Graduate Degrees

 

The McMaster Chemical Engineering Department offers the Master of Applied
Science, Master of Engineering and Doctor of Philosophy degrees.

Research Interest Areas (You have a choice of research areas for study:)

  • Biomaterials,Tissue engineering, biomedical engineering, blood-material interactions
  • Bioprocess Engineering, Membranes, bioseparations, bioreactors, analytical & environmental biotechnology
  • Polymer Science, Interfacial engineering, polymerization, polymer characterization, synthesis
  • Polymer Engineering,Polymer processing, rheology, computer modelling, extrusion
  • Process systems, Process control, optimization, design, multivariate statistical methods

Master of Applied Science Degree (Research) 

Duration: nominally 20 months (5 semesters) after the Bachelor's degree.
The M.A.Sc. program consists of four one-term graduate courses and a
dissertation based on research completed under the supervision of a professor.
The dissertation must be an original contribution to chemical engineering and must
be defended at an oral examination:

Students have an opportunity to bypass the M.A.Sc. degree after one year and
enroll directly in the Ph.D. program subject to a detailed and satisfactory review
of progress in both research and course work.

Full time candidates for M.A.Sc. Degree are required to spend at least one academic
year of graduate study at McMaster University. All M.A.Sc. candidates must present a
seminar lecture on a topic approved by the Department, and attend the seminars regularly.

Master of Engineering Degree (Project)

Duration: nominally 12 months (3 semesters) after the Bachelor's degree.
The M.Eng. program consists of six one-term graduate courses and a
major project report based on research completed under the supervision of a professor.
The major project report must demonstrate the ability to carry out independent study in
design, analysis or experimentation and to reach a satisfactory conclusion in a reasonable
time. The dissertation must be defended at an oral examination.

No funding is provided to students in the M.Eng. program.

Students interested in an interdisciplinary Master of Engineering degree in Manufacturing should visit http://msep.eng.mcmaster.ca/manufacturing/. The Department of Chemical Engineering supports this program through graduate courses and project supervision by departmental faculty in areas related to manufacturing, mostly related to polymers and process automation."

Doctor of Philosophy Degree

Duration: nominally four years (12 semesters) after the Master's degree.  the Ph.D.
program consists of seven one-term graduate courses beyond the Bachelor's Degree
or three courses beyond the Master's degree and a more extensive research program
leading to a dissertation.  the dissertation must be an original contribution to chemical
engineering and must also be defended at an oral examination.  A candidate is also
required to take the Ph.D. comprehensive examination which is designed to test the
breadth of knowledge and the ability to synthesize ideas from within the peripheral to
the candidate's research area. Click below for a full explanation of the Ph.D. comprehensive
procedures.

Revised Ph.D. comprehensive procedures 

A Supervisory committee determines when a candidate is ready to write his/her
thesis and then ascertains whether the quality of presentation is satisfactory.
The student is required to defend the thesis at a Final Oral Examination.

The Department arranges a series of seminars; graduate students are expected
to attend and participate in these seminars. Ph.D. students must present one seminar
on their research work before they graduate. 

Post-Degree Studies: A post-degree student is one who holds a university degree and has been given permission to take a specific graduate course, but has not been admitted to a graduate program. Please apply for Post Degree studies through the on-line application system.