(PCHEN)
The Doctor of Philosophy in Chemical Engineering (ChE) from LSU requires 24 hours of credit in dissertation research and a minimum of 30 hours of credit at the graduate level. A minimum of 18 hours of credit in ChE courses at the 7000 level or above are required, exclusive of any type of independent studies credit except for special project credit earned. The remaining 12 hours of coursework can include graduate level courses in any department and may constitute a formal minor or an informal collection of courses of interest.
All graduate students are required to complete the four chemical engineering core courses (CHE 7110 Mathematical Methods in Chemical Engineering (3) , CHE 7120 Chemical Engineering Thermodynamics (3) , CHE 7130 Fundamentals of Heat and Mass Transport (3) , and CHE 7140 Chemical Reactor Design Methods (3) ) within their first year in the graduate program unless special permission is requested by the student and granted from the department chair. The ability to continue in the PhD program is contingent on the performance in these classes.
A student earning a GPA greater than or equal to a 3.0 in the core classes may remain in the PhD program (i.e., begin working on the general exam)
A student earning a GPA below 3.0 in the core classes must proceed to the MS program. After a successful MS defense, the student may petition for readmission to the PhD program. This petition must be approved by the student’s major advisor, MS thesis committee, and the department chair.
After earning a GPA of 3.0 or higher in the four core graduate classes (CHE 7110 Mathematical Methods in Chemical Engineering (3) , CHE 7120 Chemical Engineering Thermodynamics (3) , CHE 7130 Fundamentals of Heat and Mass Transport (3) , and CHE 7140 Chemical Reactor Design Methods (3) ) or successfully defending a thesis MS and receiving permission of their major advisor, MS committee, and the department chair to proceed into the PhD program, the student becomes eligible to take the General Examination, which is an oral defense of a written plan for doctoral research. The General Examination must be completed within 12 months of when the student becomes eligible unless special permission to delay the examination is requested and received from the department. A student’s contract may be revoked if the student does not meet this requirement. A final examination must also be passed. The final examination is an oral defense of the doctoral dissertation.
The departmental-level academic course plan for each student will be developed in consultation with and approved by the student’s graduate advisory committee. The committee will include the student’s major advisor and at least two additional members of the graduate faculty such that the LSU Graduate School’s requirements for graduate committees are satisfied.
Students already holding a master’s degree in chemical engineering can transfer up to nine hours of coursework, with a maximum of two core courses eligible for transfer. Every credit transfer is at the discretion of the Director of Graduate Studies. A minimum of six hours of coursework numbered 7300 or greater must be taken at LSU, regardless of the transferred credit.