- What
is the size of the graduate program in Chemical and Biochemical
Engineering at Rutgers?
We currently
have 86 MS/PhD students in our graduate program, of which about
55 are PhD students. In a typical year, around 10 new graduate
students enroll in the graduate program. We have an overall
PhD student:faculty ratio of about 4:1, which allows individualized
attention for education and research training.
- Is
the GRE subject test in Chemical Engineering required for admission?
No, only
the GRE general test is required. Successful candidates achieve
scores > 500 on the verbal component and > 700 on the quantitative
component.
- When
should the GRE be taken?
In the fall
of your senior year (October/November) is the latest that the
GRE should be taken. This will allow enough time for your results
to arrive at Rutgers. The Rutgers ETS code is 2790.
- What
is the deadline for applications?
For fall
admission, the application deadline is January 15th. (For spring,
the deadline is October 15th, although we generally admit most
students for Fall). We accept applications year-round, so applications
from desirable candidates received after these deadlines may
still be considered. In general, applications received between
deadlines are considered for the next admissions cycle.
- Who
are the best individuals to use for reference letters?
Ideally,
your reference letters should come from professors who know
you fairly well from interactions such as research supervision
or coursework. You may also request letters from job supervisors
(e.g., summer internship or co-op).
- Is
it possible to visit the department?
Once the
formal admissions offers have been made, each US student will
receive an invitation to attend a special visit weekend (at
our expense) that will introduce you to the program. At this
event, the students will have a chance to tour the departmental
facilities, meet with all the faculty members, and meet with
our current graduate students. It is your primary opportunity
to gather information about the program. Click
here for information about our last year's visitor weekend
program.
- What
is the cost of graduate school?
At the Ph.D.
level, there are no major costs to be borne by the student,
in fact, each Ph.D. candidate is admitted with a tuition waiver
and a stipend. Our stipend levels are more competitive than
many other major US institutions - We currently offer stipends
at various levels, depending on the nature of your appointment,
ranging up to $ 20,000 per year. Additional discretionary excellence
awards may also be made. At the MS level, there is no financial
support for students as either full time (thesis) or part-time
(coursework) candidates.
- Are
my chances of admission affected by my planned area of specialization?
Not really.
Our applicants are evaluated strictly on the basis of their
individual accomplishments. We encourage students to explore
all of their options once they arrive on campus, and before
they select a research advisor.
- When
do Rutgers students choose Ph.D. advisors and thesis topics?
Each
graduate student is associated with an advisor who plays an
important role in the student's academic and research program.
For new students and most non-thesis M.S. and part time students,
the Graduate Director is the academic advisor. New students
are not obligated to any research project during their first
semester of residence, but instead are encouraged to concentrate
on their core coursework as well as to acquaint themselves with
the various research thrusts of the graduate program by performing
laboratory rotations. New students may initiate the selection
of a research topic at any time during the first year of residence
and should complete their inquiries by the end of the Fall term.
Should a student choose to work with an advisor who is not a
member of the Chemical & Biochemical Engineering Graduate
Faculty (e.g. NIH Biotechnology Interdisciplinary Program),
he/she will also need to choose a co-advisor from the Chemical
& Biochemical Engineering faculty.
The selection of a research advisor is initiated in the fall
by the student with help from the graduate program. The faculty
carrying out research investigations will briefly present their
research topics during a series of seminars at the beginning
of the academic year. Additional information on faculty research
topics is available in the Graduate Program Office and online
at http://coewww.rutgers.edu/www3/cbe/index.html.
The student should choose faculty members whose research interests
match their own and set up meetings with these faculty members.
At that time, the faculty member will describe currently funded
projects in more detail. The student is encouraged to seek the
additional advice of other more senior graduate students before
coming to a final decision. Towards the end of the fall semester,
students will prepare a list of three preference-ordered faculty
that they would like to work with. The Graduate Director will
make final project assignments after consulting with the principal
investigators of the requested projects. Assignment decisions
are based upon student preference as well as project funding.
Non-thesis M.S. students do not make this selection. The Graduate
Director serves as their advisor throughout their course of
study.
- What
about course and research requirements?
The philosophy
of our graduate program is that students are required to take
a minimum course load through "core" courses in Chemical Engineering,
along with an adequate number of elective courses in the area
of specialization (or thesis research) desired. Rutgers offers
an impressive number of courses in various Departments, so this
can be a terrific opportunity to learn about emerging, cross-disciplinary
fields as well.
The program
for the Ph.D. normally consists of a minimum of 30 credits of
course work and 24-48 credits of research beyond the BS degree.
The total number of credits required is 72. The course work
for the Ph.D. and MS degrees includes a sequence of five courses
that form the core: math methods in chemical engineering; advanced
transport phenomena I & II; advanced chemical engineering thermodynamics;
and kinetics, catalysis, and reactor design. The Doctor of Philosophy
degree is available to doctoral candidates. For comprehensive
information on course requirements,
click here.
- What
about PhD qualifiers?
The
Ph.D. qualifying procedure is based on satisfactory completion
of the core courses, the teaching requirement and defense of
a dissertation proposal. At the end of each semester, students
are reviewed on the status of their progress toward completing
the qualifying procedure, and any concerns are brought to the
students' attention at this time.
- Why
should I choose Rutgers over any other university for graduate
study in Chemical Engineering or Bioengineering?
There are
many excellent departments of chemical engineering in the nation,
with a variety of strengths. Some facts about our program that
may be helpful in making your decision are:
While our
standards are high and admission is competitive, ours is a "student-friendly"
department, where faculty strive to educate students through
research and courses, and to boost the development of students'
careers through personal mentoring, group feedback environments,
and opportunities for honing and marketing student skills. Note
that this spirit does not exist to this extent in many other
excellent departments, where prevalent practice is to test and
utilize student strengths, rather than to promote them per se.
If you are an ambitious student who thrives in a supportive
environment, you should seriously consider Rutgers.
Rutgers
University has one of the best faculty cores in the U.S. Rutgers
is currently ranked tenth in all leading public research Universities
in the U.S. with regards to faculty excellence (AAU, 1998).
Rutgers
CBE was ranked as the fastest emerging first rate program by
the National Research Council in 1995. This distinction was
earned through rapid expansion (ten faculty added in six years),
new infrastructure at Rutgers, and a vigorous focus on new frontiers
in Chemical Engineering, such as bioengineering and materials
science. Rutgers is probably unsurpassed in terms of the research
opportunities it offers in the "hot" areas of Chemical Engineering.
The CBE
faculty is distinguished -- three faculty members have been
recipients of the NSF Presidential Young Investigator and CAREER
Awards, one is an elected fellow of the American Physical Society,
four have been recipients of Hoechst Celanese Innovative Research
Awards, two have been Merck Faculty Fellows, and two have been
DuPont Young Professor Awardees. Other awards received by the
faculty include the ACS Polymer Research Award, 3M Faculty Excellence
Award, and the Johnson & Johnson Discovery Award.
Our central
location is convenient both culturally and to the greatest concentration
of industrial and government research laboratories in the US
(proximal to New Brunswick; access to New York, Philadelphia,
Boston, and Washington DC). Rutgers falls squarely along two
counties that boast the highest per capita income for engineers
in the U.S.! This fact speaks for the immense prospects for
placement upon graduation.
If you have
further questions, please email the Graduate Recruitment Director,
Marianthi Ierapetritou,
or Ursula Wolf, the
Graduate Secretary (cbemail@sol.rutgers.edu). If you have questions
about our part-time graduate program, click
here.
