Petroleum Engineering Program—General Information

cURRENT dEgree programs

Bachelor of Science in Petroleum Engineering
- New program approved by Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board  - January, 2009 
- First class admitted to program Fall 2009 
- First graduates as early as Spring 2012 

Master of Petroleum Engineering
- A 36 hour, 12 course program which allows BS petroleum and other engineering graduates to extend their knowledge base in the petroleum engineering field.
- For full and part-time students 
- A unique, leading edge program - Many courses taught by industrial experts from the Houston petroleum industry
- Admission based upon BS academic record, GRE exam, and recommendations 

Master of Science in Petroleum Engineering
- Same as MPE program except 6 hours of research and thesis work within the 30 semester credit hours required  

UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAM

Program developed in cooperation with the petroleum industry and in response to the critical engineering manpower needs of this industry, both current and future

• Only 17 BS programs in Petroleum Engineering exist in the US – compared to 100s in other disciplines (ME, EE, CE, ChE, IE, etc.)
• Over the next 10 years, large numbers of current practicing petroleum engineers will be retiring and will leave a void which must be filled by increased numbers of new BS petroleum engineers. It is unlikely that this void will be fully filled and petroleum engineers will be of premium value in the marketplace for years to come.

Petroleum engineering offers the full spectrum of career opportunities – whether working for large multinational corporations or smaller independent oil companies, or even opportunities for the development of new companies and enterprises. The industry continues to re-invent itself and in recent years there have been major new developments in the horizontal drilling, hydraulic fracturing, production and stimulation, and the production of deep, tight gas formations, to mention a few. Such developments have invigorated the US and global petroleum production industry and will have an important impact in meeting global energy challenges in the future. Historically, compensation in the petroleum industry has been quite high and in recent years, due to the ever increasing importance of oil and gas and energy in general, it has led all engineering fields.

The BS Petroleum Engineering degree plan is attached. We will begin admitting students immediately for the Fall 2009 class.

• Initial petroleum course offerings (PETR 1111 - Introduction to Hydrocarbon Resources and PETR 2311 - Reservoir Petrophysics) will be available in Spring of 2010.
• Concurrently, first and second year students in the program will be able to complete required courses in English, History, Political Science, Chemistry, Math, Geology, Chemical Engineering, Industrial Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering as indicated on the degree plan.

The overall curriculum involves 130 semester credit hours with four components :  

• A core component including 30 credit hours of humanities, 20 credit hrs of basic sciences, and 15 credit hours of basic engineering
• Basic Petroleum Engineering courses (26 credit hrs) required of all students in program
• At least two elective modules of 9 credit hrs each in select specialization areas: Drilling and Well Construction, Reservoir Engineering, Production Engineering, Unconventional Resources, and Petroleum Geology
• And finally, 3 credit hrs from select electives (Energy law, Emerging technologies, environmental engineering, plus others), and 9 credit hours in business related, project management, engineering effectiveness, etc.  

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graduate program

DEGREE REQUIREMENTS:

Master of Petroleum Engineering: Thirty-six (36) credit hours of approved courses beyond the introductory level in Petroleum Engineering.
Master of Science in Petroleum Engineering: Twenty-four (24) credit hours of approved courses beyond the introductory level in Petroleum Engineering plus six (6) credit hours dedicated to a Masters Thesis. (Offered on Special Basis and Limited Availability)

Additional credit hours in prerequisite courses are required when the previous degree is not in Petroleum Engineering.

ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS: **Starting Spring 2005, the GRE is required for both degree programs**

A Bachelor’s Degree in science or engineering from an accredited institution is required. Applicants with a bachelor’s degree in science must complete fundamental requirements. Engineering graduates must also take any missing courses.
For unconditional admission to either of the masters degree programs, the requirements are:

• GPA > 3.4/4.0 (on 4.0 scale)
• GRE > 1100 with a minimum score of 700 on the Quantitative portion
• TOEFL > 550 (for International Students)
• Completion of PE prerequisite courses

Students whom have not completed the PE prerequisite courses in their earlier education are required to take these courses after a conditional admission.

For conditional admission, a minimum undergraduate GPA of 2.8 (on 4.0 scale), acceptable GRE scores, and special consent of the Program Director and Dean of Engineering are required.

APPLICATION FOR ADMISSION:

Please mail all correspondence and supporting documents (official transcripts and test scores) to this address.

University of Houston
Department of Chemical Engineering
Petroleum Graduate Program
S222 Engineering Bldg. 1
Houston, TX 77204-4004

Students may be admitted to the program to start in the Fall, Spring, or
Summer semester. Please note the following deadlines:

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GENERAL INFORMATION:

All regular courses for this program are offered in the evening periods from 6:00 to 9:30, Monday through Thursday. Part-time students commonly take either one or two courses per semester. Full-time students can schedule up to four regular courses per semester. Scholarships are available on a select basis in the Petroleum Engineering Program.

For more information on academic regulations and requirements, go to the following links:

http://www.uh.edu/academics/catalog/general/acade2.html#honesty
http://www.egr.uh.edu/academics/?e=gradpolicies