Educational Requirements

The PhD degree requirements include a minimum of 10 quarter courses beyond the BS degree; six of these must satisfy distribution requirements in Chemical and Biological engineering, two courses may be completed in other departments, and two courses may be completed in areas of the student’s choice. These courses may be waived for students entering with an MS degree and appropriate course background; however, students who enter with an MS degree must take a minimum of six courses at Northwestern.

Students entering with a BS degree in chemical engineering should attain candidacy by the 9 th quarter of residence and usually complete the PhD in 4 ½ to 5 ½ years. Students entering with an MS degree in chemical engineering attain candidacy by the 6 th quarter of residence and typically complete the PhD in 3 ½ to 4 ¼ years.

PhD Course Requirements
1. Two courses in the area of Transport Processes
2. One course in Reaction Engineering/Kinetics
3. One course in Thermodynamics
4. At least 6 courses total in ChBE
5. At least two courses from outside the Chemical and Biological Engineering Department: 300, 400 or 500 level classes offered by other engineering and science departments.