To advance from graduate student status to an official Ph.D. Candidate, we have a few requirements:

1. A grade of B- or better in all core ChE graduate courses
2. Overall GPA of 3.0 or better
3. Submission of a written proposal document outlining the aims of your Ph.D. thesis to the graduate program director, the student’s advisor, and their committee by February 1^st
4. An oral qualifying exam consisting of a 30-45 min presentation on your written proposal followed by a closed Q&A session with your committee

Based on course performance, the written document, the oral presentation, and Q&A session, the committee will determine the student’s admission into Ph.D. Candidacy.

Students are allowed to submit their documents and present orally 1 additional time within 6 months of the first presentation, if they are unsuccessful.