Chemical Engineering PhD

About this programme

At Berkeley, graduate work in chemical and biomolecular engineering emphasizes the excitement of original research in frontier areas of applied science. Graduate students may pursue a PhD in Chemical Engineering, or they may apply to the Product Development concentration to obtain an MS in Chemical Engineering. While formal courses are necessary to provide scientific fundamentals and intellectual breadth, the primary characteristic of Berkeley's graduate experience is to participate in the quest for new knowledge. Graduate students and faculty collaborate as partners in scholarship, in learning, and in intellectual discovery. PhD Program The PhD program is designed to enlarge the body of knowledge of the student and, more importantly, to discover and develop talent for original, productive, and creative work in chemical and biomolecular engineering. Breadth of knowledge and professional training are achieved through advanced course work. To develop the creative talents of the student, a paramount emphasis in the PhD program is placed on intensive research, a project on which students work closely with one or more members of the faculty. PhD students may choose to add a designated emphasis (DE) to their program. A designated emphasis is a specialization, such as a new method of inquiry or an important field of application, which is relevant to two or more existing doctoral degree programs. Designated emphases open to students in this PhD program include Nanoscale Science and Engineering (NSE), Energy Sciences and Technology (DEEST), Communication, Computation and Statistics, Computational and Genomic Biology, and New Media.