Master of Chemical Engineering Degree

The Master of Chemical Engineering (MChE) is a non-thesis graduate degree designed for engineers and scientists who seek to accelerate their careers in the chemical process industries. The program equips students with advanced, practice-focused skills in areas such as process design, plant operations, systems analysis, process economics, and technical leadership.

Distinct from traditional Master of Science programs and from business-focused MBA degrees, the MChE offers a targeted curriculum that integrates engineering depth with practical decision-making and management perspectives. The program is ideal for early- to mid-career professionals who aim to expand their technical expertise while developing the skills needed for leadership roles in industry.

The program welcomes applicants with undergraduate degrees either in chemical engineering or in related disciplines, including chemistry, mechanical engineering, and petroleum engineering.

The MChE degree requires completion of 10 graduate-level courses. Students benefit from a flexible yet structured curriculum, with course selections made within a carefully prescribed framework (detailed here) in consultation with the MChE program director. This approach ensures a strong technical foundation while allowing each student to tailor the program to their professional goals and prior background. The curriculum is designed to support rapid progress and timely completion, making it well suited for working professionals.

For additional information, prospective students are encouraged to contact the MChE program director.

 

Admission Requirements

• Professionals working in the chemical process industry with BS in chemical engineering or in another discipline related to chemical engineering (such as mechanical engineering or chemistry) are encouraged to apply.
• Acceptance into the Program is based on a competitive combination of academic background, recommendation letters, résumé, and a statement of purpose.
• The required admission procedures and materials can be found here.
• For international or permanent resident applicants, the TOEFL exam is required, unless the applicant has an academic degree from a US institution.
• Deadlines for submission of application to the MChE program:
  • November 1, for commencement of studies the following Spring semester
  • May 1, for commencement of studies the following Fall semester
• US and International Applicant Checklists as well as answers to FAQs can be found here.

Other engineering graduate courses can also be taken with the approval of the MChE Program Director, nikolaou [at] uh.edu (Prof. Michael Nikolaou).

 

Degree Requirements

The program requires the completion of 30 credit hours of approved graduate coursework.

Prior to enrolling, MChE students are required to receive approval from the Advisor/Program Director.

There are two paths for completion of MChE coursework requirements, corresponding to two groups of MChE students: Group I is MChE students who have earned a BS degree in chemical engineering, and Group II is MChE students who have earned a BS degree in a discipline related to chemical engineering (such as chemistry or petroleum engineering). An option for MChE concentration in Energy Transition is available for both Group I and II. Specific coursework is as follows:

The following three Tables outline groups I–III of courses that will be suitable for the various options of the MChE Program discussed.

Table 1. MChE course group I — New graduate-level (6000) course-sections/courses to be created

Course	Description	Prerequisites
CHEE 3333 grad. section	Chemical Engineering Thermodynamics II Cr. 3 (3-0). Multicomponent systems, phase equilibria, and prediction of thermodynamic properties.	CHEE 2332.
CHEE 3363 grad. section	Fluid Mechanics for Chemical Engineers Cr. 3 (3-0). Foundations of fluid mechanics, fluid statics, kinematics, laminar and turbulent flow; macroscopic balances; dimensional analysis and flow correlations.	CHEE 2332 and CHEE 3321.
CHEE 3367 grad. section	Process Modeling and Control Cr. 3 (3-0). Modeling techniques of chemical engineering problems, with emphasis on process control.	CHEE 3334, CHEE 3363 and CHEE 3321.
CHEE 3369 grad. section	Chemical Engineering Transport Processes Cr. 3 (3-0). Mass transfer in single and multiphase systems and combined heat and mass transfer. Selected topics in heat and mass transfer, and in heat and momentum transfer.	CHEE 3363.
CHEE 4367 grad. section	Chemical Reaction Engineering Cr. 3 (3-0). Chemical-reaction kinetics, mechanisms, and reactor design in static and flow systems; introduction to heterogeneous catalytic reactions in flow systems.	CHEE 3369, CHEM 2325 and CHEE 3466

Table 2. MChE course group II — Existing graduate-level courses

Course	Description	Prerequisites
CHEE 6377	Introduction to Polymer Science Cr. 3. (3-0). Introduction to the synthesis, characterization, physical properties and processing of polymeric materials. The course thematically revolves around methods to measure, characterize and tailor structure, processing, property correlations for polymeric materials.	Consent of instructor.
CHEE 6383	Advanced Unit Operations Cr. 3. (3-0). Property prediction of multicomponent fluids. Advanced principles of heat exchanger design, multicomponent fractionation, absorption, stripping, and extraction from a unified point of view.	CHEE 3462.
CHEE 6390	Energy and the Environment Cr. 3. (3-0). This course surveys modern energy technologies and their impact on the environment. Topics include energy generation from fossil, nuclear, and renewable sources. Energy utilization covers stationary and transportation applications. Optimization of source-to-consumer efficiencies and minimization of emissions are included, with special emphasis on emerging technologies such as fuel cells. Capstone topics for the course are future developments in the hydrogen economy and the technical-economic-social aspects of global warming.	Graduate standing in Chemical Engineering or consent of instructor.
CHEE 7397	Selected Topics: Machine Learning for Chemical Engineers Cr. 3 per semester. (3-0). May be repeated for credit.
CHEE 7397	Selected Topics: Chemical Engineering Fundamentals for CO2-free Manufacturing Cr. 3 per semester. (3-0). May be repeated for credit.

Table 3. MChE course group III

Course	Description	Prerequisites
CHEE 6333	Transport Processes (core course) Cr. 3. (3-0). Advanced principles of fluid mechanics, heat and mass transfer with application to problems in research and design. Emphasis on unified view of transport process in laminar and turbulent flow situations.	CHEE 3369.
CHEE 6335	Classical and Statistical Thermodynamics (core course) Cr. 3. (3-0). Advanced methods. Advanced principles of chemical engineering thermodynamics. Introduction to molecular and statistical thermodynamics and their ability to predict bulk thermodynamic properties and characteristics of chemical engineering systems.	CHEE 3460.
CHEE 6337	Advanced Reactor Engineering (core course) Cr. 3. (3-0). Introduction to modern concepts and techniques of chemical reactor analysis and design.	Undergraduate kinetics or reactor design course, approval of department.
CHEE 6365	Fundamentals of Catalysis Cr. 3. (3-0). Theories and experimental procedures in modern heterogeneous catalysis, catalyst preparation and properties, absorption, surface mechanisms, catalyst design, and catalytic processes.	CHEE 4367 or equivalent.
CHEE 6367	Advanced Process Control Cr. 3. (3-0). Application of high-speed computers in the control of chemical processes, reactors, and units.	CHEE 3367 or equivalent or consent of instructor.

 

Coursework for non-ChE BS students in MChE — Energy Transition Concentration

• At least 2 courses from Table 1 must be taken.
  • Note: Graduate sections are envisioned for the courses in Table 1 over a transition period. Corresponding individual courses at the graduate level will be soon developed.
• The following 2 courses (directly related to Energy Transition, Table 2) must be taken:
  • CHEE 6390 – Energy and the Environment, and
  • CHEE 6397 – Selected Topics: Chemical Engineering Fundamentals for CO2-free Manufacturing
• In addition to the above two courses, at least 1 graduate-level course related to Energy Transition must be taken, on approval from the MChE Program Director. Such a course may be any relevant course available in the Cullen College of Engineering, College of Natural Science and Mathematics, or C. T. Bauer College of Business. Examples include the following courses:
  • Introduction to Carbon Capture Utilization and Storage - PETR 6341
  • Carbon Capture Utilization and Sequestration - PETR 6342
  • CO2 EOR Sequestration - PETR 6343
  • Subsurface Energy Storage - PETR 6344
  • Introduction of Carbon Capture Utilization & Storage (CCUS)
  • Carbon sequestration - GEOL 6389
  • Earth and Atmospheric Sciences of Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS) (New graduate course)
• Any of the graduate-level CHEE electives will be available either face-to-face or online.
• For successful completion of the degree requirements a total of 30 credit hours and a minimum GPA of 3.0 will be required.
• Because MChE/Energy Transition students will include working professionals, earning project-based credit will be of particular interest to them:

• Projects in the setting of the above course will be suitable to take for up to 2 times.
• ChBE Dept. faculty involvement with each student and potential collaboration with their industrial supervisors is anticipated.

 

Coursework for ChE BS students in MChE — Energy Transition Concentration

• At least 2 courses from Table 3 must be taken.
  • Note that courses from Table 1 will not be available for these students; rather course counterparts in Table 3 should be chosen from.
• The following 2 courses (directly related to Energy Transition, Table 2) must be taken:
  • CHEE 6390 – Energy and the Environment, and
  • CHEE 6397 – Selected Topics: Chemical Engineering Fundamentals for CO2-free Manufacturing
• In addition to the above two courses, at least 1 graduate-level course related to Energy Transition must be taken, on approval from the MChE Program Director. Such a course may be any relevant course available in the Cullen College of Engineering, College of Natural Science and Mathematics, or C. T. Bauer College of Business. Examples include the following courses:
  • Introduction to Carbon Capture Utilization and Storage - PETR 6341
  • Carbon Capture Utilization and Sequestration - PETR 6342
  • CO2 EOR Sequestration - PETR 6343
  • Subsurface Energy Storage - PETR 6344
  • Introduction of Carbon Capture Utilization & Storage (CCUS)
  • Carbon sequestration - GEOL 6389
  • Earth and Atmospheric Sciences of Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS) (New graduate course)
• Any of the graduate-level CHEE electives will be available either face-to-face or online.
• For successful completion of the degree requirements a total of 30 credit hours and a minimum GPA of 3.0 will be required.
• Because MChE/Energy Transition students will include working professionals, earning project-based credit will be of particular interest to them:

• Projects in the setting of the above course will be suitable to take for up to 2 times.
• ChBE Dept. faculty involvement with each student and potential collaboration with their industrial supervisors is anticipated.

 

Coursework for non-ChE BS students in MChE (No Energy Transition Concentration)

• At least 4 courses from the 10-course group in Table 1 and Table 2 combined must be taken.
• A number of additional CHEE electives will be available to choose from.
• Any of the graduate-level CHEE electives will be available either face-to-face or online.
• For successful completion of the degree requirements a total of 30 credit hours and a minimum GPA of 3.0 will be required.
• Because MChE/Energy Transition students will include working professionals, earning project-based credit will be of particular interest to them:

• Projects in the setting of the above course will be suitable to take for up to 2 times.
• ChBE Dept. faculty involvement with each student and potential collaboration with their industrial supervisors is anticipated.

 

Coursework for ChE BS students in MChE (No Energy Transition Concentration)

• At least 4 courses from the 10-course group in Table 2 and Table 3 combined must be taken.
• Courses from Table 1 will not be available; rather their counterparts (see Table 3) should be chosen from.
• A number of additional CHEE electives will be available to choose from.
• Any of the graduate-level CHEE electives will be available either face-to-face or online.
• For successful completion of the degree requirements a total of 30 credit hours and a minimum GPA of 3.0 will be required.
• Because MChE/Energy Transition students will include working professionals, earning project-based credit will be of particular interest to them:

• Projects in the setting of the above course will be suitable to take for up to 2 times.
• ChBE Dept. faculty involvement with each student and potential collaboration with their industrial supervisors is anticipated.