Graduate Degree Requirements

Summary of requirements by degree

Other restrictions apply. See individual sections below for details

Requirement	Ph.D.	M.S. (Plan A)	M.S. (Plan B)	M.E.
Total Credits	72	30	32	30
Core CBE courses	13	13	13	13
Additional Math	3	-	-	-
Electives (min)	12	6	16	18
Research (max)	44 (CBE 799)	11 (CBE 699)	3 (CBE 699)	-
Research Document	Dissertation	Thesis	Report	(None)
Oral Examinations	Preliminary, Final	Final	Final	(None)

Core CBE courses required for all graduate degrees

CBE 501: Chemical Engineering Thermodynamics (3 cr., F)
CBE 502: Advanced Reactor Design (3 cr., F)
CBE 503: Transport Phenomena Fundamentals (3 cr., S)
CBE 521: Mathematical modeling for chemical engineers (3 cr., F)
CBE 693: Seminar (1 cr. F) (for Ph.D. and M.S. students only)

Courses satisfying the additional mathematics requirement for the Ph.D

CBE 680;
MATH 535, 540, 545,
546, and 550;
and PH 571 and 572

CSU Catalog: CBE

CSU Catalog: Math

CSU Catalog: Physics

Individual Program Requirements

Ph.D.

Credit and Course Requirements:
A minimum of 72 credits beyond the bachelor’s degree must be approved for credit by the student’s graduate committee. A master’s degree from an accredited college or university may be accepted for a maximum of 30 credits. The number of these credits should be determined by an evaluation of student’s master’s transcript using the form in the appendix. This evaluation will be completed by the graduate affairs committee, in consultation with the student and the student’s adviser. An additional 10 credits may be transferred for courses taken after a student’s master’s degree was awarded. The graduate admissions committee will determine how many coursework and research credits will be accepted for transfer, with the goal of aligning these credits as closely as possible with the requirements of our Ph.D. program. For students who complete a CBE M.S. degree at Colorado State and are continuously enrolled, all credits earned in their M.S. program may be applied towards the Ph.D. credit requirements, even if the number of credits exceeds 30. A minimum of 40 semester credits beyond the bachelor’s degree must be at or above the 500 level. A maximum of 44 credits of research at the doctoral level (CBE 799) may be counted toward the degree requirements.

CBE Ph.D. students must satisfactorily complete the CBE core courses (see Box 1) or their equivalents, and at least three additional credits of advanced mathematics at the 500 level or above (see Box 2). Ph.D. students must also take a minimum of 12 additional elective credits. A maximum of 44 dissertation research credits (CBE 799) may be counted toward the degree requirements. Ph. D. Students are also required to attend the Department Seminars whenever they are held as a condition of making satisfactory progress towards their degree, except when regular coursework conflicts with the time.

Examinations and Dissertation:
All CBE Ph.D. students must pass a preliminary examination as a requirement for continuing in the program. This should be completed no later than the student’s third semester. At the end of the Ph.D. program, an acceptable dissertation must be submitted to and approved by the student’s graduate committee. Satisfactory performance on a final oral examination, which includes a defense of the dissertation, is required. See the section entitled “Research Documents and Examinations” for more information. It is expected that the student’s Ph.D. research will result in at least two refereed publications or other high-caliber technical publications.

M.S. Degree Plan
(Thesis option)

Credit and course requirements:

A minimum of 30 credits of course work and research must be approved for graduate credit by the student’s graduate committee. 24 of the 30 credits must be earned at Colorado State University. 21 of the credits must be earned after admission to the Graduate School. At least 16 credits at Colorado State University must be taken in courses numbered 500 or above, including thesis credits. At least 12 of these 16 credits must be in regular (lecture/laboratory) courses. CBE M.S. students must satisfactorily complete the CBE core courses (see Box 1) or their equivalents. M.S. Plan A students must also take a minimum of 6 elective credits. A maximum of 11 thesis research credits (CBE 699) may be counted toward the degree requirements. Students are also required to attend the Department Seminars whenever they are held as a condition of making satisfactory progress towards their degree, except when regular coursework conflicts with the time. Research, thesis, and final exam requirements: An acceptable thesis must be submitted to and approved by the student’s graduate committee. Satisfactory performance on a final comprehensive examination administered by the student’s graduate committee is required. See the section below entitled Research Documents and Examinations for more information. It is expected that the student’s M.S. research will result in at least one refereed publication or other high caliber technical publication.

M.S. Degree Plan B
(Non-thesis option)

Credit and Course Requirements:

A minimum of 32 credits of course work and research must be approved for graduate credit by the student’s graduate committee. 24 of the 30 credits must be earned at Colorado State University. 21 of the credits must be earned after admission to the Graduate School. At least 16 credits at Colorado State University must be taken in courses numbered 500 or above. At least 12 of these 16 credits must be in regular (lecture/laboratory) courses.

Revised August, 2015 Page 7 CBE M.S. students must satisfactorily complete the CBE core courses (see Box 1) or their equivalents. M.S. Plan B students must also take a minimum of 15 elective credits. M.S. Plan B students must satisfactorily complete 2 credits of thesis research (CBE 699). A maximum of 3 credits of CBE 699 may be counted toward the degree requirements. Students are also required to attend the Department Seminars whenever they are held as a condition of making satisfactory progress towards their degree, except when regular coursework conflicts with the time.

Research, report, and final exam requirements: An acceptable research report must be submitted to and approved by the student’s graduate committee. Satisfactory performance on a final comprehensive examination administered by the student’s graduate committee is required. See the section below entitled Research Documents and Examinations for more information.

M.E.
(Course work only)

Credit and Course Requirements:

A minimum of 30 credits of course work is required. 24 of the 30 credits must be earned at Colorado State University. 21 of the credits must be earned after admission to the Graduate School. At least 24 credits at Colorado State University must be taken in courses numbered 500 or above. No independent study, research, internship, supervised college teaching, or practicum credits may be credited towards the degree. No thesis, project or final examination is required. CBE M.E. students must satisfactorily complete the CBE core courses (see Box 1) or their equivalents. In addition the student must complete an additional 6 credits in regular CBE courses at the 500 level or above (i.e. a total of at least 15 credits in CBE courses at the 500 level or above), and an additional 12 elective credits. Up to 6 credits of courses at the 400-level may be used to satisfy the 30 credit course requirement for the M.E.degree. Neither 400-level CBE courses, nor credit for CBE 693 may be used to satisfy any of the course requirements for the M.E. degree