a fourth year student. 

 What is the difference between the fifth year of the MEng and the MS?:

As stated above, the MEng degree is the fifth year of our five-year integrated program with co-op, which is accredited by ABET.  Speed School and the Graduate School jointly award the MEng degree.

The MS degree is a traditional Masters of Science degree, entry to which requires an ABET-accredited BS in Chemical Engineering (or equivalent), GRE scores, TOEFL scores (for non-native English speakers), and at least two formal letters of recommendation.  The Graduate School awards the MS degree, and ABET-accreditation is not an issue.

Though MEng and MS students take substantially the same courses, the MEng is considered a professional engineering degree, while the MS is a traditional research degree, which frequently takes more than one year to complete.  Graduates of each program have successfully completed PhD work at UofL and other schools, or have pursued successful professional careers.

 ***CHE 699: Chemical Engineering Project Communications (Spring)

Possible topics for discussion during the class meetings would be

• Budget preparation
• Modern business management software
• Technology forecasting
• Revising a proposal
• Oral presentations of project proposals
• At approximately the 8-week point in the semester, the student will submit a first draft of the proposal, project report, business plan, etc.

 (CHE 698 may be taken as an elective in the MEng w/thesis program)

The following concentration tracks are possible within the CHE Department.  A student should also perform a research thesis or special project in the area of the coursework to develop a fuller expertise.  Courses are listed in the semesters in which they are typically offered.  However the availability of a particular graduate elective course in a particular semester or year cannot be guaranteed since it depends on the availability of faculty with specific expertise and sufficient student enrollment.  The listing below represents CHE faculty expertise as of 2003. New and/or special topics courses may be added in any given semester.  Tracks may be added or removed based on student interest and/or faculty expertise.  (UofL currently requires a minimum enrollment of 5 students in 500 and 600-level classes to permit the course to be taught.)

 It is obvious that there is overlap between some topic areas.  Note that a CHE student is not confined to the CHE Department for electives.  Also note that “Polymers” is a subset of “Materials”.  In addition, students are not confined to one of these tracks but may design their own program of study by mixing courses from several of the tracks and/or by incorporating other areas such as Advanced Chemistry, Biology, Biochemistry, Electrical Engineering, etc., approved by the research or project advisor, to tailor-make a program which is meaningful to a chosen career path.